ricardians are people interested in altering the posthumous reputation of richard iii, king of england (reigned 1483–1485). richard iii has long been portrayed unfavourably, most notably in william shakespeare's play "richard iii", in which richard is portrayed as having murdered his nephew, edward v of england, a 12-year-old child at the time, in order to secure the english throne for himself. ricardians have worked in an effort to turn this around and to paint this portrayal, and the many other related assertions that followed, as most probably false politically-motivated accusations.