On his way to Windsor, where the court would gather before setting off on the progress, Richard took a detour to Chertsey Abbey. Shooing away the shoeless pilgrims from the modest tomb Edward had given King Henry in 1471, the abbot groveled his way in front of Richard when he was told who the plainly dressed man was riding up with several escorts. Richard gave the monk a weighty purse for the upkeep of Henry’s grave and begged to be left alone with the former king’s remains. He was not surprised by the number of pilgrims gathered there, as the abbey had become a shrine to the pious monarch, with even a miracle or two credited to Henry.

Waiting until the church was emptied, Richard prostrated himself in front of the cold, gray, stone tomb. “Forgive me, Your Grace,” he began aloud, but fearing eavesdroppers, he fell silent. Forgive me my dreadful sin, he begged the king. A day does not pass that I do not think of what I did. You are with the angels and have left me with hell on earth and worse to follow in Lucifer’s domain. I pray that you will intercede with Almighty God for mercy, for I cannot believe He has forgiven me.

An hour later, he emerged into the July sunshine and the queue of pilgrims fell on their knees in deference. As he went to retrieve his horse, he heard a man say to his neighbor: “A bit of a short-arse for a king, ain’t he. And crooked into the bargain.”

Richard winced, but kept walking.

The noisy, colorful cavalcade stretched along the roads and lanes of England for miles, following the new king as he showed himself to his subjects. Leaving Windsor on the twentieth of July with an impressive array of bishops and nobles, Richard was buoyed by the welcome he received as they passed through hamlets and villages and on to towns like Reading and Oxford. Having watched how Edward used pomp and ostentation to his advantage, Richard spared no expense on his jewels and clothing nor on his generosity to the towns he lodged in. In Woodstock, where, discovering that Edward had annexed a large tract of public parkland for his own hunting enjoyment, Richard returned the land for the use of the people once again. It was one pleasure of kingship, he thought, that he could redress some wrongs.