Requiem of the Rose King

Civil war grips Medieval England as the houses of York and Lancaster vie for the throne. Richard, the Duke of York's youngest son, wants nothing more than to see his father crowned king, but he struggles with a secret that he fears to confront.

Richard desires to stand on the battlefield with his father, the Duke of York, but his mother Cecily denies him this wish. "Your words will become a curse, one that spells doom for others." Locked in a tower, Richard discovers that King Henry VI of the House of Lancaster is also housed inside. He fervently hopes to kill him and offer his crown to his father...but meanwhile, the Duke of York is taken captive after a fierce battle against Queen Margaret and her Lancaster forces.

The Duke of York is dead. The Earl of Warwick pushes the late duke's eldest son Edward as king, and Edward steps up to the responsibility. The decisive battle between the Houses of York and Lancaster takes place outside of London, and Richard is there, once again swinging his sword in search of blood. "In the darkness, all I see is the color of blood. That is why I must fill it all in..." As blood rains down like rose petals, the battle ends with the House of York victorious -- and the kingmaking Earl of Warwick is already planning Edward's marriage.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

Ten years later, King Edward IV enjoys a future-predicting "destiny cake" at a banquet. The cake he grabbed was in the shape of a "G," but what does the wine-red "G" suggest about the future? At the banquet, Edward IV meets a woman named Jane. Meanwhile Richard, reappearing at the royal palace after many years, has married Anne, their son Edward growing up healthy and happy. But their happiness is only superficial. "When my soul died, I knew rest, for without a soul, there is no captivity."

Richard captures George for cursing Edward IV. However, Edward IV keeps hoping that George might come to his senses. Richard makes a decision: "Buckingham, kill George." Now Richard must convince Edward IV that it was the Woodville family that sent George to his death. George, cornered by Richard and Buckingham's plot, storms into the courtroom.

Richard is now taking care of Edward IV...but upon the king's death, Queen Elizabeth's brother Anthony plans to install a child prince as king and himself as regent. Anthony also attempts to arrest Richard for treason, but Buckingham also lurks behind the shadows. Finally, Buckingham learns the secret of Richard, who then reveals a dream: "If you can't escape your fate...then become the devil."

Richard and Buckingham embark on a majority-rule maneuver to gain the throne. It creates more suffering for Catesby, who has been trying to protect Richard while serving Hastings. Who is his loyalty truly for? Meanwhile, Hastings and the Queen Mother are planning a service for King Edward V. The service would publicize and solidify Elizabeth's power if held, and now Richard is gradually pushed into a position of inferiority.

Hastings and the Queen Mother carry out a plan to disqualify Richard...but it's revealed that Edward V, son of Edward IV and Elizabeth, had no rightful claim to the throne. So Edward V and his brother are imprisoned in the Tower of London. Thus Richard steadily closes in on the throne...but Cecily agitates the people against it, stating "the devil must not be made king!" Faced with throngs of angry citizens, Richard and Buckingham put on the play of the century.

Anne witnesses Richard coming out of Buckingham's room at night. "You know him better than anyone," she says to Catesby. "If he's hiding something, please tell me." To root out Richard's secret, Anne proposes that he dress as a woman and she as a man at a banquet they call "The Devil's Paradise." Despite Anne's intentions, the banquet is a great success, the two of them lost among the admiring crowd. Then Buckingham appears, dressed as the devil.

At a rainy villa, a night spent with Henry VI springs back to Richard's memory. Buckingham, knowing who Richard once loved, joins hands with the king. "Say the name," he tells him, "my name." The villa is visited by Tyrell, the assassin who took George and the others. Buckingham is shocked when he realizes Tyrell is the spitting image of Henry VI. Meanwhile, in London, Richmond is on the move for the throne.

No description available.

Buckingham, determined to rebel, tries to win the cooperation of Bishop Ely and Stanley. Meanwhile, Richmond advises his father-in-law Stanley of the conditions under which he will join the rebellion. Those conditions: The death of King Edward V and his brother, who are imprisoned in the Tower of London. Buckingham believes Richard III, and no one else, must commit the murders. At the same time, Richard enters York and waits for Buckingham, who is expected to come. However, after the coronation, Richard is visited by the assassin Tyrell.

With Buckingham in open rebellion, an anguished Richard turns toward Catesby. "If only I hadn't been so intimate with him. If only I wasn't the son of the devil..." But that was no longer an option. Leaving his wife Anne and son Edward behind, Richard sets out for battle. Richard III and Buckingham cross swords in the Forest of Dean, just as they promised. "I will cross the border and abandon my name. I will stand by your side and cut through your thorns until the day I die. That...and the loyalty to your father that still binds you..."

Just as Richard has personally seen to the end of Buckingham, Anne confesses that her tuberculosis has returned. Anne begs Richard to disinherit their kind-hearted son Edward in order to protect him. Facing the cruel fate of loved ones drifting away, Richard desperate enough for the departed Buckingham to try replacing him with Catesby. But Catesby says he cannot, for "the heat of the body cannot warm the soul." In the midst of this, the battle with Richmond approaches.

"If this name, if this blood, was all an illusion...then what is the point of this battle?" Richard looks back at his past, guided by Tyrell in front of him. "Let us go home, even if it is a battlefield where not even sleep is allowed to us..."