His life had been spent in pursuit of the model renaissance education. He had been schooled in the manners of a courtier and tutored in the arts of war. He was reported to favour the magnificence of his father in both looks and character and Henry’s affection for his son was widely known. Yet Richmond did not live to be a great general or statesman, he did not even enjoy the dubious notoriety of dying nobly on the scaffold, nor could he be revered for his martyrdom at the stake. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, he left no progeny to recommend him to posterity. It is difficult to find any enduring legacy. The only real portrait of Richmond is a miniature attributed to the Flemish artist Lucas Hornebolte. Even this shows the duke somewhat déshabillé, in just his shirt with the neck open and his hair covered with a finely decorated skullcap. Although this might easily be taken as a depiction of Richmond on his deathbed, it is more likely that this was intended as an aide-mémoire for the only other surviving image of the duke, in the illustrations included in the new register of the Order of the Garter produced in 1534.
