The Beggining of the End

If you can't trust your friends than who can you trust. In act 4 scene 2 Richard loses one of his closest friends Buckingham's trust and support. Richard asks Buckingham to kill the two princes, the rightful heirs to the throne. This deed is important to Richard because they are the two most threatening to Richards power. When Buckingham yields at Richards request, he immediately falls out of Richards favor. This moment is significant because it shows that when your friends start to realize that what you're doing may be going to far, you lose your support and eventually your power. Having no support even from your friends is detrimental to anyone who wants to accomplish any sort of goal. Richard resorts to having Tyrrell and his lot kill the boys. This highlights Richards panic to have any threat removed. Having Richards friends fall out of his favor and resorting to alterative resources to achieve your goals is a tell tail sign from Shakespeare that Richard is going to eventually collapse and that he is feeling desperate and insecure.