On 19 October 1483 Richard III held court at the inn. It was from the "Chambre de' Roi" that he sent a letter requesting for the Great Seal to issue the death warrant against his cousin, Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham for his instigation of Buckingham's rebellion. Copies of the letter, the original of which is kept by the British Museum, are displayed in the hotel's dining room.