Jan 12, 2020
Image: The princes asleep in the tower - wikipedia.com
The Stakes
Two innocent child princes, smothered to death under their uncle’s orders, in the tower that was supposed to keep them safe. It's a shocking tale, but is it true? asks mysterioushistory.com
For over five centuries, the fate of the "princes in the tower," as they are known, has been one of Britain's biggest mysteries. Richard III, immortalized as a Shakespearean villain, is the prime suspect in their murder, but were they even murdered at all? And could DNA finally put this coldest of cases to rest?
The Story
In April 1483, Edward IV, the King of England, died at the age of 40. The exact cause of death is unknown, but detractors pointed to his decadent lifestyle, particularly his overeating and lechery.
Among the eight surviving children of Edward IV and his queen, Elizabeth Woodville, were two young princes: Edward V, 12, and Richard, Duke of York, aged 9. The plan was for Edward V to assume the throne. Due to his youth, he would rule assisted by a council of his choosing. A coronation date was set for May 4, and Edward V began traveling southeast to London from his home at Ludlow Castle.
Then came the first of many complications. Richard III, brother of the deceased Edward IV, rode south from York, intercepted Edward V's London-bound party, dismissed—and, in some cases, imprisoned—the young prince's travel companions and escorted Edward V to London himself.
Richard III had been appointed the prince's protector, but he appeared to have royal ambitions of his own. He and Edward V arrived in London on May 4. At a meeting, the Royal Council pushed back Edward's coronation to June 22, and decided that, in the meantime, he would stay in the Tower of London for his own protection. His younger brother, Richard Duke of York, was taken from his mother and brought to the Tower, too. Under Richard III’s orders, Edward V's coronation was again pushed back, this time to November.
And then, another twist: due to a pre-contract of marriage that Edward IV apparently signed before marrying Elizabeth Woodville, Bishop Stillington of Bath and Wells announced that the children of King Edward and his Queen, Elizabeth Woodville, were illegitimate. As a result, Edward V was no longer the rightful heir, but a mere bastard.
Richard III stepped in and was crowned king on July 6, 1483. The young princes, still supposedly under his protection, were never seen in public again.
The Players
Richard III, Edward IV's brother and eventual successor
Edward V, The young, would-be king, declared illegitimate and never seen again
Richard, Duke of York, The younger prince, taken from his mother to the Tower
Edward IV, The late king, father of the two princes
Elizabeth Woodville, Ex-queen who sought sanctuary at Westminster Abbey
James Tyrell, Suspected smotherer of the two boys
The Fallout
In the months after Richard III’s 1483 coronation, whispers spread. The Croyland Chronicle, a historical document penned in 1486, notes "a rumour arose that King Edward’s sons, by some unknown manner of violent destruction, had met their fate."
James Tyrell, Richard III's horse master was fingered as being in charge of the killings. Tyrell was suspected of directing his own horsekeeper John Dighton and attendant Miles Forrest to smother the princes as they slept in their Tower beds. They then allegedly buried the bodies at the foot of the stairs.
In 1674, bones belonging to two children were discovered under a staircase in the Tower of London's White Tower. King Charles II concluded they must be the remains of the princes. The bones were placed in an urn at Westminster Abbey, which bore a none-too-subtle inscription saying the boys were "stifled with pillows ... by the order of their perfidious uncle Richard the Usurper."
Usurper or not, Richard III only lived two years beyond his coronation. In 1485 he was slain in battle at age 32 in the final conflict of the Wars of the Roses, the 30—year series of conflicts between rival factions of the Plantagenet royal family.
Facts vs. Fiction
Richard III certainly had the means, the motive and the access to do away with the princes. So what are the reasons to doubt he murdered them?
Firstly, no evidence exists that the boys were murdered at all, let alone by their uncle. They may have died of other causes, or escaped from the Tower.
Secondly, two of the main sources that point to Richard III’s guilt, the Croyland Chronicle and Thomas More’s History of King Richard III, were written after his death, during the Tudor era. This was a time when it would have proven beneficial to cast Richard III as a villain not fit to rule, so as to appease his Tudor successor, King Henry VII. "[C]ertain is it that he contrived their destruction with the usurpation of the regal dignity upon himself," wrote More. But More was a mere three years old when the alleged murders occurred. His writings were based on hearsay, and penned 28 years after Richard III's death.
Thirdly, thanks to one William Shakespeare, Richard III has an image problem. Portrayed as a monster born unnaturally—feet-first with teeth—and with disabilities that were equated with moral failings in the Middle Ages, he exists in the public consciousness as a villain.
In 1933, Abbey librarian L.E. Tanner and anatomist William Wright examined the bones in the Westminster Abbey urn and concluded they were likely the remains of the princes. That said, they did so without using sophisticated forensic methods available today.
The only way to get a solid answer may be via DNA. In 2013, DNA testing confirmed that bones found two years earlier in Leicester were those of Richard III. Testing of the bones in the urn could determine whether they belong to the princes. But the Abbey has thus far been reluctant to disturb any royal remains.
Timeline
April 9, 1483 - Edward IV dies, leaving 12-year-old Edward V as heir to the throne.
June 16, 1483 - Richard, Duke of York, joins Edward V in the Tower of London.
July 6, 1483 - Richard III is crowned king.
August 22, 1485 - Richard III dies in battle. The new King Henry VII re-legitimizes princes Edward V and Richard, Duke of York.
1623 - Shakespeare's "Richard the Third" is published.
1674 - Children’s bones are found under a staircase in the White Tower and interred at Westminster Abbey.
July 6, 1933 - The children’s bones are exhumed from Westminster and examined.
February 4, 2013 - A skeleton found beneath a parking lot at the former site of Greyfriars Church is confirmed to be that of Richard III.
The young princes were said to have been confined to the Bloody Tower at the Tower of London. You might think the children would have found a trip to the “Bloody Tower” pretty ominous, but at the time it was known as the Garden Tower. It got its more gruesome nickname once rumors of their murder had spread. The Tower of London is open to visitors daily, so you can explore the very place where the princes may have met their doom.
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