The Two Princes Edward and Richard in the Tower, 1483 by Sir John Everett Millais, 1878, part of the Royal Holloway picture collection

The Princes in the Tower, Edward V of England (November 4, 1470 – 1483?) and his brother, Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York (17 August 1473 – 1483?), were the two sons of Edward IV of England and Elizabeth Woodville. Image File history File links Princes. ... Image File history File links Princes. ... Sir John Everett Millais Sir John Everett Millais, 1st Baronet, PRA (June 8, 1829 – August 13, 1896) was a British painter and illustrator and one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. ... University Logo Royal Holloway, University of London is a college of the University of London located in Egham, Surrey, England. ... Edward V (4 November 1470 – 1483?) was the King of England from 9 April 1483 until his deposition two months later. ... is the 308th day of the year (309th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events May 15 - Charles VIII of Sweden who had served three terms as King of Sweden dies. ... Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York and 1st Duke of Norfolk (17 August 1473–1483?) was the second son of King Edward IV of England and Elizabeth Woodville and, thus, the younger brother of King Edward V. In January 1478, when he was about 4 years old, he married... is the 229th day of the year (230th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events Ottoman sultan Mehmed II defeats the White Sheep Turkmens lead by Uzun Hasan at Otlukbeli Axayacatl, Aztec ruler of Tenochtitlan invades the territory of neighboring Aztec city of Tlatelolco. ... Edward IV (April 28, 1442 – April 9, 1483) was King of England from March 4, 1461 to April 9, 1483, with a break of a few months in the period 1470–1471. ... Elizabeth Woodville or Wydville (c. ...

Both princes were declared illegitimate by an Act of Parliament of 1483 known as Titulus Regius. Their uncle, Richard III of England, placed them both in the Tower of London (then a royal residence as well as a prison) in 1483. There are reports of their early presence in the courtyards etc, but there are no records of them having been seen after the summer of 1483. Their fate remains unknown, and it is presumed that they either died or were killed there. There is no record of a funeral. An Act of Parliament or Act is law enacted by the parliament (see legislation). ... Titulus Regius (the Title of King in Latin) is a famous act of the English Parliament, issued in early 1484, by which the title of King of England was given to Richard III of England. ... This article is about King Richard III of England. ... For other uses, see Tower of London (disambiguation) Her Majestys Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London (and historically as The Tower), is a historic monument in central London, on the north bank of the River Thames. ...

In 1674, the skeletons of two children were discovered under the staircase leading to the chapel, during the course of renovations to the White Tower. At that time, these were believed to have been the remains of the two princes. On the orders of Charles II the remains were reburied in Westminster Abbey. In 1933, the grave was exhumed and found to contain both human and animal bones; however precise identification of the age and sex was not then possible^[1]. The White Tower, as seen from the South West, showing the original - but now externally much altered entrance at ground level The White Tower The White Tower is a central tower at the Tower of London. ... Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was the King of England, Scotland, and Ireland. ... The Collegiate Church of St Peter, Westminster, which is almost always referred to by its original name of Westminster Abbey, is a mainly Gothic church, on the scale of a cathedral (and indeed often mistaken for one), in Westminster, London, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. ...

Suspects

If the boys were indeed murdered, there are several major suspects for the crime. The evidence is ambiguous, and has led people to various conflicting conclusions.

Richard III of England had eliminated the princes from the succession. However, his hold on the monarchy was not secure, and the existence of the princes remained a threat as long as they were alive. They themselves were ostensibly not a threat, notwithstanding Edward's having been acclaimed King, but could have been used by Richard's enemies as a pretext for rebellion. Rumours of their death were in wide circulation by late 1483, but Richard never attempted to prove that they were alive by having them seen in public, which strongly suggests that they were dead by then (or at a minimum, not under his control--unlikely, since they would presumably still have been in the Tower). Rather, he remained completely silent on the matter. At the very least, it would have been in his political interest to order an investigation into the disappearance of the princes if they had simply vanished. As the brothers' protector (having obtained them as 'protectorate' from their mother), he appears to have failed to 'protect' them. Many modern historians, including David Starkey [1], Michael Hicks^[2] and Alison Weir^[3], regard him as the most likely culprit. This article is about King Richard III of England. ... David Robert Starkey (born January 3, 1945) is one of Englands best-known historians, and a specialist in the Tudor period. ... Michael Hicks (b. ... Alison Weir (born 1951) is a British writer of history books for the general public, mostly in the form of biographies about British kings and queens. ...

James Tyrrell was an English knight who fought for the House of York on many occasions. Tyrrell was arrested by Henry VII's forces in 1501 for supporting yet another Yorkist claimant to the throne. Shortly before his execution, Tyrrell admitted to having murdered the princes at the behest of Richard III. However, as his confession was extracted under torture, its veracity is dubious. James Tyrrell (c. ... The House of York was a branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet, three of whom became English kings in the late 15th century. ...

Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham was Richard's right-hand man and sought personal advantage through the new king. Some regard Buckingham as the likeliest suspect: his execution, after he had rebelled against Richard in October 1483, might signify that he and the king had fallen out because Buckingham had taken it on himself—for whatever reason—to dispose of Richard's rival claimants; alternatively, he could have been acting on behalf of Henry Tudor (later to become King Henry VII). Buckingham was also a descendant of Edward III through John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster and may have hoped to ascend the throne himself. Buckingham's guilt depends on the princes having already been dead by October 1483, as Buckingham was executed the following month. While Richard the III had the opportunity he did not have the motive, while Henry Tudor had the motive he did not have the opportunity, as the men guarding the Princes were hand picked men by Henry Stafford, but Henry Stafford had the opportunity and the moive as he hand picked the men guarding the Princes and he was related to Edward III through John of Gaunt. An 18th century illustration of Henry Stafford. ... The Tudor Rose: a combination of the Red Rose of Lancaster and the White Rose of York Henry VII (January 28, 1457 – April 21, 1509), King of England, Lord of Ireland (August 22, 1485 – April 21, 1509), born Henry Tudor, was the first monarch of the Tudor dynasty. ... This article is about the King of England. ... John of Gaunt John of Gaunt John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (March 6, 1340 – February 3, 1399) was the third surviving son of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault. ...

Henry VII of England (Henry Tudor) following his accession, proceeded to find a legal excuse to execute some of the rival claimants to the throne. He married the princes' eldest sister, Elizabeth of York, to reinforce his hold on the throne, but her right to inherit depended on both her brothers being already dead. Realistically, Henry's only opportunity to murder the princes would have been after his accession in 1485. The Tudor Rose: a combination of the Red Rose of Lancaster and the White Rose of York Henry VII (January 28, 1457 – April 21, 1509), King of England, Lord of Ireland (August 22, 1485 – April 21, 1509), born Henry Tudor, was the first monarch of the Tudor dynasty. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

John Howard, later the first Duke of Norfolk of the current creation, was a claimant to the estate of the Mowbray Dukes of Norfolk. He was given custody of the Tower of London under less than regular circumstances the night the Princes are supposed to have disappeared from the Tower^{[citation needed]}. He had opportunity and motive—Prince Richard, Duke of York, was also Duke of Norfolk in right of his deceased child bride Anne, the daughter of the last Mowbray Duke. John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk. ... Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk holding the baton of the Earl Marshal. ... For other uses, see Tower of London (disambiguation) Her Majestys Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London (and historically as The Tower), is a historic monument in central London, on the north bank of the River Thames. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Anne Mowbray (10 December 1472 _ 19 November (?), 1481) was the child bride of Richard, Duke of York, one of the Princes in the Tower, and held the title Duchess of York from her marriage until her death at the age of nine. ...

Evidence behind the rumours

The Croyland Chronicle, Dominic Mancini, and Philippe de Commines all state that the rumour of the princes' death was current in England by the end of 1483. In his summary of the events of 1483, Commines says quite categorically that Richard was responsible for the murder of the princes, but of course he had been present at the meeting of the Estates-General of France in January 1484, when the statement was taken at face value. The other two sources do not suggest who was responsible. Only Mancini's account, written in 1483, is truly contemporary, the other two having been written three and seven years later, respectively. The Great Chronicle, compiled 30 years later from the contemporary London municipal records, says the rumour of the princes' death did not start circulating in London until after Easter of 1484. Historians have speculated, on the basis of these contemporary records, that the rumour that the princes had been murdered was deliberately created to be spread in England as an excuse for the October 1483 attempt of Henry Tudor and Buckingham to seize the throne. If the princes were not already dead by the end of 1483, this of course removes any possibility that Buckingham, who was executed on 2 November 1483, could have murdered them. The Croyland Chronicle (or Crowland Chronicle) is an important, if not always reliable, primary source for English medieval history, in particular the late 15th century. ... Dominic Mancini was an Italian who visited England during 1483 and left behind an account of the events he witnessed. ... Philippe de Commines (or de Commynes or Philip de Comines) (1447-1511) was a French-speaking Fleming in the courts of Burgundy and France, a diplomat, and a writer, and he has been called the first truly modern writer (Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve) and the first critical and philosophical historian... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... The Tudor Rose: a combination of the Red Rose of Lancaster and the White Rose of York Henry VII (January 28, 1457 – April 21, 1509), King of England, Lord of Ireland (August 22, 1485 – April 21, 1509), born Henry Tudor, was the first monarch of the Tudor dynasty. ... Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham (1454 - November 2, 1483) played a major role in Richard III of Englands rise and fall. ... is the 306th day of the year (307th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events The São Tomé settlement is founded. ...

No discussion of this episode would be complete without mention of Sir James Tyrrell, the loyal servant of Richard III whose "confession" to having murdered the princes has always been taken with a pinch of salt. It is mentioned by Tudor sources (which, naturally, must be treated with caution) as having taken place in 1502, under torture. A confession under torture would not nowadays be regarded as reliable, and Tyrrell was unable to say where the bodies of the princes were. James Tyrrell (c. ... For other uses, see Tudor (disambiguation). ...

In 1674, some workmen remodelling the Tower of London dug up a box containing two small human skeletons. They threw them on a rubbish heap, but some days or weeks later someone decided they might be the bones of the two princes, so they gathered them up and put some of them in an urn, which Charles II of England ordered interred in Westminster Abbey. In 1933 the bones were taken out and examined and then replaced in the urn in the vault under the Abbey. It is not possible to say the sex of the skeletons. (One skeleton was larger than the other, but many of the bones were missing, including part of the smaller jawbone and all of the teeth from the larger one.) For other uses, see Tower of London (disambiguation) Her Majestys Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London (and historically as The Tower), is a historic monument in central London, on the north bank of the River Thames. ... Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was the King of England, Scotland, and Ireland. ... The Collegiate Church of St Peter, Westminster, which is almost always referred to by its original name of Westminster Abbey, is a mainly Gothic church, on the scale of a cathedral (and indeed often mistaken for one), in Westminster, London, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. ...

Arguments in the controversy

King Edward V and the Duke of York in the Tower of London by Paul Delaroche. The theme of innocent children awaiting an uncertain fate was a popular one amongst 19th-century painters.

Part of the controversy still surrounding Parliament's ruling, known as the Titulus Regius, that Edward (and his brother Richard) could not be rightful heirs to the throne arises from confusion about why Parliament ruled that their parents' marriage was invalid. The issue was further complicated by the fact that the Titulus Regius was subsequently overturned by Henry Tudor's government after the overthrow and death of Richard III, with the specific injunction that it be destroyed without being read into the record. As the Titulus also barred Henry's already tenuous claim to the throne, destroying it provided Henry with legitimacy, but also gave him ample motive to kill the Princes, newly returned to the succession, ahead of Henry. Download high resolution version (795x679, 414 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (795x679, 414 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Hippolyte Delaroche, commonly known as Paul (July 17, 1797 - November 4, 1856), French painter, was born in Paris. ... Titulus Regius (the Title of King in Latin) is a famous act of the English Parliament, issued in early 1484, by which the title of King of England was given to Richard III of England. ...

As a matter of law, the marriage was, indeed, invalid if the story of the pre-contract between their father and Lady Eleanor Butler (née Talbot) was true. Under both canon law and civil law, a "pre-contract of marriage" was a promise to marry, and it was enforceable in court as if the promised marriage had, in fact, taken place (the concept of a "pre-contract" still exists in law, but it usually arises today in the context of pre-contracting to make a contract for a business deal, like a sale of property or a corporate merger). A pre-contract with Eleanor Butler would have invalidated the king's marriage to Elizabeth Woodville. This was the law in England, and many other contemporary examples can be pointed to. The purpose of publishing the "banns of marriage", and then asking in the wedding ceremony if anyone knows of just cause why the marriage should not take place, was to prevent marriages that were invalid, because of a pre-contract or for any other reason. Marrying in "secret" (or "private", which usually meant "not in a church") without the calling of the banns, as Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville did, was considered a virtual admission that there was a legal impediment. If Parliament was presented with evidence of Edward's marriage to Eleanor Butler or his pre-contract to marry her, it was bound to rule that his marriage to Elizabeth Woodville was bigamous, and therefore any children born to them would be considered bastards. Lady Eleanor Talbot (died 1468) was a daughter of John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      Canon law is the term used for... This article is about civil law within the common law legal system. ... Elizabeth Woodville or Wydville (c. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... The banns of marriage or, simply the banns, (from an Old English word meaning to summon) are the public announcement from the pulpit that a marriage is going to take place in that church between two specified persons at a specified time. ...

The fact that the princes were technically bastards (following his deposition from the throne, Edward V was referred to by his uncle's followers as the "Lord Bastard") did not necessarily mean they could never inherit—William the Conqueror was neither the first nor the last bastard to inherit lands and titles. "Bastardy," the legal term for illegitimacy, was a legal status that could be changed by fiat, ecclesiastical or civil, as shown by the number of times King Henry VIII changed the status of his children. Henry VII's own claim to royal status was based on the legitimisation of John of Gaunt's illegitimate Beaufort children. Parliament could have legitimized the princes and allowed Edward V to remain king, but it used that excuse for what it wanted to do for practical reasons. Boy kings (Henry III, Richard II, Henry VI) had always been disasters for England—and the Wars of the Roses had been halted by the accession of Edward IV as a capable adult. The Yorkists were in power, and Edward V's numerous Woodville relatives had always been Lancastrians at heart and had already made many enemies. Richard III, on the other hand, was considered the Yorkists' best all-round candidate for the job of king at the time. Illegitimacy is the status that was once commonly ascribed to individuals born to parents who were not married. ... William I of England (c. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      Canon law is the term used for... Civil law has at least three meanings. ... Henry VIII redirects here. ... The Tudor Rose: a combination of the Red Rose of Lancaster and the White Rose of York Henry VII (January 28, 1457 – April 21, 1509), King of England, Lord of Ireland (August 22, 1485 – April 21, 1509), born Henry Tudor, was the first monarch of the Tudor dynasty. ... John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster (June 24, 1340 - February 3, 1399), the third surviving son of King Edward III of England, gained his name because he was born at Ghent in 1340. ... Henry III (1 October 1207 – 16 November 1272) was the son and successor of John Lackland as King of England, reigning for fifty-six years from 1216 to his death. ... Richard II (January 6, 1367 – February 14, 1400) was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. ... Henry VI (December 6, 1421 – May 21, 1471) was King of England from 1422 to 1461 (though with a Regent until 1437) and then from 1470 to 1471, and King of France from 1422 to 1453. ... Lancaster York For other uses, see Wars of the Roses (disambiguation). ...

There were subsequently a number of apparent Pretenders claiming to be Prince Richard, although curiously there seem to have been none claiming to be Edward V. The best-known Pretender was Perkin Warbeck. The fact that Henry VII did not provide an official public version of the fate of the Princes, despite Warbeck's activities, until the Tyrell "confession" suggests that he either was unaware of the true story or that he was only too aware and that publishing it would have not been in his interests. Contemporary painting of Warbeck Perkin Warbeck (c. ...

Horace Walpole, Josephine Tey, Valerie Anand, and other writers have defended King Richard III against the accusation that he murdered his nephews. Among the arguments: Henry VII's Bill of Attainder against Richard III makes no mention at all of the Princes. Horatio Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford, more commonly known as Horace Walpole, (September 24, 1717 – March 2, 1797), was a politician, writer and forerunner of the Gothic revival. ... Josephine Tey was a pseudonym of Elizabeth Mackintosh (1896-February 13, 1952), a Scottish author best known for her mystery novels. ... Valerie Anand is a British author of historical fiction. ... A bill of attainder (also known as an act or writ of attainder) is an act of legislature declaring a person or group of persons guilty of some crime, and punishing them, without benefit of a trial. ...

Literature

• Richard III by William Shakespeare [play]
• Richard III and the Princes in the Tower (1991)
• The Mystery of the Princes by Audrey Williamson (1978)
• The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey (1951)
• The Princes in the Tower by Alison Weir (1992)
• To The Tower Born by Robin Maxwell [fiction] (2005)
• The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman [fiction] {1982)

Frontispage of the First Quarto Richard The Third. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... This image is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... Alison Weir (born 1951) is a British writer of history books for the general public, mostly in the form of biographies about British kings and queens. ...

Popular culture

• The first season of the British sitcom Blackadder portrays a secret or alternative history where the Princes In The Tower survived and grew to adulthood, Prince Richard assuming the throne as Richard IV upon Richard III's death at Bosworth Field, rather than Henry VII as 'true' history records.
• The Doctor of Doctor Who went back in time to discover the secret in the Big Finish audio drama, The Kingmaker, in which the princes were discovered to be princesses.
• In the Goosebumps book A Night in Terror Tower, a prince and princess are transported from the 20th century to the Middle Ages while at the Tower of London by the Lord High Executioner. They escape back into the 20th century using magical stones.
• In "I, Richard" from the I, Richard short story collection by Elizabeth George, the protagonist murders a friend to obtain a letter they unknowingly possess that was written by Richard III proving the princes were still alive on the day of the Battle of Bosworth. In the same story, George also concludes that Elizabeth of York murdered the two princes, handing them over to secure her own place as Queen.
• Josephine Tey's The Daughter of Time consists of an injured Scotland Yard detective, intrigued by a portrait of Richard III, 'investigating' the crime by reading and analysing the histories, eventually concluding that Henry was the boys' murderer, and that they survived Richard.

The second series of Blackadder was set in Elizabethan England, starring (left to right) Tony Robinson as Baldrick, Rowan Atkinson as Edmund, Lord Blackadder, and Tim McInnerny as Lord Percy Percy. ... A sitcom or situation comedy is a genre of comedy performance originally devised for radio but today typically found on television. ... For other uses, see Blackadder (disambiguation). ... King Richard IV of England was a fictional character in the first series of the BBC comedy series The Black Adder, played by Brian Blessed. ... This article is about King Richard III of England. ... Combatants King Richard III of England, Yorkist Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, Lancastrian Commanders Richard III of England† Earl of Richmond (nominally) Earl of Oxford (in practice) Strength 6,000 (king had 15,500 but Lord Stanley with 4,000 and his brother, Sir William Stanley with 2,500 betrayed... The Tudor Rose: a combination of the Red Rose of Lancaster and the White Rose of York Henry VII (January 28, 1457 – April 21, 1509), King of England, Lord of Ireland (August 22, 1485 – April 21, 1509), born Henry Tudor, was the first monarch of the Tudor dynasty. ... This article is about the character of the Doctor. ... This article is about the television series. ... Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces audio plays released straight to compact disc, based on British cult science fiction properties. ... Radio drama, which had its greatest popularity in the U. S. and in most other countries before the widespread access to television programming, depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine the story in her or his minds eye--in this sense, it resembles reading... The Kingmaker is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... This article is about the book series by R. L. Stine. ... Two siblings go on a tour through a historical tower that held a torture chamber, but somehow go back in time to the medieval period where they are a prince and princess on the run from an executioner. ... Susan Elizabeth George (born February 26, 1949) is the American author of a number of mystery novels set in Great Britain. ... The Battle of Bosworth or Bosworth Field was an important battle during the Wars of the Roses in 15th century England. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Josephine Tey was a pseudonym of Elizabeth Mackintosh (1896-February 13, 1952), a Scottish author best known for her mystery novels. ...

References

External links

• Edward V of England described by the British government
• The Princes' father, Edward IV, described by the British government
• Richard III described by the British government