Princes in the Tower

On 9 April 1483, Edward IV of England died unexpectedly after an illness lasting around three weeks. He left behind two sons: 12 year old Edward, who was proclaimed Edward V, and his nine year old brother Richard, Duke of York.

Before his death, the king had declared that his own brother, Richard III, should become Lord Protector of the realm. It was a role that Richard happily assumed.

At the time, Edward IV's son, the new King Edward V, was at Ludlow Castle, and the dead king's brother, Richard III Lord of Gloucester, was at Middleham Castle in Yorkshire.

Edward V and Richard III set out for London from the west and north respectively, meeting at Stony Stratford on 29 April 1483. The following morning, Richard III arrested Edward's retinue including the boys' uncle, Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers, and their half-brother, Sir Richard Grey. 

They were sent to Pontefract Castle in Yorkshire where, on 25 June, they were beheaded. Richard III then took possession of the prince himself, prompting Elizabeth Woodville, the Princes' mother, to take her other son, Richard Duke of York, and her daughters into sanctuary at Westminster Abbey.

Edward V and Richard III arrived in London together. Plans continued for Edward's coronation, but the date was postponed from 4 May to 25 June. On 19 May 1483, Edward was lodged in the Tower of London, then the traditional residence of monarchs prior to coronation. On 16 June, he was joined by his younger brother Richard, Duke of York, who was previously in sanctuary. At this point the date of Edward's coronation was indefinitely postponed by their uncle, Richard III.

On Sunday 22 June, a sermon was preached by Dr. Ralph Shaa, brother of the Lord Mayor of London, at Saint Paul's Cross claiming Richard III to be the only legitimate heir of the House of York. 

On 25 June, a group of lords, knights and gentlemen petitioned Richard to take the throne. Both princes were subsequently declared illegitimate by Parliament. The act stated that Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville's marriage was invalid because of Edward's pre-contract of marriage with Lady Eleanor Butler. Richard III was crowned King Richard III of England on 3 July.

After Richard III seized the throne, Edward and his younger brother Richard were taken into the inner apartments of the Tower and then were seen less and less until they disappeared altogether.

Mancini records that during this period Edward was regularly visited by a doctor, who reported that Edward, "like a victim prepared for sacrifice, sought remission of his sins by daily confession and penance, because he believed that death was facing him." 

There are reports of the two princes being seen playing in the tower grounds shortly after Richard joined his brother, but there are no recorded sightings of either of them after the summer of 1483. An attempt to rescue them in late July failed. Their fate remains an enduring mystery.

The rebellion against Richard III in 1483 initially aimed to rescue Edward V and his brother from the Tower before it was too late,but the Duke of Buckingham almost certainly knew that the princes in the Tower were dead.

Many historians believe the princes were murdered; some have suggested that the act may have happened towards the end of summer 1483.

In 1485, Richard III was killed at the battle of Bosworth by an army led by Henry Tudor (who became Henry VII, the first Tudor king). Three decades later, Sir Thomas More, in his History of King Richard III, claimed that Richard had orchestrated the assassination of the two princes to protect his title to the throne.

Thomas More purported that Sir James Tyrell, a trusted ally of Richard III, had confessed to organising the murder of the boys on the king’s orders. It was suggested that the heinous crime had been carried out in the Tower of London by two of Richard III’s men, Miles Forrest and John Dighton.

But was Richard III responsible? At the time of the boys’ disappearance, Richard was already well-established as king, and indeed many other individuals had reasons for wanting the boys out of the picture.

Other than their disappearance, there is no direct evidence that the princes were murdered, and "no reliable, well-informed, independent or impartial sources" for the associated events. Nevertheless, following their disappearance, rumours quickly spread that they had been murdered.

In 1674, some workmen remodelling the Tower of London dug up a wooden box containing two small human skeletons. The bones were found buried 10 feet (3.0 m) under the staircase leading to the chapel of the White Tower.

Four years after their discovery, the bones were placed in an urn and, on the orders of King Charles II, interred in Westminster Abbey, in the wall of the Henry VII Lady Chapel. A monument designed by Christopher Wren marks the resting place of the putative princes.

In the words of historian Leanda de Lisle: “None of these theories, however, has provided a satisfactory answer to the riddle at the heart of this mystery: the fact the boys simply vanished.”

In the words of historian Leanda de Lisle: “None of these theories, however, has provided a satisfactory answer to the riddle at the heart of this mystery: the fact the boys simply vanished.”