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In
1933 the skeletons of two young boys, one aged about 10 and the
other 13, were disinterred from Westminster Abbey and examined by L.E. Tannery and W. Wright.
 These
bones had been re-buried in an urn in 1674 and placed in the Henry
VIIIth Chapel in the Abbey. The skeletons aroused much interest and debate
as they were believed by many historians to be the bones of the two
princes who were reputably murdered in the
Tower of London in the
15th century. The
princes were Edward V and his brother Richard Duke of York, the sons
of Edward IV and his Queen, Elizabeth Woodville. Their uncle,
Richard of Gloucester, later Richard
III, came after them in the
succession.
In his 'History', Sir Thomas More was quite sure that these young boys
were murdered by their uncle Richard of Gloucester and Shakespeare
also portrayed Richard III as the evil murderous uncle. Sir
Thomas More states in his writings that the princes were buried
"at the stair-foot, meetly deep" and certainly in 1674 two
skeletons were found buried beneath a stone staircase during
alterations at the Tower. Mr.
Tannery and Professor Wright concluded in 1933 that the princes had
"probably" died in the summer of 1483. Sir
Thomas More states that the princes were smothered with the pillows
on their beds by Sir James Tyrell, John Dighton and Miles Forest.
Tyrell is reported to have confessed to the crime in 1502 when under
sentence of death for treason.
But
who gave the orders to Tyrell and his accomplices?
Richard
III
Henry VII
Richard
III is the name most associated with the mystery of the two little
princes. It is said that he had them killed as their right to
the throne was stronger than his. Shakespeare certainly
decided that he had given the order for the boys to be killed. But
Henry Tudor, who later became Henry VII in 1485 after defeating
Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth, had an even shakier claim to
the throne. His claim was based on the right of conquest! If
the princes were alive in 1485, and they could have been, they would
have been a great embarrassment to Henry, and Henry had as much to
gain as Richard by the death of the young boys. There
is no proof of Henry's guilt any more than there is of Richard's. Immediately
Henry gained the throne he accused Richard of cruelty and tyranny
but strangely did not mention the murder of the little
princes. Henry did not announce that the boys had been
murdered until July 1486, nearly a year after Richards death. Did
Henry have them murdered? The
only conclusion to the mystery of the Princes in the Tower is that
nobody now will be able to prove who killed them, and what happened
all those years ago will remain one of the most intriguing who-done-it's
of all time. Suggested
reading:
The Princes in the Tower (Paperback)
by Alison Weir (Author)
 Richard
III (Paperback)
by Paul Murray Kendall (Author), Gillian Murray Kendall
(Introduction)
"RICHARD Plantagenet, afterward Duke
of Gloucester, and still later King Richard the Third, was born on
October 2, 1452, at Fotheringhay Castle ..."
©
E.P.C |
