Years after the disappearance, James Tyrrell confessed to killing the boys on Richard’s orders. Although he succeeded in taking the crown for himself, he may have decided to murder the brothers to prevent them or their supporters from taking it back. Richard, Duke of Gloucester was Edward V’s uncle and protector, but worked to have the Princes declared illegitimate. Learn More: Edward V & Richard Duke of York at Westminster Abbey “Cold Case Chronicles: The Unsolved Mystery of the Princes in the Tower,” Forensic Magazine Historical sources do not provide an answer and modern historians have made the case for several possible outcomes. However, it is possible that one or both of the Princes survived, possibly by escaping to the European continent. Richard III has been considered the prime suspect, but others also had motive to eliminate the Princes. Although they remain interred at Westminster Abbey as Edward V, King of England and Richard, Duke of York, the bodies have never been definitively identified.įor centuries, people have believed that the boys were murdered in the Tower. No modern scientific analysis, such as DNA testing, has ever been performed on the remains. An examination of the bones in 1933 concluded that they belonged to two young boys. It was believed at the time that the bodies of the Princes had been found and they were given a proper burial. In 1647, during renovations at the Tower, human remains were found under a staircase. Contemporary sources suggested they had died, but their ultimate fate was unknown. Richard was crowned King Richard III.Įdward V and Richard, Duke of York were reportedly seen in and outside of the Tower of London in the Spring and Summer of 1483, but by the end of the year, they had disappeared completely. Parliament agreed with his claims and declared Edward V illegitimate. He claimed their parents’ marriage had been invalid and that they could not inherit the throne. Although it at first appeared he was preparing Edward V to become king, he moved to have the young princes removed from the line of succession. While the boys were in the Tower, their uncle Richard acted as ruler of England and began consolidating power. His younger brother, Richard, Duke of York, joined him there. Richard escorted Edward V to London and moved him to royal apartments in the Tower of London to await his coronation. Each wanted more influence over the young king and his mother’s family did not want Richard gaining control of the kingdom. In the months leading to the coronation, tensions arose between the two sides of Edward V’s family. Edward IV’s brother, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, was to serve as the boy’s Protector to ensure he successfully took the throne. King Edward IV died in 1483 leaving his 12-year-old son, Edward V, to become king.
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