Who Murdered the Princes in the Tower?
Or did anyone?
The tragic tale of the Princes in the Tower remains as much a mystery today as it was back in the late 15th century.
Richard and Edward Plantagenet, the two sons of King Edward IV, were taken into the Tower of London on the order of their uncle, Richard III, in the summer of 1483 and were never seen again.
But why were the princes killed? And who was behind their disappearance?
An unlucky succession
It’s 1483, and the people of England think that the Wars of the Roses are finally over.
Though with hindsight, we know this is something less than the truth. By 1483, the population of England was largely at peace since 1471, when Edward IV defeated his Lancastrian rivals at the battles of Barnet and Tewkesbury.
Edward, at the time was still a young man aged only 30, in fine health and widely regarded as an excellent soldier, so the people of England may have been looking forward to lasting peace finally.
It was not to be.
In the last 12 years of his rule, Edward gave himself up to a life of pleasure and heavy drinking, becoming obese and unhealthy, his condition leading to his death in 1483.
