PRINCES IN THE TOWER


The princes in the Tower: 1483

In 1483 the Tower of London is a royal residence as well as a prison, so it is not in itself surprising that Richard duke of Gloucester, regent for Edward V, lodges the young king there. He soon persuades the boys' mother to allow her younger son, prince Richard, to join the king in the Tower.

Within ten days of the younger prince arriving in the Tower, the duke of Gloucester has himself proclaimed king as Richard III. For the next week or two the princes are occasionally seen playing in the Tower garden. Sometimes after that they are glimpsed indoors, behind bars. Then they seem to vanish.

×

Nothing is known of what happens to them. No announcement is made. It is generally assumed that they are murdered on the order of Richard III, probably in August 1483.

In 1674 a wooden chest is discovered beneath a staircase in the Tower. It contains the bones of two children. They are placed in an urn in Westminster Abbey. Scientific analysis, carried out in 1933, reveals that the bones are of children of the same age as the two princes in 1483.

×










PRINCES IN THE TOWER

     
The princes in the Tower: 1483

In 1483 the Tower of London is a royal residence as well as a prison, so it is not in itself surprising that Richard duke of Gloucester, regent for Edward V, lodges the young king there. He soon persuades the boys' mother to allow her younger son, prince Richard, to join the king in the Tower.

Within ten days of the younger prince arriving in the Tower, the duke of Gloucester has himself proclaimed king as Richard III. For the next week or two the princes are occasionally seen playing in the Tower garden. Sometimes after that they are glimpsed indoors, behind bars. Then they seem to vanish.

×

Nothing is known of what happens to them. No announcement is made. It is generally assumed that they are murdered on the order of Richard III, probably in August 1483.

In 1674 a wooden chest is discovered beneath a staircase in the Tower. It contains the bones of two children. They are placed in an urn in Westminster Abbey. Scientific analysis, carried out in 1933, reveals that the bones are of children of the same age as the two princes in 1483.

×

> PRINCES IN THE TOWER




The princes in the Tower: 1483

In 1483 the Tower of London is a royal residence as well as a prison, so it is not in itself surprising that Richard duke of Gloucester, regent for Edward V, lodges the young king there. He soon persuades the boys' mother to allow her younger son, prince Richard, to join the king in the Tower.

Within ten days of the younger prince arriving in the Tower, the duke of Gloucester has himself proclaimed king as Richard III. For the next week or two the princes are occasionally seen playing in the Tower garden. Sometimes after that they are glimpsed indoors, behind bars. Then they seem to vanish.

Nothing is known of what happens to them. No announcement is made. It is generally assumed that they are murdered on the order of Richard III, probably in August 1483.

In 1674 a wooden chest is discovered beneath a staircase in the Tower. It contains the bones of two children. They are placed in an urn in Westminster Abbey. Scientific analysis, carried out in 1933, reveals that the bones are of children of the same age as the two princes in 1483.






List of subjects |  Sources