History is a capacious and complicated science, fraught with many mysterious and incomprehensible incidents that cannot be fully understood and understood.
How many mysterious and foggy centuries-old palaces and castles, tunnels and monasteries keep in themselves. How many more unknown and unknown unknown silent walls, underground passages and lost documents protect ...
One of such little-studied and not fully understood episodes in world history is the imprisonment of young heirs to the throne in prison. History calls this event short and monosyllables: “Princes in the Tower”.
This incident is a black spot throughout the UK, it is striking in its heartlessness and incomprehensibility.
Let’s take your imagination six centuries ago and find out what happened and why.
Famous prison
To begin with, the most famous Tower of London - a fortress located on the north bank of the River Thames - almost from the very beginning of its foundation, was a state prison for people of noble birth and high rank.
Prisoners were kept in those premises that were not occupied. They were guarded carefully and thoroughly. Prisoners were often brought along the river and entered through the frightening “Traitors Gate”.
But who are the princes in the Tower, and why were they taken into custody?
The beginning of the story
The Princes at the Tower are two teenage boys, the uncrowned juvenile king Edward V and his younger brother Richard. How did it happen that they were imprisoned?
The father of the crowned children, Edward IV, died in April 1483.
It was a difficult and difficult time of ruthless palace intrigues and a fierce struggle for power.
The king himself received the throne as a result of the war of the Scarlet and White Roses. He had a brother and heir to the throne - Duke Richard Gloucester. However, King Edward IV married and acquired many descendants. He soon passed away, suddenly and suddenly.
Eldest son
At that time, the eldest son of the deceased king was in Ludlow Castle, where he studied under the tutelage of his uncle Anthony Woodville, his mother’s brother.
I wonder how the day of the little heir passed. He must have been present at the morning and mass, then he studied all day and only in the evening could devote time to active outdoor games. Such an education favorably affected the character of the child - he was smart, attentive, reflecting and well-read.
When Edward IV died, his eldest son was barely twelve. Under the protection of his uncle and mentor, the boy hurried to London to take the throne of his father. On the way to the capital, he met with his younger brother.
Second heir
Richard of York, who at that time was about ten years old, also lived away from his father. He lived in Shrewsbury, in his own castle, owned by his young but dead wife.
After the news of the death of his father, Richard of York went to London, as he was the first heir to the throne after his older brother.
What awaited the children in the capital?
Father's brother
By order of the deceased king, Edward V began to rule England under the tutelage of his uncle, King's brother Richard Gloucester.
The boys' mother, the Dowager Queen Elizabeth Woodville, was also in London and tried to exert political pressure on her son. Behind the queen stood her numerous relatives who wanted to cash in on the English throne. This state of affairs went against the wishes of the tread of the king, the Duke of Gloucester.
He did not want to share his power with people unpleasant to him, so he decided to act in his own way.
Intrigue and Arrest
Meeting with his nephews, Richard Gloucester swore an oath to the young king and ordered his profile to be minted on all new coins. At the same time, he ordered the influential relatives of the young monarch on the maternal side to be detained, and Edward himself was transferred to the Tower, supposedly under his protection.
As some sources say, the little king tried to protect his relatives and himself, but no one dared to come to his aid.
The Royal Council, along with Queen Elizabeth, insisted that the coronation of Edward should occur as soon as possible. However, the prudent and influential Duke of Gloucester blithely wasted time.
Elizabeth Woodville, realizing that procrastination could prove fatal for her, took the rest of her offspring (she gave birth to seven children from King Edward IV) and chose Westminster Abbey as a refuge.
Unfortunately, at that time the regent did not yet show all his cruelty and brutality. He managed to persuade the Dowager Queen to send off his second son, Richard of York, supposedly so that he would keep company with his older brother, who was waiting for his coronation in the fortress.
So the heirs of the throne were imprisoned and went down in history under the famous and mournful designation: “princes in the Tower”.
Sad incidents
Two months later, Richard Gloucester, who wished to become king and realizing that no one interferes with this, ordered the executed relatives of the young king to be executed, and Edward and his brother were declared illegitimate. What substantiated the heartless ambitious accusations?
He had evidence that the deceased king Edward IV (famous for his love affairs) was engaged to Eleanor Butler, so his marriage to Elizabeth was considered invalid, and the children born in this union were considered illegal.
In addition, Gloucester accused his crowned daughter-in-law of conspiring against his life and of witchcraft. And although these accusations did not entail serious consequences and did not threaten the life of the Dowager Queen, they prevented the woman from taking up the serious and fierce protection of her children.
As a result, Lord Protector Richard Gloucester became King Richard III, and the innocent princes in the Tower - Edward V and Richard of York - remained in custody.
Further events
After some time, Elizabeth tried to plot to free her children and enthrone them, but one of her closest allies told her that they were dead.
A year later, the queen was deprived of her land holdings, but Richard III publicly promised her and her daughters life and freedom.
Elizabeth settled in the courtyard, where power soon changed: her brother-in-law was killed in battle, and Henry Tudor ascended the English throne.
Elizabeth never found out about the true fate of her sons.
The fate of the princes
What happened to the little prisoners? Most likely, they died in 1483, a few months after their arrest. Although, according to some reports, money was allocated for their detention for several more years.
The versions about the murder of the heirs of the English throne still occupy the minds of historians and all who care. The main culprit in the death of the brothers is, of course, Richard III. English lawyer and writer Thomas More wrote that the princes in the Tower were strangled by James Tyrrell by order of their uncle.
However, there is another attempt to explain the disappearance of the crowned boys. For example, it is believed that they were killed on the orders of Heinrich Tudor, who was afraid to leave the direct heirs of the English throne alive. In order to strengthen his royal position, he even married with the sister of the missing princes - Elizabeth.
There was another version of the murder, in which Edward V suffered death from illness or poor treatment. But, according to this legend, the question remains of what happened to Richard of York.
Centuries later
About two centuries after the brothers disappeared, skeletons of two teenagers were found in one of the tower towers. The remains were found under the stairs and were reburied by order of the current king Charles II under the names of Edward and Richard.
In the mid-1930s, a study of the remains of princes was conducted, which showed that they lacked some elements and there was an admixture of animal cells.
Today it is impossible to conduct a full study of these remains, since the current Queen of Great Britain refuses to exhume and conduct research. Therefore, the belonging of the skeletons found in the Tower to the children of Elizabeth Woodville and King Edward has not been proven. In the same way as their further fate was not fully clarified.
According to official figures, at the end of the 15th century a man appeared who called himself Prince Richard of York. He managed to convince some of the European monarchs and organize an uprising, but he was soon executed along with his supporter. The origin of this man is still unknown, but his external resemblance to the children of Edward V suggests that he is one of the illegitimate sons of the king himself or his closest relatives.
The mystery of the princes of the Tower remains a mystery. Most likely, we will never know the truth about their death and burial.
However, there is hope that documents can still be stored somewhere that can reveal to us the secret of their sad fate. Wait and see.