Praise and admiration abound for Philippa Langley’s new discoveries and the book that tells all about the work she and her colleagues have been doing to trace what really happened to the boys in the Tower, the sons of Edward IV.
Well, they were princes until 1483, then they were illegitimate boys, and then after 1485 they became princes again because Henry Tudor needed to marry their big sister, Elizabeth of York. I’ll bet it cut him to the very quick to have to do it, because he immediately gave the boys a better claim to the throne than his own! But he couldn’t marry an illegitimate commoner.
But Richard III said and did nothing. Why? He was no fool, and if he had committed the dreadful crime of child murder—his own nephews, no less—then he’d have made sure their demise was a conclusion from which there was no real escape. But ne’er a word passed his lips….or his government’s. Zilch. To me, the obvious conclusion is that the boys were still alive, and safe somewhere that secured them from possible risings in their support.* Richard had spirited them away, and when he died through the treachery of one of his own supporters at Bosworth, he left behind one of the greatest mysteries in our history.
But for Henry VII, the odious, undeserving victor of Bosworth, the boys were to come back in the years to come to haunt and plague him.
The above are the facts at the centre of Philippa Langley’s diligent and devoted research. Against all the odds—and much ridicule—she’d found Richard’s remains in Leicester in 2012, proving so much about him that we didn’t know until that moment. Not least that he had scoliosis and wasn’t the “hunchback” of Tudor propaganda. In life his curved back would have been concealed by the clever tailoring of his clothes, and so he certainly wasn’t known through his terrified realm as Richard “Crookback”. That’s what the victorious Tudors wanted to be believed.
The undeniable proof provided by Dominic Smee, whose back has exactly the same curvature as Richard’s, showed that Richard would have been quite normal, and that his ability to wear armour and fight in battle was in no way limited by the condition. Certainly not at the age of only 32, which Richard was when he was murdered in battle. For murder it was, not an acceptable death because of the fighting. Tudor certainly didn’t win through valour and brilliance, he won through the action of a turncoat, Sir William Stanley, who changed sides at a pivotal moment in the battle. Stanley’s ultimate reward in the following years was to be executed by that same miserable Lancastrian usurper for whom he’d betrayed Richard III.
Philippa’s Missing Princes Project was very busy as she pursued the two boys through the centuries. Pursued…and found vital evidence! She has been praised justifiably and is rightfully lauded by all the thousands of Ricardians who have always believed their king was innocent of the horrid deeds the perfidious Tudors wanted us to believe.
The discovery of Richard’s remains in 2012 resulted in a huge amount of interest and publicity, and a very successful film about Philippa’s quest. It was called The Lost King.
Now she is at the centre of another great storm of publicity, which had produced a book and a TV documentary in which she describes the new trail she and her colleagues have followed around Europe. Reviews, almost all of them filled with praise, are found throughout the media, and if you go to this article—this article—you’ll find another. Well done, Philippa & Co!
*Regarding the production of dead bodies always preventing future risings. It isn’t always the case. The “death” of Edward II at Berkeley Castle and his burial at Gloucester Cathedral is under question. Was he still alive when his son Edward III ascended the throne? Did Edward III know it? Who is actually in the lavish tomb in Gloucester? There are clues that suggest Edward III did know, and that Edward II took another name and died many years later.
Another case arose when Henry IV murdered his captive cousin, Richard II, and made a great show of bringing the body south to London. You’d think that would be the end of it. But no, soon there were rumours that Richard was still alive and had been seen here, there and everywhere. The mystery of the false Richards is very intriguing.
Ian Mortimer’s excellent book Medieval Intrigue covers both of the above mysteries, and I thoroughly recommend it to anyone who is interested. It’s an excellent read.
PS: I sincerely hope that we can look forward to a third great success from Philippa. This time concerning the village of Coldridge in Devon, where rumour hath it that the elder of the Princes in the Tower, known as Edward V, lived out his days under the name of John Evans. There is a very intriguing stained-glass window in the parish church…. My fingers are crossed that more great revelations are in the pipeline.
The window has now been confirmed as 15th century and is set to be renovated in April, so I hold my breath in excited anticipation of much more to come from this. To read all about Coldridge please go to this article—https://sparkypus.com/2023/07/20/the-links-that-bind-reappraisals-richard-iii-edward-v-the-heralds-memoir-coldridge-john-evans-sir-henry-bodrugan-thomas-grey-and-gleaston-castle/—and here https://sparkypus.com/2020/12/26/a-portrait-of-edward-v-and-perhaps-even-a-resting-place-st-matthews-church-coldridge/. And finally here https://sparkypus.com/?fbclid=IwAR3vqYd7u0zPnjyeC-L5YHIrN6ZN04MKM5SMXFIMBkGLXGu6_cjq4XIDeeI. I have given the original links to these articles by my good friend sparkypus, but all are also available on Murrey & Blue.
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