Books
Phase
Princes in the Tower
1483 CE
After Edward IV died in April 1483, his twelve-year-old son Edward V was lodged in the Tower of London while preparations were made for his coronation. His younger brother Richard joined him there. Their uncle Richard, Duke of Gloucester, became protector and then king after the boys were declared illegitimate.
The brothers disappeared from public view during the summer of 1483. No conclusive evidence establishes when they died, how they died or who was responsible. Richard III, Henry VII and other political actors have all been implicated in later accounts and historical argument.
The White Queen and The White Princess use the uncertainty around the missing princes as a dynastic and family crisis. Fiction can explore competing possibilities, but the absence of decisive evidence should remain clear.
Related people for Princes in the Tower
Anne Boleyn1501–1536 Anne Neville1456–1485 Catherine Howard1523–1542 Edward IV1442–1483 Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales1453–1471 Edward V1470–1483 Elizabeth I1533–1603 Elizabeth of York1466–1503 Elizabeth Woodville1437–1492 Frances Grey, Duchess of Suffolk1517–1559 George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence1449–1478 Henry VI1421–1471 Henry VII1457–1509 Humphrey of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Gloucester1390–1447 Margaret Beaufort1443–1509 Margaret of Anjou1430–1482 Mary I1516–1558 Perkin Warbeck1474–1499 Richard III1452–1485 Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick1428–1471 Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York1473–disappeared 1483
Non-Fiction
6 Best Non-Fiction Books About the Princes in the Tower
Histories, biographies and reference works are listed separately from the historical novels above.
