In the late summer of 1483, two princes, aged twelve and nine, vanished from the Tower of London where they had been imprisoned by their uncle, Richard III. Murder was suspected, but without bodies no one could be certain even that they were dead. Their fate remains one of history’s enduring mysteries, but the solution lies hidden in plain sight in stories we have chosen to forget, of English anti-Semitism, the cult of saints, and in two small, broken and incomplete skeletons.
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Today is the anniversary of the discovery of the remains of Anne Mowbray in 1964. Anne was the bride of Richard, Duke of York, the younger of the Princes in the Tower, and her story is fascinating.
Find out more about her in this video…
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On this day in Tudor history, 2nd February 1508, in the reign of King Henry VII, physician and Provost of King’s College, Cambridge, John Argentine died at King’s College.
He was about sixty-five years of age at his death. He was laid to rest in the Chantry Chapel at the college.
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On this day in history, 2nd November 1470, the Feast of All Souls, King Edward V, son of King Edward IV and Queen Elizabeth Woodville, was born at Westminster Abbey, London.
Edward was King of England for just two months before he disappeared in 1483 with his brother, Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York-
He may have lived prior to the Tudor period, but the events of Edward V’s short life and reign are linked to the Tudors because Henry Tudor returned from exile to challenge King Richard III, who had, of course, taken the throne from Edward V.
Find out more about Edward V’s life and how he came to be one of the famous Princes in the Tower…
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On this day in Tudor history, 6th May 1502, in the reign of King Henry VII, Sir James Tyrell, former royal councillor, was executed for treason due to his links to a known traitor.
But it’s not for his time as a trusted councillor, or for his links to a claimant to the throne that he is known, but for his alleged involvement in the murders of the Princes in the Tower.
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On this day in history, 2nd November 1470, the feast of All Souls, King Edward V was born at Westminster Abbey, London. Young Edward was King of England for just 2 months in 1483 before he disappeared.
The events of his short life, his short reign and how it ended, are linked to the Tudors because Henry Tudor returned from exile to challenge King Richard III, who had, of course, taken the throne from Edward V.
Find out about Edward V’s life and how he came to be one of the famous Princes in the Tower, in today’s talk. I even share who I think was responsible for the deaths of the Princes in the Tower.
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On this day in Tudor history, 8th June 1492, in the reign of King Henry VII, Elizabeth Woodville, died at Bermondsey Abbey.
Elizabeth Woodville was the wife of King Edward IV and mother of Elizabeth of York and the Princes in the Tower, King Edward V and Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, but there’s far more to her than that.
Enjoy this overview of Elizabeth Woodville’s life.
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On this day in Tudor history, 6th May 1502, in the reign of King Henry VII, Sir James Tyrell, former royal councillor, was executed for treason due to his links to a known traitor.
But it’s not for his time as a trusted councillor, or for his links to a claimant to the throne that he is known, but for his alleged involvement in the murders of the Princes in the Tower.
Find out more in today’s talk.
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Here’s the transcript of the wonderful live chat session that we had with author Matthew Lewis about his talk on 1483, an interesting year as England had three different kings.
All full members are welcome to join us at these events, and you can either just watch or join in as you wish.
[Read More...]OK, so this trivia is not exactly “Tudor” as it concerns Anne Mowbray, bride of Richard, Duke of York, the younger of the Princes in the Tower, but Teasel found Anne’s story fascinating and so wanted to share.
It’s a timely talk as today is the anniversary of the discovery of Anne Mowbray’s remains in 1964 and yesterday was the anniversary of her birth. We do hope you find our little talk on this young duchess and princess interesting.
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As it’s been the anniversary of the birth of King Edward V, one of the Princes in the Tower, this week, I thought we’d mark the occasion with a quiz on the Princes in the Tower.
So, grab your favourite snack and beverage, make yourself comfortable, and let’s begin! Good luck!
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A big thank you to Matthew Lewis for being so generous with his time and knowledge, and to all those who attended the live chat and asked such great questions. The chat was fun and informative.
Here is the transcript of the chat for those who missed it…
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As usual, we have two live chats in the Tudor Society chatroom this month: an expert chat with Matthew Lewis, author of The Survival of the Princes in the Tower and several other history books, and an informal chat about Thomas Cromwell. Each chat will be an hour long and will take place in the Tudor Society chatroom at www.tudorsociety.com/chatroom/.
Our informal chat will take place on Friday 20th July. The topic up for debate is Henry VIII’s right-hand man, Thomas Cromwell. I thought it was apt to discuss this man in the month of the anniversary of his execution. Love him or hate him, he’s a fascinating man and I’m sure we’ll have lots to talk about!
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This month we have a real treat – an expert talk by Matthew Lewis on the Princes in the Tower. We all have theories as to “who done it”, but maybe there is another explanation for their disappearance? In this 52 minute talk exclusively for the Tudor Society, Matthew Lewis looks into all the possible theories surrounding this fascinating moment in history…
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Thanks to all who attended our live chat on the Princes in the Tower last night and a big thank you to Olga Hughes for running it. It was great fun and I think we could have gone on for hours!
Here is the transcript of the chat, for those who weren’t able to make it:
[Read More...]As we are having a live-chat session later today on the Princes in the Tower, I thought I’d share with you this 2015 Channel 4 documentary looking at the fates of the Princes in the Tower, Edward V and his brother Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York.
We do not know what happened to these boys, the sons of King Edward IV who disappeared following the accession of their uncle, Richard III, but there are various theories. We can have fun debating them later!
[Read More...]As today is the anniversary of the birth of Edward V, son of Edward IV and one of the Princes in the Tower, it seems fitting to announce that we’re holding one of our informal live chats on the Tudor Society chatroom on 11th November 2016 and it will be on the Princes in the Tower. It will be open to all full-access Tudor Society members.
Olga Hughes, Tudor Life magazine regular contributor, and I will be moderating the chat and it will be 60 minutes of chatting about these boys and the theories regarding their fates. It’s your chance to have your say, pose questions or just lurk and ‘listen’ to others if you’d prefer. It will be fun and enlightening, I promise!
[Read More...]Philippa Langley, who, of course, spear-headed the Looking for Richard project, has announced that she is going to investigate the disappearance of the Princes in the Tower by teaming up with cold case experts.
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