The Princes in the Tower

How History's Greatest Cold Case Was Solved

Philippa Langley

• Publisher: Pegasus Books
• Year: 2023
• Edition: 0
• eBook ISBN:
  9781639366286
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: British History
• Index: History

In 1483, Edward V (age twelve) and his brother Richard, Duke of York (age nine), disappeared from the Tower of London. History has judged they were murdered on the orders of Richard III. This new book reveals the truth behind the greatest unsolved mystery in English history.

Philippa Langley took the world by storm when, against all the odds and after a seven-year investigation, she discovered the grave of King Richard III (1452-1485) in a Leicester car park. A king finally laid to rest, the rediscovery and reburial of Richard III was watched by a global audience of over 366 million.

Now, in The Princes in the Tower, Langley reveals the findings of a remarkable new research initiative: "The Missing Princes Project." In the summer of 1483, Edward V (age 12) and his brother Richard Duke of York (age 9), disappeared from the Tower of London. For over five hundred years, history has judged that they were murdered on the orders of their uncle, Richard III.

Following years of intensive research in British, American, and European archives, Philippa has uncovered astonishing new archival discoveries that radically change what we know about the fate of the princes in the Tower. Established by Langley in 2016, "The Missing Princes Project" employs the methods of a cold-case police inquiry. Using investigative methodology, it aims to place this most enduring of mysteries under a forensic microscope for the very first time.

In The Princes in the Tower, Langley narrates the painstaking investigative work and research of the project. By questioning received wisdom, she and her international team of researchers shed light upon one of history's greatest miscarriages of justice, in turn revealing a surprising and phenomenal untold story.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Maps
• Epigraph
• Foreword
• Preface
• Family Trees
• Introduction: The Inspiration
• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4
• Part 5
• Photographs
• Appendix 1: King Richard’s Oath and Promise: Westminster, 1 March 1484 (Modernised)
• Appendix 2: Edward V: Proof of Life, 16 December 1487
• Appendix 3: An Ideal Place to Hide a Prince by John Dike, Lead Researcher, Coldridge Line of Investigation
• Appendix 4: The Dendermonde Letters, 25 August 1493
• Appendix 5: Richard, Duke of York: Proof of Life, c. 1493
• Appendix 6: Richard of England: Dresden MS, Signature and Royal Seal, 4 October 1493
• Appendix 7: Trois Enseignes Naturelz, 27 November–12 December 1493 by Zoë Maula, Dutch Research Group
• Appendix 8: Maximilian I: Legal Supplication to Pope Alexander VI on Behalf of Richard, Duke of York, 22 September 1495 (Modernised)
• Appendix 9: Richard IV’s Proclamation, September 1496 (Modernised)
• Appendix 10: Maat, and Black & Hackman Reports: ‘Bones in the Urn’, 14 June 2018, 11 November 2021
• Timelines
• Abbreviations
• Acknowledgements
• About the Author
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Contributors
• Index
• Copyright