The Princes in the Tower

The Princes in the Tower: solving history's greatest cold case is written by Philippa Langley, a member of the Richard III Society. The book has been written to investigate one of the stories that many people believe about Richard III, King of England from 1483-1485 - that he had two of his nephews murdered in the Tower of London. This story came to prominence many years after the death of Richard III, largely promoted by supporters of the Tudor rulers in order to establish their right to the throne.

The story gained in popularity after William Shakespeare wrote his play Richard III, promoting the idea that Richard was an evil hunchback who had his nephews murdered.

As historians in the twentieth century examined documents relating to the reign of Richard III written during his reign and immediately after new theories have been made about the disappearance of the two princes.

Philippa Langley has handled this investigation using techniques and questions used to investigate more recent cold cases. The recent discovery of documents in France and Holland that suggest that the princes spent time overseas after being smuggled from the Tower of London form part of the investigation of The Missing Princes Project.

The author provides a systematic study of the evidence so far. There are detailed notes, appendices, bibliography, maps, time lines plus photos. The study for the story of the missing princes continues, especially if the boys were removed from the tower and hidden for their safety, possibly overseas or in the north of England. The mystery continues.

A novel based on the mystery of the princes in the tower is A Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey.

Some online articles:

Were the Princes in the Tower killed - Richard III Society

Skeletons in Westminster: Is it time to solve the mystery of the Princes in the Tower - Retrospect Journal 

Research reveals identity of the Princes in the Tower -  University of Essex

The Princes in the Tower - Historic Royal Palaces

1674- the remains of the Princes in the Tower - Meandering through time

The Children of the King

London in 1940 and there is fear in the country that invasion by the German army is imminent. France is already under German control. Will England be next? Thousands of children are being sent from London to the countryside, and in some cases overseas, where it is hoped that they will be safe if the Germans start bombing England. Cecily Lockwood, aged 12 and her 14 year old brother, Jeremy, leave London with their mother to stay with their uncle at Heron Hall. The train taking the family to the north of England also carries many other children, evacuees from London. One of these evacuees, ten year old May Bright, is chosen to stay with the family.

While exploring the area, May and Cecily discover two boys dressed in strange clothes among the ruins of nearby Snow Castle. Later Cecily's Uncle Peregrine begins to provide installments of a legend from the area involving the life of Richard III and the political unrest and battles occuring in England at the time. Peregrine asks them to remember that the story, as well as the current events occuring during the war, is about Power.

Themes throughout the book include the effects of war on families and individuals, the class differences in England and that events from the past, especially the quest for power, keep occuring throughout the ages. The story about the Lockwood family is interspersed with chapters about events that may have happened 460 years earlier. Peregrine is careful to point out to the children that the full facts of what happened at that time are not known.

The Children of the King by Sonya Hartnett is the set book for English in my grand-daughter's year 8 class in 2023. The book contains many opportunities for discussion, particularly as the quest for political power over other countries continues today . 

The book was first published in 2012, the year that Richard III's body was discovered buried in a carpark. Therefore one of many of the legends about Richard III, that his remains were thrown in a river, has now been disproved. 

Digging for Richard III

Published in 2014, Digging for Richard III: how archaeology found the King, by archaeologist, Mike Pitts, is another contribution to the story of the discovery of the body of King Richard III under a car-park in Leicester.

The book begins with a summary of the events leading up to and occurring during the Wars of the Roses. The next section explores how Leicester remembered Richard III before the discovery of his body, Philippa Langley's campaign to gain support for her quest, the search for funding, initial exploration of the site and the involvement of the University of Leicester. Part three examines the excavation as the friary, church and skeleton are uncovered. Details of the autopsy on the body are described as well as the confirmation that the bones discovered were those of the king. The final chapter includes the discovery of the site of the Battle of Bosworth.

Being written by an archaeologist this book provides a different interpretation of the events during and after the excavation plus the relevance of the discovery to the understanding of the history of the period. Readers interested in the discovery of Richard III's body would find this an interesting book to further their knowledge.

The King's Grave: the search for Richard III

Another book about the recent discovery of the body of King Richard III beneath a Leicester car-park. This one is written by Philippa Langley, screenwriter and member of the Richard III Society, and historian, Michael Jones. In alternating chapters the story of the discovery of the body and subsequent identification is interwoven with an account of the life and times of Richard III, including later depictions of his character by the Tudors and other non-admirers. Photographs and maps add to the story. The book provides a readable account of events that occurred in the fifteenth century. The recent discovery of the King's grave has provided additional information about the events and the man himself.

This book also published as The Lost King: the search for Richard III.

The last days of Richard III and the fate of his DNA

This is the second edition of the book written by John Ashdown-Hill, originally published by History Press in 2010. After the publication of the first edition of the book, excavation of a carpark in Leicester resulted in the discovery and identification of the body of Richard III. This edition was published in 2013 as was the e-book which is the copy I read.

The first section of the book outlines the known details about the last five months of the life of Richard III covering the period from Friday 25 March 1485 until Monday 22 August 1485 when Richard died. Obviously there are gaps in the material available but the author contends that an examination of the known facts dispels many of the myths that surround later accounts of the personality and supposed deeds of the king. The stories about the treatment of Richard's body after his death plus the burial of Richard's body in Leicester are also examined.

The second part of the book deals with the DNA search to prove that the bones found belonged to Richard III. Males do not pass on the mitochondrial DNA but as a mother passes the same mitochondrial DNA to all her children the challenge was to follow a direct female line from the females in the family of Richard III to the present day so that the two sets of DNA could be tested. The author describes how a direct female line was discovered from Catherine (Katherine) de Roet, Duchess of Lancaster (1348-1403), via her daughter, Joan Beaufort, then her grand-daughter, Cecily Neville, the mother of Richard III, to Anne of York (Richards's sister) until finally, sixteen generations later, to Joy Ibsen (1926-2008).

During the writing of the book the author provides many details and explanations which at times do not make easy reading but generally this is an interesting study of an era in British history as well as an account of how new scientific approaches can help verify historical data.

The University of Leicester website - The search for Richard III - contains further information about the discovery of the body of Richard III.

The daughter of time

The recent identification of bones under a carpark in Leicester as being those of Richard III resulted in renewed interest in the king who was the last of the Plantagenets - [Guardian article] For centuries many history books have described Richard as the evil hunchback who stole the role of king from his nephew when Edward IV died, then imprisoned his two nephews in the Tower of London and arranged to have them murdered. Shakespeare's play, Richard III,  has perpetuated that notion.

In the novel, The daughter of time, written by Josephine Tey in 1951, a policeman, Alan Grant, is in hospital recovering from breaking a leg. To fill in the time a friend brings him a collection of portraits of people about whom a mystery is attached. Among them is a portrait of Richard III which inspires Grant to evaluate the story surrounding the king by investigating the actual known facts, rather than stories written long after Richard's death. 

The title of the book refers to a quotation from Francis Bacon (1561-1626) - 'For, truth is rightly named the daughter of time, not of authority.' In the novel Grant reads all the books that he can easily locate about the life of Richard including those credited with providing authoritative accounts. He soon discovers that the 'original' sources were written many years after the events described and by Tudor supporters. It is therefore necessary to seek information from documents produced during the reign of Richard. Aided by Brent Carradine who researches the available documents at the British Museum, Grant is able to debunk many of the myths and piece together the facts relating to this period of British history revealing an entirely different story.

This book should be read by all who are interested in history, including family history, re-enforcing the need to investigate the facts and not to just accept a story at face value.

For those interested in Richard III the Richard III Society provides detailed information.