History UsefulNotes / RichardIII

Defenders of Richard have pointed out that murdering his nephews would have done him little good without proof of their deaths, as he would have faced imposters claiming to be them much like Henry Tudor later claimed to[[note]] Recent theories indicate those "imposters" may have been the real princes.[[//note]]. It also makes little sense that Richard would not attempt to explain their absence, which he did not. If he had murdered them, he could have also blamed the Duke of Buckingham, who was executed for treason and would have made a convenient scapegoat. Traditionally, Ricardian historians have pointed the finger at Buckingham for the boys' deaths while more mainstream ones have still argued that it was Richard who had motive, means and opportunity. In recent years, however, some historians have been exploring the possibility that Richard sent the boys away and that they were [[https://www.amazon.com/Survival-Princes-Tower-Murder-Mystery/dp/0750989149/?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=KLuTl&content-id=amzn1.sym.dba1a2d0-88dc-4504-a5d7-10259373e587&pf_rd_p=dba1a2d0-88dc-4504-a5d7-10259373e587&pf_rd_r=23GM78YY41BGHP0HACQR&pd_rd_wg=ZU7t2&pd_rd_r=1d20b07a-6b25-4945-be65-899caca94548&ref_=pd_gw_ci_mcx_mr_hp_atf_m alive at the time of Richard's defeat]]. These historians point out that Richard cared well for his nephew by his brother George (another Edward) and that boy also had a superior claim to the throne that was [[RulesLawyer nullified through legal means]].

Defenders of Richard have pointed out that murdering his nephews would have done him little good without proof of their deaths, as he would have faced imposters claiming to be them much like Henry Tudor later claimed to[[Note]] Recent theories indicate those "imposters" may have been the real princes.[[//note]]. It also makes little sense that Richard would not attempt to explain their absence, which he did not. If he had murdered them, he could have also blamed the Duke of Buckingham, who was executed for treason and would have made a convenient scapegoat. Traditionally, Ricardian historians have pointed the finger at Buckingham for the boys' deaths while more mainstream ones have still argued that it was Richard who had motive, means and opportunity. In recent years, however, some historians have been exploring the possibility that Richard sent the boys away and that they were [[https://www.amazon.com/Survival-Princes-Tower-Murder-Mystery/dp/0750989149/?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=KLuTl&content-id=amzn1.sym.dba1a2d0-88dc-4504-a5d7-10259373e587&pf_rd_p=dba1a2d0-88dc-4504-a5d7-10259373e587&pf_rd_r=23GM78YY41BGHP0HACQR&pd_rd_wg=ZU7t2&pd_rd_r=1d20b07a-6b25-4945-be65-899caca94548&ref_=pd_gw_ci_mcx_mr_hp_atf_m alive at the time of Richard's defeat]]. These historians point out that Richard cared well for his nephew by his brother George (another Edward) and that boy also had a superior claim to the throne that was [[RulesLawyer nullified through legal means]].

Defenders of Richard have pointed out that murdering his nephews would have done him little good without proof of their deaths, as he would have faced pretenders claiming to be them much like Henry Tudor later claimed to. It also makes little sense that Richard would not attempt to explain their absence, which he did not. If he had murdered them, he could have also blamed the Duke of Buckingham, who was executed for treason and would have made a convenient scapegoat. Traditionally, Ricardian historians have pointed the finger at Buckingham for the boys' deaths while more mainstream ones have still argued that it was Richard who had motive, means and opportunity. In recent years, however, some historians have been exploring the possibility that Richard sent the boys away and that they were [[https://www.amazon.com/Survival-Princes-Tower-Murder-Mystery/dp/0750989149/?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=KLuTl&content-id=amzn1.sym.dba1a2d0-88dc-4504-a5d7-10259373e587&pf_rd_p=dba1a2d0-88dc-4504-a5d7-10259373e587&pf_rd_r=23GM78YY41BGHP0HACQR&pd_rd_wg=ZU7t2&pd_rd_r=1d20b07a-6b25-4945-be65-899caca94548&ref_=pd_gw_ci_mcx_mr_hp_atf_m alive at the time of Richard's defeat]]. These historians point out that Richard cared well for his nephew by his brother George (another Edward) and that boy also had a superior claim to the throne that was [[RulesLawyer nullified through legal means]].

[[TheFateOfThePrincesInTheTower The fate of the princes]] was never certainly established. The last sighting of the boys alive seems to have been around July 1483, shortly before Richard's coronation. Stories of their death varied wildly: some said they had been poisoned, others drowned, others stabbed -- but the most accepted version was that attested by Thomas More, that the princes had been smothered and buried secretly under a staircase in the Tower. Bones found there in 1674 under a staircase (as More had said, though he also said he had heard that Richard had had them disinterred and buried elsewhere) were declared to be theirs by the then king, UsefulNotes/CharlesII. The identification is by no means certain; the bones were last examined in 1934, and it was determined at that time that not all of them were even human. Their age, sex, and date of burial have been disputed (though most experts agree they are pre-pubertal); there has even been some [[WildMassGuessing speculation]] that they're the remains of ceremonial sacrifices from Roman times. The dean and chapter of Westminster Abbey, where the bones are interred, have refused to allow further testing, as did Queen Elizabeth II, who would not allow DNA analysis of the remains ''or'' of available remains of any known relatives of the Princes.

After their remarkable success in finding Richard's remains, Phillippa Langely and The Richard III Society launched a project seeking evidence that Richard sent the boys into exile. In November 2023, Langley released a book and an accompanying ITV documentary which revealed their evidence for the claim that both boys survived to launch failed attempts to overthrow Henry Tudor. Most of the evidence consists of accounting records that seem to indicate the princes were alive after the Battle of Bosworth Field, but the document that has garnered the most attention is an account of the life of Richard of York, dictated to a scribe, chronicling how he escaped to the continent, residing in among other places, Paris and Lisbon. The document has been examined and determined to be authentic to the era, though skeptics dismiss it as part of a fraudulent campaign to put Perkin Warbeck on the throne. However, Ricardian historian Matthew Lewis argues that Richard's sister, UsefulNotes/MargaretOfYork would have no reason to come up with imposter princes while she had living nephews who had strong claims to the Yorkist crown. Lewis, Langely, and other Ricardian historians argue the two major rebellions crushed by Henry Tudor, allegedly by imposters Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck, were in fact undertaken on behalf of Edward V and Richard of York, with the testimonial document being part of Richard of York/Perkin Warbeck's attempt to prove his identity.

After their remarkable success in finding Richard's remains, Phillippa Langely and The Richard III Society launched a project seeking evidence that Richard sent the boys into exile. In November 2023, Langley released a book and an accompanying ITV documentary which revealed their evidence for the claim that both boys survived to launch failed attempts to overthrow Henry Tudor. Most of the evidence consists of accounting records that seem to indicate the princes were alive after the Battle of Bosworth Field, but the document that has garnered the most attention is an account of the life of Richard of York, dictated to a scribe, chronicling how he escaped to the continent, residing in among other places, Paris and Portugal. The document has been examined and determined to be authentic to the era, though skeptics dismiss it as part of a fraudulent campaign to put Perkin Warbeck on the throne. However, Ricardian historian Matthew Lewis argues that Richard's sister, UsefulNotes/MargaretOfYork would have no reason to come up with imposter princes while she had living nephews who had strong claims to the Yorkist crown. Lewis, Langely, and other Ricardian historians argue the two major rebellions crushed by Henry Tudor, allegedly by imposters Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck, were in fact undertaken on behalf of Edward V and Richard of York, with the testimonial document being part of Richard of York/Perkin Warbeck's attempt to prove his identity.

After their remarkable success in finding Richard's remains, Phillippa Langely and The Richard III Society launched a project seeking evidence that Richard sent the boys into exile. In November 2023, Langley released a book and an accompanying ITV documentary which revealed their evidence for the claim that both boys survived to launch failed attempts to overthrow Henry Tudor. Most of the evidence consists of accounting records that seem to indicate the princes were alive after the Battle of Bosworth Field, but the document that has garnered the most attention is a first person account of the life of Richard of York, dictated to a scribe, chronicling how he escaped to the continent. The document has been examined and determined to be authentic to the era, though skeptics dismiss it as part of a fraudulent campaign to put Perkin Warbeck on the throne. However, Ricardian historian Matthew Lewis argues that Richard's sister, UsefulNotes/MargaretOfYork would have no reason to come up with imposter princes while she had living nephews that had strong claims to the Yorkist crown. Lewis, Langely, and other Ricardian historians argue the two major rebellions crushed by Henry Tudor, allegedly by imposters Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck, were in fact undertaken on behalf of Edward V and Richard of York, with the testimonial document being part of Richard of York/Perkin Warbeck's attempt to prove his identity.

After their remarkable success in finding Richard's remains, Phillippa Langely and The Richard III Society launched a project seeking evidence that Richard sent the boys into exile. In November 2023, Langley released a book and an accompanying ITV documentary which revealed their evidence for the claim that both boys survived to launch failed attempts to overthrow Henry Tudor. Most of the evidence consists of accounting records that seem to indicate the princes were alive after the Battle of Bosworth Field, but the document that has garnered the most attention is a first person account of the life of Richard of York, dictated to a scribe, chronicling how he escaped to the continent. The document has been examined and determined to be authentic to the era, though skeptics dismiss it as part of a fraudulent campaign to put Perkin Warbeck on the throne. However, Ricardian historian Matthew Lewis argues that Richard's sister, UsefulNotes/MargaretOfYork would have no reason to come up with imposter princes while she had living nephews that had strong claims to the Yorkist crown. Instead, she wanted to convince others of what she knew was the truth, so had Richard of York dictate the document.

After their remarkable success in finding Richard's remains, Phillippa Langely and The Richard III Society launched a project seeking evidence that Richard sent the boys into exile. In November 2023, Langley released a book and an accompanying ITV documentary which revealed their evidence for the claim that both boys survived to launch failed attempts to overthrow Henry Tudor. Most of the evidence consists of accounting records that seem to indicate the princes were alive after the Battle of Bosworth Field, but the document that has garnered the most attention is a first person account of the life of Richard of York, dictated to a scribe, chronicling how he escaped to the continent. The document has been examined and determined to be authentic to the era, though skeptics dismiss it as part of a fraudulent campaign to put Perkin Warbeck on the throne.

Whatever the case, the fate of the princes still remains one of history's most compelling unsolved mysteries.

Defenders of Richard have pointed out that murdering his nephews would have done him little good without proof of their deaths, as he would have faced pretenders claiming to be them much like Henry Tudor later did. It also makes little sense that Richard would not attempt to explain their absence, which he did not. If he had murdered them, he could have also blamed the Duke of Buckingham, who was executed for treason and would have made a convenient scapegoat. Traditionally, Ricardian historians have pointed the finger at Buckingham for the boys' deaths while more mainstream ones have still argued that it was Richard who had motive, means and opportunity. In recent years, however, some historians have been exploring the possibility that Richard sent the boys away and that they were [[https://www.amazon.com/Survival-Princes-Tower-Murder-Mystery/dp/0750989149/?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=KLuTl&content-id=amzn1.sym.dba1a2d0-88dc-4504-a5d7-10259373e587&pf_rd_p=dba1a2d0-88dc-4504-a5d7-10259373e587&pf_rd_r=23GM78YY41BGHP0HACQR&pd_rd_wg=ZU7t2&pd_rd_r=1d20b07a-6b25-4945-be65-899caca94548&ref_=pd_gw_ci_mcx_mr_hp_atf_m alive at the time of Richard's defeat]]. These historians point out that Richard cared well for his nephew by his brother George (another Edward) and that boy also had a superior claim to the throne that was [[RulesLawyer nullified through legal means]].

After their remarkable success in finding Richard's remains, Phillippa Langely and The Richard III Society launched a project seeking evidence that Richard sent the boys into exile. In November 2023, Langley released a book and an accompanying ITV documentary which revealed their evidence for the claim that both boys survived to launch failed attempts to overthrow Henry Tudor. Most of the evidence consists of accounting records that seem to indicate the princes were alive after the Battle of Bosworth Field, but the document that has garnered the most attention is a first person account of the life of Richard of York, dictated to a scribe, chronicling how he escaped to the continent. The document has been examined and determined to be genuine, though skeptics dismiss it as part of the fraudulent campaign to put Perkin Warbeck on the throne.