In the original dust cover. Maroon cloth binding with gilt title on the spine.

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A HISTORY HIT BOOK OF THE MONTH

History re-written: has the 540-year-old mystery been solved?

‘The totality of evidence revealed is astonishing. Following the discovery of King Richard III’s grave in a car park in Leicester in 2012, The Missing Princes Project will again rewrite the history books, redrawing what we know about Richard III and Henry VII and pressing the reset button of history.’ – Philippa Langley

In the summer of 1483, two brothers were seen playing in the grounds of the Tower of London, where they’d been lodged by the King’s Council – their uncle, the future Richard III, its chief member. From there the boys seem to vanish from the historical record, and so one of the greatest and most intriguing mysteries of British history was born. Over the centuries, historians have debated tirelessly about the fate of Edward V and Richard, Duke of York: did they die in the Tower? Did they escape? Were they murdered?

After astonishing success in locating and laying to rest Richard III, Philippa Langley turns her forensic focus onto this enduring case, teaming up with criminal investigative experts, historians, archivists and researchers from around the world in her groundbreaking The Missing Princes Project. Following years of extensive research, investigation and formidable dedication, this landmark study has finally reached completion, with stunning conclusions.

In The Princes in the Tower: Solving History’s Greatest Cold Case, join Langley as she records the painstaking investigative work undertaken and lays out the evidence to reveal the remarkable untold story. Here she is able, finally, to address any injustice and solve the mystery surrounding the Princes in the Tower once and for all.

Compelling in breadth and detail, this book asks its readers to re-examine what they thought they knew about one of our greatest historical mysteries. Perfect for fans of the period and the likes of Dan Jones, Philippa Gregory and Janina Ramirez.

Philippa Langley MBE is an historian and award-winning producer, best known for her discovery of Richard III in 2012. She is co-author of the bestselling The Lost King with Michael Jones (first published as The King’s Grave, John Murray 2013), and Finding Richard III, the official account of her ‘Looking For Richard Project’. On the ten-year anniversary of discovering Richard III, her extraordinary story was released as the internationally acclaimed major feature film, The Lost King, directed by Sir Stephen Frears and starring Sally Hawkins. Her latest venture, ‘The Missing Princes Project’, is an international initiative based on rigorous original research to unveil the truth behind one of history’s greatest mysteries.

Review:

“History’s greatest cold case” – did King Richard III murder the so-called “Princes in the Tower”? After this incredibly well-researched book, it seems increasingly unlikely that he did.

For centuries English law has insisted on the principle that a person should be deemed innocent until proven guilty, but strangely it’s taken more than 500 years for this to apply properly to Richard III. A number of mock trials in recent decades have found him “not guilty” of the worst charges levelled at him by Tudor chroniclers and later historians – the murders of his two young nephews, usually known as “the Princes in the Tower” – but still many historians stick to the line that he must have done it. But surely no more, following this landmark publication.

“The Princes in the Tower: Solving History’s Greatest Cold Case” presents the interim findings of the Missing Princes Project – eight years (so far) of reconsidering every piece of “evidence” known that could be used for the prosecution of the crime or for the defence – plus investigation of as many archives as possible containing documents from the relevant time period. Established by Philippa Langley, who was the driving force in the quest to find King Richard’s grave in Leicester, the multilingual Project team followed every relevant line of investigation that they could, and new discoveries from those archives, on the continent in particular, include four remarkable documents new to English-language researchers.

These documents are remarkable as they appear strongly to support the possibility that the two boys survived after Richard’s death at the battle of Bosworth in 1485 – contrary to the “official” Tudor story – and that they returned as the improbably named pretenders, Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck. At the very least, the documents, together with mounting other evidence of the boys’ survival, undermine the prosecution “case” for their murder by King Richard.

Philippa Langley’s clear, dispassionate dissection and discussion of both old and new evidence – comprehensively referenced throughout – presents both cases, for and against, at length, beginning with the evidence for the prosecution. This is shown to be primarily rumour and hearsay, mostly recorded years or decades after the events in question, and often by individuals who had their own particular agendas, usually political. The latter charge could be levelled at much of the evidence for the “defence” too – supporters of both pretenders may well have had an interest in stirring trouble for the new king of England, Henry Tudor, especially Margaret of Burgundy, the boys’ aunt and stalwart supporter of the rival House of York. Yet when seemingly insignificant records such as receipts and household accounts – including those of Henry Tudor himself, records not conceivably aimed at propaganda or persuasion – name the boys as Edward son of Edward IV or Richard, Duke of York, and when the huge sums of money spent by various European rulers on backing their claims are taken into account, it does seem that such support may have had a firmer foundation than simply a desire to cause problems for a king with a sometimes shaky hold on his crown.

For me the weight of evidence has now shifted firmly to the defence. It may not yet be “beyond reasonable doubt” that the boys survived King Richard’s reign, although I personally think the evidence taken all together and laid out clearly in this book is very compelling. Does the book actually do what it says in its bold subtitle and solve “history’s greatest cold case”? Not 100 percent perhaps. But with more investigations by the Project underway and more revelations likely, it may well not be too long before this 500-year-old mystery is finally solved. And it will all be due to the incredible efforts of Ms Langley and her team, and the other open-minded historians on whose work they’ve built over many years.

If you enjoyed and were intrigued by the recent Channel 4/PBS documentary based on the findings, do take a look at this book. There’s so much more to explain why the findings are so significant, and so much more background to the controversial story outlined. It’s a sizable volume, but don’t let that put you off. The prose is straightforward and very readable, whether or not you know a great deal already about King Richard and the enduring mystery of what happened to his nephews.