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The Princes in the Tower

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The Princes in the Tower
Jenny Driffill
Mrs. Garrigan
English 12
30 September 2013
The Princes in the Tower One of England 's greatest scandals was the disappearance and murder of two princes in 1483. The children of King Edward IV, Edward V and Richard, Duke of York were allegedly "imprisoned" shortly after his death. King Edward 's brother, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, secretly wanted the throne for himself. He would 've gone to extremes to make sure it happened. Yet, there is still great debate over him actually murdering his nephews. The Princes in the Tower focuses on the life of the two princes, how Richard III took over, and the death of the two boys. King Edward IV, and his wife, Queen Elizabeth, welcomed their first son, Edward V, into the world on November 2, 1470. The young prince wasn 't only his father 's pride and joy, but also the heir to the throne. Two years after Edward 's birth came a second prince, Richard, Duke of York. Richard was born on August 17, 1473. The next ten years have little to no record on the two princes, until the death of their father in 1483 (Kilby 1). King Edward IV died of natural causes in April of 1483. Because Edward was only twelve, and Richard was only ten, their uncle, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, was named the Lord Protector over them. Edward V 's coronation ceremony was supposed to be held on June 22, 1483. He went to the Tower of London where the ceremony was to be held (Barclay 1). His brother Richard joined him at the Tower on June 16,1483 (Barclay 2). There were rumors of King Edward IV being engaged to Lady Eleanor Talbot before the marriage of his wife, Queen Elizabeth. Even though he never married Eleanor, the engagement would have made the king 's marriage illegal. "Marriages that were illegal, or acts of bigamy, were considered null and void." If this were true, then the children would be made illegitimate. This worked in their uncle 's favor. On June 25, 1483, Parliament came to the agreement that the engagement


Cited: Kilby, Peter. "The Princes In The Tower." British Heritage 19.7 (1998): 5. History Reference Center. Web. 23 Sept. 2013. Barclay, Shelly. "The Princes in the Tower." Historic Mysteries. Historic Mysteries, 17 Apr. 2010. Web. 30 Sept. 2013. Dixon, Laura. "Sleuths Turn To Princes In The Tower." Australian, The (2013): 8. Newspaper Source. Web. 23 Sept. 2013. Project Gutenberg Literacy Archive, Foundation. "Murder Of The Princes In The Tower A.D. 1483." Great Events By Famous Historians, Vol. 8 (2006): 113-119. History Reference Center. Web. 23 Sept. 2013. Moorshead Magazines, Limited. "The Discovery Of The Princes In The Tower." History Magazine 12.6 (2011): 12. History Reference Center. Web. 23 Sept. 2013.
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