1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:04,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:13,880 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:17,880 Speaker 1: I'm Tracy B. Wilson and I'm Holly Fry. Today we 4 00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:20,880 Speaker 1: are going to talk about the Princes in the Tower, 5 00:00:21,480 --> 00:00:23,840 Speaker 1: which a lot of people have asked us to talk about. 6 00:00:24,320 --> 00:00:28,640 Speaker 1: This almost became part of an Unearthed episode earlier on 7 00:00:28,720 --> 00:00:32,000 Speaker 1: this year because the paper came out that argued a 8 00:00:32,040 --> 00:00:38,440 Speaker 1: direct link between Richard the Third and then the alleged murderers, 9 00:00:38,800 --> 00:00:41,960 Speaker 1: and then Sir Thomas Moore, whose account of what happened 10 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:45,480 Speaker 1: has really dominated popular understanding of all this. But we've 11 00:00:45,479 --> 00:00:48,360 Speaker 1: gotten so many listener requests for a Princess in the 12 00:00:48,360 --> 00:00:50,920 Speaker 1: Tower episode that I decided I was just going to 13 00:00:51,040 --> 00:00:54,840 Speaker 1: hold onto that do a full episode about it instead 14 00:00:54,880 --> 00:00:58,920 Speaker 1: of a paragraph on Unearthed. There you go. So this 15 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:01,960 Speaker 1: happened during the War the Roses, which started in fourteen 16 00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:05,480 Speaker 1: five and was a struggle between two rival branches of 17 00:01:05,520 --> 00:01:08,319 Speaker 1: the Royal House of Plantagenet in the House of York 18 00:01:08,600 --> 00:01:13,080 Speaker 1: and the House of Lancaster. Both houses used various badges, 19 00:01:13,120 --> 00:01:16,920 Speaker 1: symbols and emblems to represent themselves, and among those were 20 00:01:16,959 --> 00:01:19,319 Speaker 1: a white rose for the House of York, and a 21 00:01:19,400 --> 00:01:22,919 Speaker 1: red rose for the House of Lancaster. The name Wars 22 00:01:22,959 --> 00:01:26,319 Speaker 1: of the Roses comes from these symbols, although that term 23 00:01:26,360 --> 00:01:29,199 Speaker 1: was not coined until later on. One of the people 24 00:01:29,240 --> 00:01:33,200 Speaker 1: who really popularized this connection was William Shakespeare, who used 25 00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:36,360 Speaker 1: a lot of red and white roses in his plays 26 00:01:36,440 --> 00:01:40,319 Speaker 1: about this period of British history. So the Wars of 27 00:01:40,360 --> 00:01:43,520 Speaker 1: the Roses is not the only term in this episode 28 00:01:43,560 --> 00:01:47,800 Speaker 1: that was coined much much later. Another is the Princes 29 00:01:47,840 --> 00:01:51,000 Speaker 1: in the Tower. This nickname seems to have come into 30 00:01:51,160 --> 00:01:54,520 Speaker 1: use in the nineteenth century to refer to King Edward 31 00:01:54,600 --> 00:01:58,120 Speaker 1: the five and his brother Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York. 32 00:01:58,800 --> 00:02:01,520 Speaker 1: They were the sons of King Edward the Fourth of 33 00:02:01,600 --> 00:02:04,560 Speaker 1: the House of York, and they were not princes when 34 00:02:04,560 --> 00:02:06,880 Speaker 1: they were in the Tower, which we will get to. 35 00:02:07,600 --> 00:02:09,799 Speaker 1: They were also a little bit older than they look 36 00:02:09,840 --> 00:02:12,840 Speaker 1: in a lot of artwork. Edward was twelve and Richard 37 00:02:12,880 --> 00:02:15,880 Speaker 1: was about to turn ten, but there are some paintings 38 00:02:15,919 --> 00:02:18,400 Speaker 1: where they look more like ten and eight, or maybe 39 00:02:18,520 --> 00:02:21,960 Speaker 1: even younger than that. I was looking at one, I 40 00:02:22,040 --> 00:02:24,079 Speaker 1: was like, these two look like toddlers. Here they were 41 00:02:24,120 --> 00:02:31,240 Speaker 1: definitely not toddlers, still kids. The conflict between the Houses 42 00:02:31,280 --> 00:02:33,160 Speaker 1: of York and the Lancaster had been going on for 43 00:02:33,200 --> 00:02:36,160 Speaker 1: about fifteen years by the time Edward the fifth was born. 44 00:02:36,919 --> 00:02:39,800 Speaker 1: His father, Edward the fourth, had become king in fourteen 45 00:02:39,840 --> 00:02:44,520 Speaker 1: sixty one after a revolt against Lancastrian King Henry the sixth. 46 00:02:45,080 --> 00:02:47,919 Speaker 1: A strategic marriage could have given Edward the Fourth more 47 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:52,280 Speaker 1: power and solidified his reign during this extremely turbulent time, 48 00:02:52,840 --> 00:02:56,320 Speaker 1: and his cousin Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, tried to 49 00:02:56,400 --> 00:02:59,799 Speaker 1: negotiate a marriage to a French princess to that end, 50 00:03:00,720 --> 00:03:05,440 Speaker 1: but instead, on May one, fourteen sixty four, Edward secretly 51 00:03:05,520 --> 00:03:10,200 Speaker 1: married Elizabeth Woodville, which some sources today spell as Woodville. 52 00:03:10,919 --> 00:03:14,560 Speaker 1: Edward and Elizabeth kept this marriage secret for months, and, 53 00:03:14,600 --> 00:03:18,000 Speaker 1: according to documents from the time, they announced their marriage 54 00:03:18,040 --> 00:03:21,840 Speaker 1: around September of fourteen sixty four because Elizabeth was pregnant. 55 00:03:22,520 --> 00:03:25,400 Speaker 1: But if that's the case, that pregnancy did not come 56 00:03:25,400 --> 00:03:29,640 Speaker 1: to term, the couple's first child, Elizabeth of York, wasn't 57 00:03:29,639 --> 00:03:34,360 Speaker 1: born until fourteen sixty six. Regardless, as soon as words 58 00:03:34,360 --> 00:03:38,840 Speaker 1: spread about the king's secret marriage, it was extremely unpopular. 59 00:03:39,560 --> 00:03:43,040 Speaker 1: Elizabeth was the widow of Sir John Gray, a Lancastrian 60 00:03:43,120 --> 00:03:46,600 Speaker 1: who had been killed in battle while fighting against the Yorks. 61 00:03:47,200 --> 00:03:49,920 Speaker 1: The Windville family also just did not have the kind 62 00:03:49,920 --> 00:03:53,040 Speaker 1: of power that Edward really needed. They were gentry, they 63 00:03:53,080 --> 00:03:56,080 Speaker 1: were not royalty, and they were viewed as a bunch 64 00:03:56,120 --> 00:04:00,440 Speaker 1: of scheming opportunists. Right from the beginning, there were rumors 65 00:04:00,440 --> 00:04:03,440 Speaker 1: that this marriage was not legal, and that any children 66 00:04:03,600 --> 00:04:06,680 Speaker 1: Edward and Elizabeth might have would have no legitimate claim 67 00:04:06,720 --> 00:04:10,160 Speaker 1: to the throne. This kind of rumor was not new. 68 00:04:10,240 --> 00:04:13,440 Speaker 1: There had been allegations that Edward himself was not legitimate. 69 00:04:14,320 --> 00:04:17,600 Speaker 1: During the Wars of the Roses, the English throne repeatedly 70 00:04:17,680 --> 00:04:20,760 Speaker 1: passed back and forth between the Yorks and the Lancasters. 71 00:04:21,320 --> 00:04:24,320 Speaker 1: In the late fourteen sixties, Edward lost a lot of 72 00:04:24,320 --> 00:04:27,880 Speaker 1: his more powerful supporters, including the Earl of Warwick, who 73 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:31,440 Speaker 1: tried to imprison the king in late fourteen sixty nine 74 00:04:31,480 --> 00:04:37,160 Speaker 1: before fleeing to France. Warwick returned with the Lancastrian invasion 75 00:04:37,240 --> 00:04:40,960 Speaker 1: that was backed by King Louis the Eleventh. In October 76 00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:44,480 Speaker 1: of fourteen seventy, Henry the sixth supporters freed him from 77 00:04:44,480 --> 00:04:47,000 Speaker 1: the Tower of London and returned him to the throne. 78 00:04:47,760 --> 00:04:51,760 Speaker 1: Edward fled to Flanders, and Elizabeth and their children took 79 00:04:51,880 --> 00:04:56,080 Speaker 1: refuge at Westminster Abbey. At this point Edward and Elizabeth 80 00:04:56,160 --> 00:05:01,599 Speaker 1: had three daughters, Elizabeth, Mary and Cecily. But on November two, 81 00:05:01,800 --> 00:05:05,440 Speaker 1: fourteen seventy Elizabeth gave birth to another child while at 82 00:05:05,520 --> 00:05:09,640 Speaker 1: Westminster Abbey, and that was a son named Edward. Edward 83 00:05:09,680 --> 00:05:13,400 Speaker 1: the fourth returned from exile in fourteen seventy one. With 84 00:05:13,480 --> 00:05:16,760 Speaker 1: the help of Charles of Burgundy and Edward's brother Richard, 85 00:05:16,839 --> 00:05:20,719 Speaker 1: Duke of Gloucester, the Yorks defeated the Lancasters at the 86 00:05:20,720 --> 00:05:25,440 Speaker 1: Battle of Tewkesbury on May fourth, fourteen seventy one. Warwick 87 00:05:25,560 --> 00:05:29,040 Speaker 1: had already been killed at the Battle of Barnett in April, 88 00:05:29,200 --> 00:05:32,800 Speaker 1: and many of the most powerful Lancastrian leaders were killed 89 00:05:32,920 --> 00:05:37,920 Speaker 1: at Tewkesbury or were executed afterward. This included Henry the sixth, 90 00:05:37,960 --> 00:05:42,320 Speaker 1: son and heir. Henry himself was captured, returned to the 91 00:05:42,360 --> 00:05:45,800 Speaker 1: Tower of London, and then murdered there. With Edward the 92 00:05:45,839 --> 00:05:48,760 Speaker 1: Fourth back on the throne, his son, Edward the fifth 93 00:05:48,839 --> 00:05:52,240 Speaker 1: became the Prince of Wales. Before long, the prince was 94 00:05:52,279 --> 00:05:55,599 Speaker 1: sent to Ludlow Castle to be educated and prepared to rule. 95 00:05:56,480 --> 00:06:00,080 Speaker 1: His uncle Anthony Woodville, Earl Rivers was designated as his 96 00:06:00,160 --> 00:06:04,279 Speaker 1: guardian and instructed to make sure the prince was quote virtuously, 97 00:06:04,760 --> 00:06:09,120 Speaker 1: cunningly and nightly brought up. The prince also had a doctor, 98 00:06:09,160 --> 00:06:13,080 Speaker 1: a nurse, a daily schedule that involved lessons and exercise, 99 00:06:13,160 --> 00:06:18,200 Speaker 1: and religious observance and instruction, and quote noble stories read 100 00:06:18,240 --> 00:06:21,040 Speaker 1: to him each night as he ate his dinner. The 101 00:06:21,160 --> 00:06:24,040 Speaker 1: king and queen went on to have several more children. 102 00:06:24,600 --> 00:06:29,040 Speaker 1: Five daughters survived into adulthood. Those where Elizabeth, Cecily, and 103 00:06:29,400 --> 00:06:33,440 Speaker 1: Catherine and bridget. A second son, Richard, was born in 104 00:06:33,480 --> 00:06:36,920 Speaker 1: fourteen seventy three and named Duke of York in fourteen 105 00:06:36,920 --> 00:06:41,680 Speaker 1: seventy four. A third son, George, followed in fourteen seventy seven, 106 00:06:41,880 --> 00:06:45,080 Speaker 1: but died when he was about to Of course, all 107 00:06:45,160 --> 00:06:47,760 Speaker 1: of the fighting between the houses of York and Lancaster 108 00:06:48,040 --> 00:06:51,240 Speaker 1: and Edward's Raine had a lot more going on than 109 00:06:51,279 --> 00:06:53,880 Speaker 1: we can really get into here, but in terms of 110 00:06:53,920 --> 00:06:57,440 Speaker 1: the wars of the Roses, things were relatively stable from 111 00:06:57,440 --> 00:07:01,120 Speaker 1: the death of Henry the sixth until fourteen eighty three, 112 00:07:01,200 --> 00:07:04,719 Speaker 1: when King Edward the Fourth unexpectedly died after an illness. 113 00:07:05,640 --> 00:07:08,919 Speaker 1: Before his death, he named his brother Richard, Duke of 114 00:07:08,960 --> 00:07:13,520 Speaker 1: Gloucester as Lord Protector. Edward the Fourth death was announced 115 00:07:13,560 --> 00:07:17,520 Speaker 1: on April nine, four eighty three, but he really probably 116 00:07:17,600 --> 00:07:20,920 Speaker 1: died a few days before that. It seems like Elizabeth 117 00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:23,680 Speaker 1: delayed the announcement so that she could try to secure 118 00:07:23,680 --> 00:07:27,400 Speaker 1: the Windville family's political future, one in which they would 119 00:07:27,400 --> 00:07:30,400 Speaker 1: have as much power and influence over the new king 120 00:07:30,520 --> 00:07:34,600 Speaker 1: as possible. This may have included Elizabeth even trying to 121 00:07:34,720 --> 00:07:37,520 Speaker 1: act as regent for her twelve year old son, although 122 00:07:37,560 --> 00:07:39,440 Speaker 1: at this point in English history it would have been 123 00:07:39,480 --> 00:07:42,200 Speaker 1: a lot more common for the regent to be male. 124 00:07:42,880 --> 00:07:46,920 Speaker 1: Elizabeth sent word to her brother Anthony Widville Earl Rivers 125 00:07:46,960 --> 00:07:49,760 Speaker 1: to inform him of Edward the fourth death, and arranged 126 00:07:49,800 --> 00:07:52,600 Speaker 1: to have his son, who was now King Edward the Fifth, 127 00:07:52,960 --> 00:07:57,040 Speaker 1: brought to London for his coronation. Edward the Fifth learned 128 00:07:57,040 --> 00:08:00,880 Speaker 1: of his father's death on April fourteen eighties read, and 129 00:08:01,000 --> 00:08:03,320 Speaker 1: he and his uncle left for London on the twenty 130 00:08:03,360 --> 00:08:07,760 Speaker 1: three after St George's Day observances, and what seems to 131 00:08:07,840 --> 00:08:11,720 Speaker 1: have been an intentional move, the Queen mother did not 132 00:08:11,720 --> 00:08:15,560 Speaker 1: notify her late husband's brother, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, of 133 00:08:15,800 --> 00:08:19,200 Speaker 1: Edward the fourth's death. This may have been because of 134 00:08:19,240 --> 00:08:22,640 Speaker 1: her efforts to secure her family's position, or it may 135 00:08:22,640 --> 00:08:27,000 Speaker 1: have been because of longstanding deep animosity between Richard and 136 00:08:27,160 --> 00:08:31,320 Speaker 1: the Windvills. There is really a ton of backstory here, 137 00:08:31,680 --> 00:08:36,120 Speaker 1: but among other things, Richard and edwards brother George Plantagenet, 138 00:08:36,280 --> 00:08:39,400 Speaker 1: Duke of Clarence, had resented the amount of power that 139 00:08:39,440 --> 00:08:43,439 Speaker 1: was going to the Windville family, and George's various schemes 140 00:08:43,480 --> 00:08:47,520 Speaker 1: and allegations had ultimately led to his execution in fourteen 141 00:08:47,600 --> 00:08:51,160 Speaker 1: seventy eight. That was something that Richard blamed Elizabeth for, 142 00:08:51,640 --> 00:08:54,840 Speaker 1: at least in part. Richard did not learn about his 143 00:08:54,880 --> 00:08:59,240 Speaker 1: brother's death until April twenty, likely through William Lord Hastings, 144 00:08:59,280 --> 00:09:02,480 Speaker 1: who had been at were the Fourth Chamberlain. The Duke 145 00:09:02,600 --> 00:09:05,360 Speaker 1: immediately set off to meet up with his nephew, the King, 146 00:09:05,400 --> 00:09:08,240 Speaker 1: who was on route to London. So there are people 147 00:09:08,280 --> 00:09:10,640 Speaker 1: who believe that it was at this point, or maybe 148 00:09:10,760 --> 00:09:14,760 Speaker 1: even earlier, that Richard started plotting to take the throne 149 00:09:14,800 --> 00:09:17,440 Speaker 1: for himself. And if that's the case, he really had 150 00:09:17,480 --> 00:09:21,439 Speaker 1: to work quickly because if he was not successful before 151 00:09:21,840 --> 00:09:25,160 Speaker 1: Edward was formally crowned, it would just become a lot 152 00:09:25,240 --> 00:09:28,200 Speaker 1: harder for him to do it, And on the other hand, 153 00:09:28,200 --> 00:09:32,400 Speaker 1: Elizabeth Woodbill was also working very quickly hoping to get 154 00:09:32,520 --> 00:09:36,200 Speaker 1: Edward crowned as soon as possible, because at this point, 155 00:09:36,400 --> 00:09:39,960 Speaker 1: Richard's role as Lord Protector was supposed to end with 156 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:43,240 Speaker 1: his nephew's coronation, and that could potentially open the door 157 00:09:43,320 --> 00:09:45,800 Speaker 1: for the wood Fills to step in and take control. 158 00:09:46,640 --> 00:09:49,920 Speaker 1: So Elizabeth tried to arrange the coronation for May four, 159 00:09:50,120 --> 00:09:52,400 Speaker 1: which was less than a month after the death of 160 00:09:52,520 --> 00:09:57,559 Speaker 1: Edward the Fourth. We'll continue to untangle all of this 161 00:09:57,600 --> 00:09:59,920 Speaker 1: stuff after we first paused for a little sponsored by. 162 00:10:09,679 --> 00:10:13,320 Speaker 1: There are some question marks about pretty much everything we're 163 00:10:13,320 --> 00:10:16,520 Speaker 1: going to talk about for the entire rest of this episode. 164 00:10:17,000 --> 00:10:19,600 Speaker 1: For some of it, we have concrete documentation of some 165 00:10:19,679 --> 00:10:22,720 Speaker 1: basic details like X happened, and then why happened, and 166 00:10:22,760 --> 00:10:26,880 Speaker 1: then Z happened, But we don't have firsthand documentation of 167 00:10:26,920 --> 00:10:30,800 Speaker 1: people's motivations for X, Y and Z. Sometimes we don't 168 00:10:30,840 --> 00:10:35,880 Speaker 1: know who actually carried those things out. Sometimes accounts even 169 00:10:35,920 --> 00:10:38,520 Speaker 1: contradict on the basic facts of X, Y and Z 170 00:10:39,480 --> 00:10:44,840 Speaker 1: in general, Though most sources agree that Richard, Duke of Gloucester, 171 00:10:45,040 --> 00:10:48,040 Speaker 1: was plotting at minimum to get rid of the wib 172 00:10:48,040 --> 00:10:51,800 Speaker 1: Bill family and its influence over the king, but probably 173 00:10:51,880 --> 00:10:55,360 Speaker 1: to steal the throne for himself. And that's not just 174 00:10:55,520 --> 00:10:58,760 Speaker 1: people like Sir Thomas Moore, whose history of King Richard 175 00:10:58,800 --> 00:11:03,319 Speaker 1: the Third has times been characterized as anti Richard propaganda. 176 00:11:04,160 --> 00:11:07,920 Speaker 1: Italian monk Dominic Mancini was in London during these events 177 00:11:07,960 --> 00:11:11,600 Speaker 1: and wrote an official report in December of four three, 178 00:11:11,760 --> 00:11:14,319 Speaker 1: one that More and other writers would not have had 179 00:11:14,360 --> 00:11:17,920 Speaker 1: access to. But it corroborates a lot of basic details 180 00:11:18,040 --> 00:11:21,800 Speaker 1: and reports a ton of gossip that was circulating. Yeah, 181 00:11:21,800 --> 00:11:25,120 Speaker 1: there's some questions around his account, like who all was 182 00:11:25,160 --> 00:11:29,640 Speaker 1: he talking to, what was his circle of acquaintances overwhelmingly 183 00:11:29,760 --> 00:11:32,839 Speaker 1: anti Richard, how much English did he actually know, a 184 00:11:32,920 --> 00:11:36,640 Speaker 1: lot of questions. But still we have this account that 185 00:11:37,080 --> 00:11:39,000 Speaker 1: seems to back up a lot of the things that 186 00:11:39,120 --> 00:11:41,920 Speaker 1: lead people to conclude that Richard the Third was trying 187 00:11:41,960 --> 00:11:45,480 Speaker 1: to steal the throne. And at the same time, there's 188 00:11:45,520 --> 00:11:48,720 Speaker 1: still a lot that's open to interpretation, like, taken at 189 00:11:48,760 --> 00:11:52,520 Speaker 1: face value, a lot of Richard's actions could be interpreted 190 00:11:52,559 --> 00:11:57,520 Speaker 1: as loyal to his nephew, taking loyalty oaths, publicly bowing 191 00:11:57,559 --> 00:12:01,000 Speaker 1: to him, allowing preparations for his coronation to go on 192 00:12:01,120 --> 00:12:04,280 Speaker 1: in an apparently pretty normal way, but a lot of 193 00:12:04,280 --> 00:12:07,720 Speaker 1: people believed that this was all a ruse to lure 194 00:12:07,760 --> 00:12:10,480 Speaker 1: the King and the people around him into a false 195 00:12:10,520 --> 00:12:14,320 Speaker 1: sense of security and to cover his own tracks. Richard, 196 00:12:14,480 --> 00:12:19,680 Speaker 1: Duke of Gloucester, arrived at Northampton on April. There he 197 00:12:19,760 --> 00:12:23,360 Speaker 1: met up with Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, Anthony Woodville, 198 00:12:23,400 --> 00:12:26,800 Speaker 1: Earl Rivers, and Richard Gray, who was Elizabeth Woodville's son 199 00:12:26,920 --> 00:12:30,480 Speaker 1: from her first marriage. Earl Rivers had taken the young 200 00:12:30,559 --> 00:12:34,240 Speaker 1: king ahead to Stony Stratford, then doubled back to Northampton, 201 00:12:34,440 --> 00:12:38,520 Speaker 1: apparently on the pretense that Northampton didn't have suitable lodgings 202 00:12:38,559 --> 00:12:42,040 Speaker 1: to accommodate the King and his party, along with Gloucester, 203 00:12:42,200 --> 00:12:47,120 Speaker 1: Buckingham and all their retainers. There were a lot of retainers, 204 00:12:48,040 --> 00:12:50,680 Speaker 1: a whole lot of them. The next morning, though Earl 205 00:12:50,800 --> 00:12:54,160 Speaker 1: Rivers was locked inside the end where he was staying. 206 00:12:54,360 --> 00:12:57,880 Speaker 1: This was probably under the orders of Gloucester, were Buckingham 207 00:12:57,960 --> 00:13:02,280 Speaker 1: or both of them working together. Like Gloucester, Buckingham had 208 00:13:02,280 --> 00:13:05,480 Speaker 1: a long history with the wit Bills, including being married 209 00:13:05,520 --> 00:13:08,319 Speaker 1: to Elizabeth's sister Catherine when he was just ten or 210 00:13:08,360 --> 00:13:11,520 Speaker 1: twelve years old. He also had a very deep hatred 211 00:13:11,600 --> 00:13:16,160 Speaker 1: and distrust of the entire family. Richard, Duke of Gloucester, Henry, 212 00:13:16,200 --> 00:13:19,079 Speaker 1: Duke of Buckingham, and Richard Gray caught up with Edward 213 00:13:19,120 --> 00:13:23,600 Speaker 1: the Fifth at Stony Stratford on April, informing him that 214 00:13:23,720 --> 00:13:26,479 Speaker 1: his uncle and others in their party had been arrested 215 00:13:26,760 --> 00:13:30,400 Speaker 1: because they were plotting against him. Edward didn't believe this 216 00:13:30,480 --> 00:13:33,240 Speaker 1: at all, saying that he trusted these men and then 217 00:13:33,280 --> 00:13:36,959 Speaker 1: he also trusted his mother. Buckingham told the young king 218 00:13:37,000 --> 00:13:40,920 Speaker 1: that he absolutely should not trust the Woodvilles. He ordered 219 00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:44,920 Speaker 1: Edwards escort to return home, then arrested the king's half brother, 220 00:13:45,040 --> 00:13:48,760 Speaker 1: Richard Gray, in front of him. Some accounts described the 221 00:13:48,840 --> 00:13:52,800 Speaker 1: king as being arrested or captured at this point as well, 222 00:13:53,000 --> 00:13:55,680 Speaker 1: and one of those is that of Dominic Mancini. But 223 00:13:56,360 --> 00:13:59,880 Speaker 1: Mancini also seems to have misunderstood or mistaken at le 224 00:14:00,240 --> 00:14:04,240 Speaker 1: part of the situation here, because he describes Edward's brother 225 00:14:04,520 --> 00:14:08,400 Speaker 1: Richard as being arrested at Stony Stratford as well, but 226 00:14:08,480 --> 00:14:11,679 Speaker 1: at that point Richard was still at Westminster Abbey with 227 00:14:11,760 --> 00:14:15,320 Speaker 1: his mother. It also doesn't seem like Edward thought he 228 00:14:15,360 --> 00:14:17,920 Speaker 1: was a captive. At this point, he wrote a letter 229 00:14:17,960 --> 00:14:21,160 Speaker 1: to the Archbishop of Canterbury instructing him to safeguard the 230 00:14:21,200 --> 00:14:24,160 Speaker 1: Great Seal of the Realm and to safeguard their tour 231 00:14:24,240 --> 00:14:27,160 Speaker 1: of London and the treasure there. It's within the realm 232 00:14:27,200 --> 00:14:30,400 Speaker 1: of possibility that Edward was coerced into writing this letter, 233 00:14:30,520 --> 00:14:33,080 Speaker 1: or that it was forged, or that he wrote it 234 00:14:33,160 --> 00:14:36,280 Speaker 1: believing that he was in danger, But it doesn't really 235 00:14:36,320 --> 00:14:39,480 Speaker 1: read as though he thought he was a captive. As 236 00:14:39,520 --> 00:14:43,119 Speaker 1: all of this was happening, though, Elizabeth Woodville took refuge 237 00:14:43,240 --> 00:14:48,360 Speaker 1: in Westminster Abbey with her children and an entourage. Sometimes 238 00:14:48,360 --> 00:14:50,960 Speaker 1: this is described as a flight for her life, and 239 00:14:51,080 --> 00:14:53,600 Speaker 1: at minimum it would have been clear to her at 240 00:14:53,640 --> 00:14:56,480 Speaker 1: this point, especially if she had heard about the arrests 241 00:14:56,560 --> 00:14:59,200 Speaker 1: of her kim folk, that her efforts to put the 242 00:14:59,200 --> 00:15:04,760 Speaker 1: Whodville familyly in an advantageous position were crumbling. Gloucester, Buckingham 243 00:15:04,800 --> 00:15:07,520 Speaker 1: and King Edward the Fifth continued on to London, and 244 00:15:07,560 --> 00:15:10,400 Speaker 1: once they got there, Edward was taken to the Bishop 245 00:15:10,440 --> 00:15:13,920 Speaker 1: of London's palace, where he stayed for several days. His 246 00:15:14,040 --> 00:15:17,160 Speaker 1: uncle Richard repeated his oaths of fealty to the King 247 00:15:17,600 --> 00:15:22,760 Speaker 1: and was formally acknowledged as Lord Protector. Preparations continued for 248 00:15:22,960 --> 00:15:26,680 Speaker 1: edwards coronation, and the Great Council discussed where the King 249 00:15:26,760 --> 00:15:30,680 Speaker 1: should stay until the coronation took place. While his mother 250 00:15:30,760 --> 00:15:33,760 Speaker 1: had tried to arrange a coronation for May, the final 251 00:15:33,840 --> 00:15:36,640 Speaker 1: date had been set for late June to coincide with 252 00:15:36,680 --> 00:15:39,000 Speaker 1: the feast of the Nativity of St John the Baptist. 253 00:15:39,720 --> 00:15:43,200 Speaker 1: The final decision for the king's lodgings in the interim, 254 00:15:43,400 --> 00:15:46,640 Speaker 1: which was suggested by the Duke of Buckingham and agreed 255 00:15:46,680 --> 00:15:49,800 Speaker 1: to by the whole Council, was to send Edward to 256 00:15:49,840 --> 00:15:54,560 Speaker 1: the Tower of London. Okay, that sounds incredibly suspicious to 257 00:15:54,640 --> 00:15:57,400 Speaker 1: a modern ear because during the Tutor era the Tower 258 00:15:57,400 --> 00:16:02,080 Speaker 1: of London became notorious primary only as a prison. We've 259 00:16:02,120 --> 00:16:04,960 Speaker 1: talked about various people's being imprisoned in the Tower on 260 00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:08,360 Speaker 1: the show before, including Sir Walter Raleigh, and just in 261 00:16:08,400 --> 00:16:11,000 Speaker 1: this episode, we've talked about King Henry the sixth being 262 00:16:11,040 --> 00:16:15,040 Speaker 1: imprisoned in the Tower two different times. And while the 263 00:16:15,080 --> 00:16:18,200 Speaker 1: Tower did have a prison in the fifteenth century, at 264 00:16:18,240 --> 00:16:22,600 Speaker 1: that point it was also a royal residence. Buckingham Palace 265 00:16:22,680 --> 00:16:24,880 Speaker 1: did not exist yet and would not be built for 266 00:16:24,920 --> 00:16:29,240 Speaker 1: almost another two hundred fifty years. So, in addition to 267 00:16:29,280 --> 00:16:32,520 Speaker 1: the fortress and prison, the Tower of London was a 268 00:16:32,560 --> 00:16:35,200 Speaker 1: place where royals would go stay. It was a palace 269 00:16:35,280 --> 00:16:39,000 Speaker 1: complete with the luxury accommodations that were routinely in use 270 00:16:39,080 --> 00:16:42,400 Speaker 1: by people of their station. This is also a place 271 00:16:42,400 --> 00:16:45,280 Speaker 1: that Edward probably would have already been familiar with, since 272 00:16:45,320 --> 00:16:49,200 Speaker 1: his father had frequently held court there. Monarchs stayed in 273 00:16:49,240 --> 00:16:51,760 Speaker 1: the tower for at least the night before their coronation, 274 00:16:52,240 --> 00:16:55,840 Speaker 1: and their coronation procession started at the tower, so when 275 00:16:55,920 --> 00:16:58,280 Speaker 1: Edward the Fifth first went to the Tower, it was 276 00:16:58,360 --> 00:17:02,280 Speaker 1: to the royal residence and aunt the prison. The Duke 277 00:17:02,320 --> 00:17:05,840 Speaker 1: of Buckingham also started trying to convince the Queen Mother 278 00:17:05,920 --> 00:17:08,520 Speaker 1: to send Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, to the 279 00:17:08,560 --> 00:17:12,960 Speaker 1: Tower as well. There were several arguments for her to 280 00:17:13,040 --> 00:17:16,320 Speaker 1: do this. Richard could be a source of comfort and 281 00:17:16,359 --> 00:17:20,040 Speaker 1: companionship for his older brother, although since Richard had mostly 282 00:17:20,080 --> 00:17:23,639 Speaker 1: lived in London and Edward had mostly lived at Ludlow Castle, 283 00:17:24,200 --> 00:17:26,440 Speaker 1: they really might not have known each other all that well. 284 00:17:27,760 --> 00:17:30,920 Speaker 1: Richard was also now next in line for the throne, 285 00:17:31,160 --> 00:17:33,640 Speaker 1: and the Tower was regarded as one of the safest 286 00:17:33,640 --> 00:17:37,280 Speaker 1: places to be, and it would have been considered strange 287 00:17:37,440 --> 00:17:41,560 Speaker 1: or even scandalous if Richard didn't attend his brother Edward's coronation, 288 00:17:41,800 --> 00:17:45,000 Speaker 1: so taking him to the tower ahead of time when 289 00:17:45,160 --> 00:17:47,359 Speaker 1: his mother would not be able to keep him with 290 00:17:47,400 --> 00:17:50,160 Speaker 1: her at Westminster Abbey, or to try to use him 291 00:17:50,160 --> 00:17:55,239 Speaker 1: as some kind of bargaining ship, or maybe Buckingham just 292 00:17:55,280 --> 00:17:57,280 Speaker 1: wanted both of them to be in the tower at 293 00:17:57,280 --> 00:17:59,639 Speaker 1: the same time to make it easier to kill them. 294 00:17:59,680 --> 00:18:04,240 Speaker 1: So many possibilities. As Buckingham was trying to convince Elizabeth 295 00:18:04,320 --> 00:18:07,560 Speaker 1: to send Richard to the tower, plans for edwards coronation 296 00:18:07,600 --> 00:18:11,280 Speaker 1: were carrying on, and that was now scheduled for June. 297 00:18:11,880 --> 00:18:14,480 Speaker 1: Rits were issued for the first Parliament that would assemble 298 00:18:14,560 --> 00:18:18,280 Speaker 1: under the new king to meet on June. Young men 299 00:18:18,359 --> 00:18:21,120 Speaker 1: who were eligible for knighthood were summoned to London as 300 00:18:21,119 --> 00:18:23,840 Speaker 1: well so that they could be knighted at the coronation. 301 00:18:24,800 --> 00:18:27,920 Speaker 1: But then in early June all those plans apparently went 302 00:18:27,920 --> 00:18:31,040 Speaker 1: out the window when it was alleged that the marriage 303 00:18:31,040 --> 00:18:34,320 Speaker 1: of the late King Edward the Fourth to Elizabeth Woodville 304 00:18:34,480 --> 00:18:38,439 Speaker 1: had not been legal because he was already married to 305 00:18:38,600 --> 00:18:42,879 Speaker 1: Eleanor Talbot, the widow of Sir Thomas Butler. This information 306 00:18:42,960 --> 00:18:46,960 Speaker 1: may have come from Robert Stillington, Bishop of Bath and Wells, 307 00:18:47,040 --> 00:18:52,159 Speaker 1: who reportedly had performed that earlier marriage. Eleanor had died 308 00:18:52,280 --> 00:18:54,760 Speaker 1: before Edward the five was born, but that did not 309 00:18:54,920 --> 00:18:58,000 Speaker 1: matter since she had still been living when Edward the 310 00:18:58,119 --> 00:19:01,800 Speaker 1: fourth had married Elizabeth. The most likely time for the 311 00:19:01,800 --> 00:19:04,520 Speaker 1: bishop to have delivered this information was at a Royal 312 00:19:04,600 --> 00:19:08,280 Speaker 1: Council meeting that happened on June eight, but reports of 313 00:19:08,320 --> 00:19:11,760 Speaker 1: that meeting said there was nothing significant and an allegation 314 00:19:11,800 --> 00:19:15,120 Speaker 1: that the king's marriage had been illegal and that consequently 315 00:19:15,160 --> 00:19:17,960 Speaker 1: his son, whose coronation was weeks away, had no claim 316 00:19:18,000 --> 00:19:21,200 Speaker 1: to the throne. That definitely would have been categorized as 317 00:19:21,240 --> 00:19:25,359 Speaker 1: significant yeah the so this bishop would have been in 318 00:19:25,440 --> 00:19:28,919 Speaker 1: London for the coronation. The Bishop of Bath and Wells 319 00:19:29,080 --> 00:19:32,280 Speaker 1: was typically one of the bishops who escorted the new monarch, 320 00:19:32,840 --> 00:19:35,160 Speaker 1: and as a bishop, he was also a member of Parliament. 321 00:19:35,280 --> 00:19:39,120 Speaker 1: Parliament had been summoned, but there are questions on why 322 00:19:39,240 --> 00:19:43,040 Speaker 1: he would have chosen this particular moment to share this information, 323 00:19:43,240 --> 00:19:46,560 Speaker 1: rather than, for example, when Edward the Fifth had been born. 324 00:19:47,600 --> 00:19:50,879 Speaker 1: There as some suspicion that Edward the fourth had even 325 00:19:50,920 --> 00:19:54,080 Speaker 1: tried to buy the bishop's silence by making him a 326 00:19:54,080 --> 00:19:56,879 Speaker 1: bishop in the first place. He had been a canon 327 00:19:57,160 --> 00:20:00,919 Speaker 1: when this marriage to Eleanor Butler had allegedly been performed, 328 00:20:01,480 --> 00:20:04,560 Speaker 1: and then Bath and Wells was the first English bishopric 329 00:20:04,600 --> 00:20:08,680 Speaker 1: to open up after edwards marriage to Elizabeth was first announced. 330 00:20:08,720 --> 00:20:10,680 Speaker 1: There's this idea that maybe he was like, if you 331 00:20:10,760 --> 00:20:12,879 Speaker 1: keep your mouth shut about that time you married me 332 00:20:12,960 --> 00:20:15,640 Speaker 1: to a different lady, you get to be a bishop 333 00:20:16,359 --> 00:20:22,840 Speaker 1: right now. It's all very speculative, but there are also 334 00:20:22,960 --> 00:20:27,280 Speaker 1: questions about whether this marriage story is even true. At 335 00:20:27,280 --> 00:20:29,639 Speaker 1: the time, it was common for couples to do what 336 00:20:29,800 --> 00:20:33,160 Speaker 1: is known as a pre contract before witnesses. They would 337 00:20:33,160 --> 00:20:36,520 Speaker 1: promise to get married, and then afterward they would consummate 338 00:20:36,520 --> 00:20:40,480 Speaker 1: the marriage. This was regarded as essentially the same as 339 00:20:40,480 --> 00:20:42,919 Speaker 1: a marriage, even though it had not been formalized in 340 00:20:42,960 --> 00:20:47,800 Speaker 1: a church. Some sources describe edwards purported marriage to Eleanor 341 00:20:47,880 --> 00:20:51,560 Speaker 1: as a pre contract only, but a number of contemporary 342 00:20:51,600 --> 00:20:55,680 Speaker 1: sources flatly disbelieved this entire thing and dismissed it as 343 00:20:55,720 --> 00:20:59,960 Speaker 1: something that Richard had made up to undermine his nephew Laura. 344 00:21:00,040 --> 00:21:02,160 Speaker 1: Really this would be the sort of issue that would 345 00:21:02,160 --> 00:21:05,560 Speaker 1: be taken up before Parliament, but because the new king 346 00:21:05,680 --> 00:21:09,199 Speaker 1: had not been crowned yet, a formal parliament could not 347 00:21:09,280 --> 00:21:13,639 Speaker 1: be convened. Instead, the Estates of the Realm met. This 348 00:21:13,840 --> 00:21:17,040 Speaker 1: was basically the same people, but not a formal parliament. 349 00:21:17,640 --> 00:21:21,480 Speaker 1: In mid June, the Estates of the Realm concluded that 350 00:21:21,640 --> 00:21:24,880 Speaker 1: Edward the Fifth was not the legitimate king, and they 351 00:21:24,920 --> 00:21:29,240 Speaker 1: offered the crown instead to Richard, Duke of Gloucester. This 352 00:21:29,359 --> 00:21:32,280 Speaker 1: was not unanimous, though not within the Estates of the 353 00:21:32,320 --> 00:21:36,400 Speaker 1: Realm or with him the Royal Council. The Royal Council split, 354 00:21:36,680 --> 00:21:39,600 Speaker 1: with the Duke of Buckingham and others who supported Richard 355 00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:42,760 Speaker 1: meeting with him in secret, and the rest of the 356 00:21:42,800 --> 00:21:46,960 Speaker 1: Council meeting at Westminster. Immediately. At least some of the 357 00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:51,080 Speaker 1: council meeting at Westminster were convinced that Gloucester's private meetings 358 00:21:51,119 --> 00:21:55,360 Speaker 1: involved a plot against the king. William Lord Hastings had 359 00:21:55,359 --> 00:21:59,280 Speaker 1: continued to back Edward as King and his uncle Richard 360 00:21:59,359 --> 00:22:02,879 Speaker 1: as Lord Protector only, and during all of this he 361 00:22:02,960 --> 00:22:06,040 Speaker 1: and several other men armed themselves and went to one 362 00:22:06,040 --> 00:22:11,840 Speaker 1: of these secret council meetings, Hastings reportedly attacked Richard, who 363 00:22:11,880 --> 00:22:15,640 Speaker 1: hadn't yet accepted the crown and was still technically considered 364 00:22:15,680 --> 00:22:20,800 Speaker 1: the Duke of Gloucester. Hastings was arrested and almost immediately beheaded. 365 00:22:21,480 --> 00:22:25,680 Speaker 1: Hastings beheading seems to have been what convinced the public 366 00:22:25,760 --> 00:22:28,600 Speaker 1: of London that the Duke of Gloucester was trying to 367 00:22:28,760 --> 00:22:33,359 Speaker 1: steal the throne. Elizabeth finally agreed to send her younger 368 00:22:33,400 --> 00:22:35,840 Speaker 1: son to the Tower of London, and he arrived there 369 00:22:35,880 --> 00:22:40,560 Speaker 1: on June six, and there are still questions about why, 370 00:22:40,800 --> 00:22:44,520 Speaker 1: since she and her children were safe in Westminster Abbey. 371 00:22:44,760 --> 00:22:47,200 Speaker 1: While there are some people who argued that she only 372 00:22:47,240 --> 00:22:49,439 Speaker 1: would have sent her son away if she thought it 373 00:22:49,480 --> 00:22:53,639 Speaker 1: was safe to do so, others describe her as under siege, 374 00:22:53,680 --> 00:22:56,600 Speaker 1: with the Duke of Buckingham threatening to remove Richard by 375 00:22:56,680 --> 00:23:01,440 Speaker 1: force if she did not comply. And June, the Duke 376 00:23:01,480 --> 00:23:05,200 Speaker 1: of Gloucester issued rits canceling the parliament that was supposed 377 00:23:05,200 --> 00:23:09,760 Speaker 1: to convene on June. Then on June, which was supposed 378 00:23:09,760 --> 00:23:14,240 Speaker 1: to have been coronation day, Londoners instead heard sermons that 379 00:23:14,320 --> 00:23:19,280 Speaker 1: attacked Edwards claim to the throne as illegitimate. On June, 380 00:23:19,359 --> 00:23:23,120 Speaker 1: Anthony Woodbill, Earl Rivers, Richard Gray and others who had 381 00:23:23,160 --> 00:23:26,480 Speaker 1: been part of their party to London were all beheaded, 382 00:23:27,040 --> 00:23:32,359 Speaker 1: and on June Richard, Duke of Gloucester was proclaimed to 383 00:23:32,440 --> 00:23:36,960 Speaker 1: be King. Richard the third. Let's take a sponsor break. 384 00:23:37,400 --> 00:23:49,720 Speaker 1: Let's do We said at the top of the show 385 00:23:50,080 --> 00:23:54,040 Speaker 1: that the princes in the Tower, in spite of almost 386 00:23:54,160 --> 00:23:57,440 Speaker 1: ubiquitously being called the princes in the Tower, at this point, 387 00:23:57,640 --> 00:24:01,919 Speaker 1: we're not princes. When he first arrived at the Tower, 388 00:24:02,200 --> 00:24:05,640 Speaker 1: Edward the fifth was king. His reign as king lasted 389 00:24:05,680 --> 00:24:10,399 Speaker 1: from April ninth to June three, and when his brother 390 00:24:10,560 --> 00:24:13,840 Speaker 1: Richard arrived, he was the Duke of York and Edwards 391 00:24:13,880 --> 00:24:18,199 Speaker 1: air presumptive. He hadn't formally been crowned as a prince 392 00:24:18,800 --> 00:24:21,800 Speaker 1: that I know of at this point. Once Richard the 393 00:24:21,880 --> 00:24:25,680 Speaker 1: third was proclaimed king, though the boys were not kings 394 00:24:25,840 --> 00:24:30,359 Speaker 1: or princes, they were commoners. Formal records from the time 395 00:24:30,520 --> 00:24:34,160 Speaker 1: often nod to Edward's status with titles like read us 396 00:24:34,240 --> 00:24:38,280 Speaker 1: best artie. We really don't know what happened to them 397 00:24:38,320 --> 00:24:43,240 Speaker 1: in the tower. According to the Kroland Chronicle Continuations, written 398 00:24:43,280 --> 00:24:47,359 Speaker 1: around April of fourteen six the boys stayed there quote 399 00:24:47,480 --> 00:24:51,600 Speaker 1: under certain guard. The Great Chronicle of London contains the 400 00:24:51,680 --> 00:24:55,520 Speaker 1: last written reference to anyone seeing the two boys. They 401 00:24:55,520 --> 00:24:58,080 Speaker 1: were shooting bows and arrows and playing in the garden 402 00:24:58,160 --> 00:25:03,440 Speaker 1: quote at sundry times ending June sixteenth. But once they 403 00:25:03,440 --> 00:25:06,919 Speaker 1: were considered commoners, they would have been moved from the 404 00:25:07,040 --> 00:25:11,120 Speaker 1: royal residence to some other location. They weren't royals anymore. 405 00:25:11,800 --> 00:25:14,840 Speaker 1: Dominic Mancini wrote that the boys were quote withdrawn to 406 00:25:14,960 --> 00:25:17,840 Speaker 1: the inner apartments of the tower proper, and day by 407 00:25:17,920 --> 00:25:21,040 Speaker 1: day began to be seen more rarely behind the bars 408 00:25:21,040 --> 00:25:24,320 Speaker 1: and windows, until at length they ceased to appear altogether. 409 00:25:24,960 --> 00:25:27,920 Speaker 1: Already there is a suspicion that they have been done 410 00:25:27,960 --> 00:25:33,040 Speaker 1: away with. Mancini also describes Edward as confessing and doing 411 00:25:33,119 --> 00:25:36,679 Speaker 1: penance daily, as though he thought that his death was eminent. 412 00:25:37,480 --> 00:25:41,760 Speaker 1: King Richard the third was crowned on julyie, and there 413 00:25:41,800 --> 00:25:44,359 Speaker 1: are some references to an attempt to get the boys 414 00:25:44,400 --> 00:25:46,840 Speaker 1: out of the tower after he left London on his 415 00:25:46,920 --> 00:25:51,000 Speaker 1: royal tour, but sources contradict as to whether these plans 416 00:25:51,000 --> 00:25:54,800 Speaker 1: were carried out, or if they were, whether they were successful. 417 00:25:55,720 --> 00:25:58,400 Speaker 1: It does seem like people believe that at least one 418 00:25:58,440 --> 00:26:01,200 Speaker 1: of the boys was still alive when Richard left, though, 419 00:26:01,960 --> 00:26:05,560 Speaker 1: but as that account from Mancini suggests, rumors started to 420 00:26:05,600 --> 00:26:08,840 Speaker 1: spread really quickly that they had been killed, and in 421 00:26:08,880 --> 00:26:13,000 Speaker 1: the subsequent decades people reported that they had heard that 422 00:26:13,040 --> 00:26:22,040 Speaker 1: the boys had died pretty much by every possible means, smothering, poisoning, stabbing, drowning, starving, and, 423 00:26:22,200 --> 00:26:26,119 Speaker 1: according to ruy de Susa of Portugal, bled into a 424 00:26:26,160 --> 00:26:28,600 Speaker 1: body of water that passed through the fort where they 425 00:26:28,640 --> 00:26:32,840 Speaker 1: were being held until they died. Sometime after the last 426 00:26:32,840 --> 00:26:36,000 Speaker 1: report of Edward and Richard being spotted outside the tower, 427 00:26:36,600 --> 00:26:40,800 Speaker 1: their mother and the rest of her children left Westminster Abbey. 428 00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:44,959 Speaker 1: She seemed to endorse Richard the third is King, possibly 429 00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:48,320 Speaker 1: because he had promised to arrange the most advantageous marriages 430 00:26:48,440 --> 00:26:54,000 Speaker 1: possible for her daughters. In fourteen four, Parliament passed an 431 00:26:54,040 --> 00:26:59,400 Speaker 1: act called Titulus Reggius, which formally recognized Richard the third 432 00:26:59,440 --> 00:27:02,840 Speaker 1: and laired the children of Edward the fourth and Elizabeth 433 00:27:02,880 --> 00:27:07,760 Speaker 1: Wouldville to be illegitimate. It cited several reasons, including edwards 434 00:27:07,800 --> 00:27:11,280 Speaker 1: pre contract to another woman, the fact that the marriage 435 00:27:11,320 --> 00:27:14,000 Speaker 1: was secret and without the consent of the lords of 436 00:27:14,000 --> 00:27:17,359 Speaker 1: the land, and because Elizabeth and her family had used 437 00:27:17,400 --> 00:27:22,000 Speaker 1: sorcery to entrap the king. Sure, sure, um, that's how 438 00:27:22,000 --> 00:27:25,040 Speaker 1: that works. Of course, Richard the third was not king 439 00:27:25,119 --> 00:27:28,960 Speaker 1: for long. His opponents characterized him as scheming and cruel, 440 00:27:29,119 --> 00:27:32,160 Speaker 1: the kind of person who would murder his own nephews 441 00:27:32,600 --> 00:27:36,880 Speaker 1: children just to take the throne for himself. Richard's only 442 00:27:36,960 --> 00:27:39,600 Speaker 1: son died in fourteen eighty four and his wife the 443 00:27:39,640 --> 00:27:43,760 Speaker 1: following year, and the Duke of Buckingham turned against him. 444 00:27:43,960 --> 00:27:48,000 Speaker 1: Yorkists invaded England with the help of French and Scottish mercenaries, 445 00:27:48,320 --> 00:27:50,919 Speaker 1: and Richard was killed at the Battle of bosworth Field 446 00:27:51,000 --> 00:27:57,000 Speaker 1: on August five. Succeeding him as king was Henry Tudor, 447 00:27:57,320 --> 00:28:00,399 Speaker 1: also known as King Henry the seventh. He was the 448 00:28:00,480 --> 00:28:03,840 Speaker 1: last surviving man of the Lancastrian line, and he married 449 00:28:04,000 --> 00:28:08,080 Speaker 1: a york That was Elizabeth of York, the oldest sister 450 00:28:08,280 --> 00:28:12,160 Speaker 1: of Edward. The five people who thought Richard the third 451 00:28:12,280 --> 00:28:16,320 Speaker 1: was a usurper already really thought Elizabeth was the rightful queen, 452 00:28:16,560 --> 00:28:19,919 Speaker 1: so Henry's marrying her tightened his claim to the throne. 453 00:28:20,720 --> 00:28:24,080 Speaker 1: In fact, there had been some discussion, some frankly pretty 454 00:28:24,080 --> 00:28:28,320 Speaker 1: gross discussion that Richard the third had thought about marrying 455 00:28:28,440 --> 00:28:32,480 Speaker 1: his niece himself for the same reason after his wife died, 456 00:28:32,640 --> 00:28:36,639 Speaker 1: or maybe even before. But Henry could not marry Elizabeth 457 00:28:36,680 --> 00:28:39,920 Speaker 1: if she was considered illegitimate, so he had to get 458 00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:43,720 Speaker 1: Parliament to repeal the Titulus Reggius, and after they did, 459 00:28:44,160 --> 00:28:48,040 Speaker 1: Henry also ordered all previous copies of Titulus Reggius to 460 00:28:48,080 --> 00:28:50,920 Speaker 1: be destroyed, and for a time the text of that 461 00:28:50,960 --> 00:28:54,800 Speaker 1: document was lost until it was rediscovered in the Crowland Chronicle, 462 00:28:55,640 --> 00:28:58,600 Speaker 1: one of those chroniclers had copied it in there. It 463 00:28:58,640 --> 00:29:02,320 Speaker 1: does not appear that Henry launched any kind of investigation 464 00:29:02,600 --> 00:29:05,240 Speaker 1: into what had happened to the princess in the tower 465 00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:10,040 Speaker 1: or into Richard's actions in fourteen eight three, possibly because 466 00:29:10,040 --> 00:29:13,560 Speaker 1: such an investigation would have unearthed information that would have 467 00:29:13,680 --> 00:29:17,600 Speaker 1: undermined Henry's own claim to the throne. But it was 468 00:29:17,840 --> 00:29:20,520 Speaker 1: during the reigns of Henry the seventh and Henry the 469 00:29:20,560 --> 00:29:24,280 Speaker 1: eight that people started printing more specific accounts of what 470 00:29:24,480 --> 00:29:29,000 Speaker 1: had happened in the Tower, including naming names. In the 471 00:29:29,080 --> 00:29:33,960 Speaker 1: sixteenth century Anglica Historia, Italian politary Virgil wrote that Richard 472 00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:37,520 Speaker 1: the third had ordered Robert Brackenbury, Constable of the Tower, 473 00:29:37,960 --> 00:29:41,840 Speaker 1: to kill Edward the fifth and his brother. When Breckenbury 474 00:29:41,920 --> 00:29:44,880 Speaker 1: did not, Richard told Sir James Terrell to do it. 475 00:29:45,360 --> 00:29:49,040 Speaker 1: In Fabian's chronicle, Robert Fabian, who died in fifteen twelve, 476 00:29:49,200 --> 00:29:53,240 Speaker 1: also named Terrell or possibly another servant of the king. 477 00:29:54,320 --> 00:29:57,600 Speaker 1: By this point Sir James Terrell was dead. He had 478 00:29:57,640 --> 00:30:01,280 Speaker 1: been convicted of treason and executed in fifteen o two. 479 00:30:02,600 --> 00:30:05,040 Speaker 1: I had a whole explanation of what happened in here, 480 00:30:05,040 --> 00:30:09,520 Speaker 1: but it was very long. Terrell reportedly confessed to killing 481 00:30:09,680 --> 00:30:13,120 Speaker 1: Edward and Richards sometime between his conviction on May second 482 00:30:13,240 --> 00:30:16,959 Speaker 1: and his execution on May six, but no copy of 483 00:30:17,000 --> 00:30:22,640 Speaker 1: this purported confession exists anywhere. The first really specific account 484 00:30:22,680 --> 00:30:25,120 Speaker 1: of the boy's deaths was in the History of Richard 485 00:30:25,120 --> 00:30:29,320 Speaker 1: the Third by Sir Thomas Moore, secretary and adviser to 486 00:30:29,480 --> 00:30:33,040 Speaker 1: Henry the eight. More wrote that Richard the third had 487 00:30:33,040 --> 00:30:36,840 Speaker 1: the boy shut up, removing everyone from them except a 488 00:30:36,920 --> 00:30:41,280 Speaker 1: servant called black will or William Slaughter. In his words, 489 00:30:41,400 --> 00:30:45,520 Speaker 1: they quote lingered in thought and heaviness till this traitorous 490 00:30:45,560 --> 00:30:49,400 Speaker 1: death delivered them of that wretchedness. For Sir James Terrell 491 00:30:49,600 --> 00:30:53,120 Speaker 1: devised that they should be murdered in their beds to 492 00:30:53,240 --> 00:30:57,200 Speaker 1: that execution, whereof he appointed Miles Forest, one of the 493 00:30:57,240 --> 00:31:00,600 Speaker 1: four that kept them, a fellow fleshed in order before 494 00:31:00,680 --> 00:31:05,480 Speaker 1: time to him, he joined one John Dighton, his own horsekeeper, 495 00:31:05,920 --> 00:31:09,960 Speaker 1: a big, broad, square, strong nave. This is one of 496 00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:13,560 Speaker 1: those very old documents that writes the word murder like murther, 497 00:31:13,920 --> 00:31:19,400 Speaker 1: which I always love. It's so good, and we could 498 00:31:19,400 --> 00:31:22,240 Speaker 1: get into a hall of conversation about how that linguistic 499 00:31:22,680 --> 00:31:25,360 Speaker 1: transition happened, but we've got more to this show to 500 00:31:25,400 --> 00:31:29,560 Speaker 1: go on. More goes on to say that at about midnight, 501 00:31:29,680 --> 00:31:33,360 Speaker 1: Forest and Dighton came into the boy's room, wrapped them 502 00:31:33,360 --> 00:31:36,840 Speaker 1: in their bedclothes, and smothered them with their feather beds 503 00:31:36,840 --> 00:31:40,880 Speaker 1: and pillows. Once Terrell had confirmed that they were dead, 504 00:31:40,960 --> 00:31:44,680 Speaker 1: he quote caused those murderers to bury them at the 505 00:31:44,760 --> 00:31:49,040 Speaker 1: stairfoot meatly deep in the ground under a heap of stones. 506 00:31:50,080 --> 00:31:52,000 Speaker 1: More goes on to say that Richard the Third was 507 00:31:52,080 --> 00:31:54,680 Speaker 1: brought to the scene and ordered their bodies moved to 508 00:31:54,800 --> 00:31:57,360 Speaker 1: a better place because they were sons of a king, 509 00:31:58,000 --> 00:32:02,800 Speaker 1: before adding sarcastically, quote low the heart courage of a king, 510 00:32:03,320 --> 00:32:08,160 Speaker 1: for he would recompense the detestable murder with a solemn obloquy. 511 00:32:08,200 --> 00:32:11,080 Speaker 1: Of course, William Shakespeare, writing during the reign of Queen 512 00:32:11,120 --> 00:32:14,560 Speaker 1: Elizabeth the First, used Moore's work as a major source 513 00:32:14,600 --> 00:32:18,320 Speaker 1: for his play Richard the Third, which depicts Richard ordering 514 00:32:18,480 --> 00:32:23,040 Speaker 1: Terrell to carry out the crime, and Terrell returning afterwards saying, quote, 515 00:32:23,320 --> 00:32:26,520 Speaker 1: the tyranness and bloody deed is done, the most arch 516 00:32:26,560 --> 00:32:30,120 Speaker 1: of piteous massacre that every yet this land was guilty 517 00:32:30,160 --> 00:32:33,840 Speaker 1: of Dighton and Forest, whom I did suburn to do 518 00:32:33,920 --> 00:32:37,520 Speaker 1: this ruthless piece of butchery. Although they were fleshed villains, 519 00:32:37,520 --> 00:32:42,600 Speaker 1: bloody dogs, melting with tenderness and kind compassion, wept like 520 00:32:42,680 --> 00:32:46,800 Speaker 1: two children in their death sad stories. Of course, the 521 00:32:46,840 --> 00:32:49,640 Speaker 1: tutors had very good reasons to want Richard the Third 522 00:32:49,720 --> 00:32:54,160 Speaker 1: to look like a usurper, because otherwise Henry the seventh 523 00:32:54,200 --> 00:32:58,160 Speaker 1: had forced a legitimate king off the throne. So at 524 00:32:58,160 --> 00:33:02,280 Speaker 1: this point it is generally but universally believed that Edward 525 00:33:02,320 --> 00:33:04,760 Speaker 1: the five and his brother Richard died at the Tower 526 00:33:04,800 --> 00:33:08,920 Speaker 1: of London by the end of three and this idea 527 00:33:08,960 --> 00:33:12,080 Speaker 1: that Richard the Third ordered James Terrell to kill them. 528 00:33:12,200 --> 00:33:16,160 Speaker 1: That's pretty widespread, but Richard the Third definitely isn't the 529 00:33:16,200 --> 00:33:20,680 Speaker 1: only suspect. Another is Henry Stafford, second Duke of Buckingham, 530 00:33:20,720 --> 00:33:23,800 Speaker 1: who came up a lot in this episode. In this idea, 531 00:33:23,840 --> 00:33:26,880 Speaker 1: he would have been trying to ingratiate himself to Richard 532 00:33:27,080 --> 00:33:30,520 Speaker 1: and to protect Richard's claim to the throne. Another is 533 00:33:30,640 --> 00:33:34,400 Speaker 1: John Howard, Duke of Norfolk, who became Lord High Steward 534 00:33:34,520 --> 00:33:38,240 Speaker 1: under Richard the Third pretty much with similar reasoning. But 535 00:33:38,480 --> 00:33:41,000 Speaker 1: Richard the Third is not the only monarch who stood 536 00:33:41,000 --> 00:33:43,560 Speaker 1: to benefit from Edward and his brother being out of 537 00:33:43,560 --> 00:33:47,960 Speaker 1: the picture. The other is actually Henry the seven. Making 538 00:33:47,960 --> 00:33:50,680 Speaker 1: Elizabeth of York legitimate so he can marry her would 539 00:33:50,720 --> 00:33:54,280 Speaker 1: have made Edward and Richard legitimate as well, so if 540 00:33:54,280 --> 00:33:57,720 Speaker 1: they were still alive, Henry would have no real claim 541 00:33:57,760 --> 00:34:00,760 Speaker 1: to the throne. So there are people who think the 542 00:34:00,800 --> 00:34:03,080 Speaker 1: boys lived in the tower for a couple of years, 543 00:34:03,160 --> 00:34:06,479 Speaker 1: hidden away, until Henry the seventh had them killed so 544 00:34:06,520 --> 00:34:10,160 Speaker 1: that he could become king. Other people interpret this more 545 00:34:10,160 --> 00:34:13,240 Speaker 1: as just confirmation that they were definitely dead by this point. 546 00:34:13,880 --> 00:34:16,640 Speaker 1: There are also, though, people who believed that at least 547 00:34:16,840 --> 00:34:20,080 Speaker 1: one of the boys lived for much longer, and people 548 00:34:20,080 --> 00:34:23,319 Speaker 1: who claimed that they were one of them. A man 549 00:34:23,440 --> 00:34:26,640 Speaker 1: named Lambert Simnel, who pretended to be the son of 550 00:34:26,719 --> 00:34:30,719 Speaker 1: George Plantagenet, first Duke of Clarence, had originally planned to 551 00:34:30,760 --> 00:34:33,840 Speaker 1: claim that he was Richard, Duke of York. Then in 552 00:34:33,880 --> 00:34:37,479 Speaker 1: fourteen ninety a man calling himself Richard of England made 553 00:34:37,520 --> 00:34:40,680 Speaker 1: this same claim, and this could really be its own episode. 554 00:34:41,320 --> 00:34:44,879 Speaker 1: This man called Perkin Warbeck, convinced a number of very 555 00:34:44,880 --> 00:34:48,880 Speaker 1: powerful people, including James the Fourth of Scotland and Holy 556 00:34:49,000 --> 00:34:52,640 Speaker 1: Roman Emperor Maximilian the First, that he really was Richard, 557 00:34:52,680 --> 00:34:56,200 Speaker 1: Duke of York. He eventually confessed to being an impostor. 558 00:34:56,280 --> 00:34:59,600 Speaker 1: Though yeah, we actually did an episode on Perkin Warbeck 559 00:34:59,719 --> 00:35:03,200 Speaker 1: on Criminilia in our Impostors season. Oh nice, I was 560 00:35:03,239 --> 00:35:06,640 Speaker 1: wondering that, and I forgot to ask, oh, yes, that's 561 00:35:06,719 --> 00:35:10,800 Speaker 1: a rich impostor story. So there is also a burial 562 00:35:10,840 --> 00:35:14,520 Speaker 1: record in Kent for a Richard Plantagenet dated from December 563 00:35:14,560 --> 00:35:19,040 Speaker 1: twenty two, fifteen fifty. Elizabeth Woodville had a cousin living 564 00:35:19,040 --> 00:35:22,040 Speaker 1: not far from the burial site, so some people have 565 00:35:22,120 --> 00:35:24,880 Speaker 1: interpreted this to mean that Richard, Duke of York somehow 566 00:35:25,000 --> 00:35:28,480 Speaker 1: escaped the tower, perhaps while Richard the Third was on 567 00:35:28,480 --> 00:35:31,400 Speaker 1: that royal tour and secretly lived out the rest of 568 00:35:31,440 --> 00:35:36,000 Speaker 1: his life with his mother's kin. On July seventeen, sixteen 569 00:35:36,120 --> 00:35:40,359 Speaker 1: seventy four, human remains were found in a chest under 570 00:35:40,400 --> 00:35:43,640 Speaker 1: a stone staircase outside the White Tower at the Tower 571 00:35:43,680 --> 00:35:46,600 Speaker 1: of London during some renovations that had been ordered by 572 00:35:46,680 --> 00:35:50,960 Speaker 1: Charles the second. People who examined these remains concluded that 573 00:35:51,040 --> 00:35:53,920 Speaker 1: they belonged to two people who were about eleven and 574 00:35:54,000 --> 00:35:57,719 Speaker 1: thirteen years old. John Knight, chief surgeon to the King, 575 00:35:57,800 --> 00:36:00,720 Speaker 1: concluded that they were indeed Edward the fifth and Richard 576 00:36:00,760 --> 00:36:04,040 Speaker 1: of Shrewsbury, Duke of York. These remains were put on 577 00:36:04,080 --> 00:36:07,520 Speaker 1: display before being placed in Henry the seventh Lady Chapel 578 00:36:07,600 --> 00:36:11,200 Speaker 1: at Westminster Abbey in an urn designed by Sir Christopher 579 00:36:11,239 --> 00:36:16,799 Speaker 1: wren So. Bones of children under a staircase, just like 580 00:36:16,920 --> 00:36:20,600 Speaker 1: Sir Thomas Moore said, but More had also written that 581 00:36:20,719 --> 00:36:23,440 Speaker 1: Richard the third had ordered the bodies moved to a 582 00:36:23,480 --> 00:36:27,120 Speaker 1: more suitable location, and these were not the first bones 583 00:36:27,120 --> 00:36:30,400 Speaker 1: found at the Tower of London suspected of being Edward 584 00:36:30,440 --> 00:36:33,640 Speaker 1: the fifth and his brother. Other bones were unearthed at 585 00:36:33,640 --> 00:36:38,240 Speaker 1: the tower in sixteen ten, sixty two and sixteen forty seven. 586 00:36:38,840 --> 00:36:42,600 Speaker 1: Pretty Much every time anyone found a smallish set of 587 00:36:42,640 --> 00:36:45,520 Speaker 1: remains in the tower, people immediately thought that it was 588 00:36:45,560 --> 00:36:48,799 Speaker 1: the prince's, including one time when it turned out to 589 00:36:48,840 --> 00:36:52,560 Speaker 1: have been an ape that had escaped from the Royal menagerie. 590 00:36:52,960 --> 00:36:55,720 Speaker 1: It's also not clear what happened to these earlier finds 591 00:36:55,719 --> 00:36:58,080 Speaker 1: and whether any of them were the same bones later 592 00:36:58,160 --> 00:37:02,680 Speaker 1: found under the staircase. In nineteen thirty three, Lawrence E. Tanner, 593 00:37:02,840 --> 00:37:06,680 Speaker 1: keeper of the Muniments and Librarian of Westminster Abbey, and 594 00:37:06,880 --> 00:37:11,320 Speaker 1: anatomist William Wright, dean of the London Hospital Medical College, 595 00:37:11,440 --> 00:37:15,400 Speaker 1: opened up the urn. They examined the bones and published 596 00:37:15,440 --> 00:37:18,880 Speaker 1: their findings as recent investigations regarding the fate of the 597 00:37:18,920 --> 00:37:24,080 Speaker 1: princes in the Tower in the journal Archaeologia. Dentist George 598 00:37:24,120 --> 00:37:27,440 Speaker 1: Northcroft had also examined the teeth to try to determine 599 00:37:27,480 --> 00:37:30,200 Speaker 1: the age of the people whose bones they were, and 600 00:37:30,239 --> 00:37:33,560 Speaker 1: they concluded that, along with a lot of other random 601 00:37:33,640 --> 00:37:36,120 Speaker 1: animal bones that were in there, there were two sets 602 00:37:36,200 --> 00:37:39,600 Speaker 1: of human bones in the urn, or belonging to children 603 00:37:39,680 --> 00:37:42,120 Speaker 1: of the right ages to be the princess in the tower. 604 00:37:43,000 --> 00:37:47,480 Speaker 1: Although this sounds pretty conclusive, this investigation was not particularly thorough. 605 00:37:47,880 --> 00:37:49,520 Speaker 1: It seems in a lot of ways to have been 606 00:37:49,560 --> 00:37:51,799 Speaker 1: intended to confirm that these were the princes and not 607 00:37:51,840 --> 00:37:54,360 Speaker 1: to like, actually find the truth of the situation. It 608 00:37:54,480 --> 00:37:57,960 Speaker 1: definitely didn't follow methods or use technologies that would be 609 00:37:58,000 --> 00:38:02,359 Speaker 1: in use today. In twenty eighteen, Dr John ashdown Hill 610 00:38:02,480 --> 00:38:05,800 Speaker 1: traced the mitochondrial DNA line of the Princes in the Tower. 611 00:38:06,480 --> 00:38:09,600 Speaker 1: Ashdown Hill's earlier work had been part of the identification 612 00:38:09,719 --> 00:38:13,120 Speaker 1: of the remains of Richard the third. This made news 613 00:38:13,160 --> 00:38:17,839 Speaker 1: in shortly after ashdown Hill's death. This work could be 614 00:38:17,960 --> 00:38:20,200 Speaker 1: used to confirm whether the bones from the urn at 615 00:38:20,200 --> 00:38:23,239 Speaker 1: Westminster Abbey, or any other bones that might be dug up, 616 00:38:23,680 --> 00:38:26,840 Speaker 1: really belonged to Edward the fifth and his brother. And 617 00:38:26,960 --> 00:38:29,200 Speaker 1: as for that paper we mentioned up at the top 618 00:38:29,239 --> 00:38:31,880 Speaker 1: of the show that was more on a murder, the 619 00:38:31,920 --> 00:38:35,920 Speaker 1: deaths of the Princes in the Tower and historiographical implications 620 00:38:36,000 --> 00:38:38,839 Speaker 1: for the regimes of Henry the seventh and Henry the eighth, 621 00:38:39,440 --> 00:38:43,400 Speaker 1: That was by Tim Thornton, published in the January edition 622 00:38:43,440 --> 00:38:48,000 Speaker 1: of the journal History. Thornton argues that two men named 623 00:38:48,200 --> 00:38:51,480 Speaker 1: Edward and Miles Forest were the sons of the Miles 624 00:38:51,560 --> 00:38:53,960 Speaker 1: Forest that Sir Thomas Moore had named as one of 625 00:38:53,960 --> 00:38:58,440 Speaker 1: the murderers. According to Thornton, More would have known both 626 00:38:58,680 --> 00:39:02,200 Speaker 1: Edward and the younger Miles Forest. Edward was a servant 627 00:39:02,239 --> 00:39:05,160 Speaker 1: of Henry the Eighth's bed chamber, and the younger Miles 628 00:39:05,239 --> 00:39:09,440 Speaker 1: was an advisor to Cardinal Woolsey and a messenger between 629 00:39:09,480 --> 00:39:12,959 Speaker 1: Henry the Eighth court and the embassy in Bruges, where 630 00:39:13,080 --> 00:39:17,239 Speaker 1: Moore was working. It's also possible that John Dighton was 631 00:39:17,320 --> 00:39:21,000 Speaker 1: living in Calais while Moore was also there, so More 632 00:39:21,120 --> 00:39:25,120 Speaker 1: may have known Dighton as well. If Thornton is correct 633 00:39:25,200 --> 00:39:28,919 Speaker 1: in these identifications, then Thomas Moore may have personally known 634 00:39:28,960 --> 00:39:32,320 Speaker 1: the sons of one of the alleged killers, and possibly 635 00:39:32,360 --> 00:39:35,920 Speaker 1: one of the alleged killers himself. So it's possible that 636 00:39:36,000 --> 00:39:40,640 Speaker 1: Moore's account included details he learned directly from them. That 637 00:39:40,760 --> 00:39:43,799 Speaker 1: still leaves some unanswered questions, though, like if you or 638 00:39:43,800 --> 00:39:46,959 Speaker 1: your father had murdered the King of England, why would 639 00:39:46,960 --> 00:39:50,520 Speaker 1: you tell Sir Thomas More about it? I do wonder 640 00:39:50,920 --> 00:39:57,040 Speaker 1: and unburdening. Perhaps I have a very quick piece of 641 00:39:57,080 --> 00:40:00,040 Speaker 1: listener mail to take us out of this episode. And 642 00:40:00,280 --> 00:40:02,480 Speaker 1: now that we have gone through this whole recording and 643 00:40:02,520 --> 00:40:06,319 Speaker 1: hopefully caught all the times where I typed the word 644 00:40:06,440 --> 00:40:09,040 Speaker 1: Richard when I meant the word Edward or vice versa, 645 00:40:09,880 --> 00:40:13,960 Speaker 1: this email seems particularly appropriate because it is about confusing 646 00:40:14,080 --> 00:40:19,560 Speaker 1: names in our Unearthed episode recently. This is from Gray. Uh. 647 00:40:19,719 --> 00:40:24,440 Speaker 1: Gray's email is titled correction Unearthed Columbian Harmony Cemetery and 648 00:40:24,480 --> 00:40:27,760 Speaker 1: it says prefacing this with all the love and devotion, 649 00:40:27,920 --> 00:40:30,160 Speaker 1: but wanted to let you know there was a tiny 650 00:40:30,320 --> 00:40:34,360 Speaker 1: mistake in the most recent Unearthed episode. The Colombian Harmony 651 00:40:34,480 --> 00:40:39,080 Speaker 1: Cemetery stones are being relocated from King George County, Virginia, 652 00:40:39,600 --> 00:40:41,799 Speaker 1: where they were found in the river bank, to a 653 00:40:41,880 --> 00:40:48,160 Speaker 1: memorial park across the Potomac River in landover Prince George's County, Maryland. 654 00:40:49,120 --> 00:40:51,800 Speaker 1: To make it even more confusing, there is a Prince 655 00:40:52,000 --> 00:40:57,359 Speaker 1: George County no apostrophe s in Virginia near Petersburg, which 656 00:40:57,400 --> 00:41:01,640 Speaker 1: is the home of the Tombstone House. All the best, 657 00:41:01,680 --> 00:41:04,920 Speaker 1: Great Gray sent a couple of links, one an article 658 00:41:05,000 --> 00:41:08,800 Speaker 1: from CNN about the gravestones and another an Atlas Obscure 659 00:41:09,040 --> 00:41:12,560 Speaker 1: piece about the Tombstone House. Uh. This made me laugh. 660 00:41:12,600 --> 00:41:15,440 Speaker 1: Even before we recorded this episode and kept just messing 661 00:41:15,520 --> 00:41:19,200 Speaker 1: up Richard and Edward all over the place. Um, partly 662 00:41:19,239 --> 00:41:23,160 Speaker 1: because when I previously used to live in Somerville, Massachusetts, 663 00:41:23,239 --> 00:41:27,360 Speaker 1: I lived on a street where the street crossed the 664 00:41:27,440 --> 00:41:32,120 Speaker 1: city line into Cambridge. Uh and had the house the 665 00:41:32,120 --> 00:41:36,279 Speaker 1: same house numbers on either side. UM. And boy did 666 00:41:36,320 --> 00:41:41,560 Speaker 1: that confuse people visiting us, people delivering food? Uh, not 667 00:41:41,719 --> 00:41:44,200 Speaker 1: so much the mail carrier. The mail carrier knew what 668 00:41:44,239 --> 00:41:50,000 Speaker 1: was that that. Uh? But you know more, Uh, overnight 669 00:41:50,040 --> 00:41:54,759 Speaker 1: deliveries were often overnight it to the other city. Uh. 670 00:41:54,800 --> 00:41:56,600 Speaker 1: And this just reminded me of all that. So thank 671 00:41:56,640 --> 00:41:59,920 Speaker 1: you Gray. I think I just sort of conflated mull 672 00:42:00,000 --> 00:42:03,800 Speaker 1: comple things when I was writing up that installment into unearthed. 673 00:42:04,280 --> 00:42:06,200 Speaker 1: If you would like to write to us about this 674 00:42:06,320 --> 00:42:08,520 Speaker 1: or any other podcasts for at History podcast at I 675 00:42:08,600 --> 00:42:11,040 Speaker 1: heeart radio dot com, and we're all over social media 676 00:42:11,040 --> 00:42:14,080 Speaker 1: at miss in History, which is where you'll find our Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, 677 00:42:14,120 --> 00:42:17,239 Speaker 1: and Instagram. And you can subscribe to our show on 678 00:42:17,360 --> 00:42:19,640 Speaker 1: the I heart radio app and wherever else you like 679 00:42:19,719 --> 00:42:27,320 Speaker 1: to get your podcasts. Stuff you Missed in History Class 680 00:42:27,360 --> 00:42:30,440 Speaker 1: is a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts, 681 00:42:30,480 --> 00:42:33,960 Speaker 1: from I heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple podcasts, 682 00:42:34,160 --> 00:42:36,160 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.