English Monarch. The eldest son of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville, he inherited the throne upon his father's sudden death in 1483, but was never crowned. Edward was only twelve, so his uncle Richard, Duke of Gloucester, was appointed his protector and regent. Richard escorted the young king into London, but less than three months later, was crowned himself. Edward and his younger brother Richard, Duke of York, had been declared illegitimate, housed in the royal apartments in the Tower of London, and were never seen again. Rumours and theories abound to this day as to the fate of the two boys, more commonly referred to as The Princes in the Tower. Some say Richard had them murdered (the popular story has them smothered with pillows as they slept) in order to gain the throne, while others say Henry Tudor (Henry VII) had more reason to want them dead. In 1495, a young man named Perkin Warbeck stepped forward claiming to be Edward. He was later exposed as a fraud, but there are some who still think otherwise. Partial skeletons of two young people were unearthed in the Tower in 1674, and many believe they are the remains of the king and his brother. But experts have never agreed on the age or even the sex of the remains. Translation of inscription: "Here lie interred the remains of Edward V King of England, and Richard, Duke of York, whose long desired and much sought after bones, after above an hundred and ninety years, were found by most certain tokens, deep interred under the rubbish of the stairs that led up to the Chapel of the White Tower, on the 17th of July in the year of our Lord 1674. Charles the second, a most merciful prince, having compassion upon their hard fortune, performed the funeral rites of these most unhappy princes among the tombs of their ancestors, anno domini 1678."
English Monarch. The eldest son of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville, he inherited the throne upon his father's sudden death in 1483, but was never crowned. Edward was only twelve, so his uncle Richard, Duke of Gloucester, was appointed his protector and regent. Richard escorted the young king into London, but less than three months later, was crowned himself. Edward and his younger brother Richard, Duke of York, had been declared illegitimate, housed in the royal apartments in the Tower of London, and were never seen again. Rumours and theories abound to this day as to the fate of the two boys, more commonly referred to as The Princes in the Tower. Some say Richard had them murdered (the popular story has them smothered with pillows as they slept) in order to gain the throne, while others say Henry Tudor (Henry VII) had more reason to want them dead. In 1495, a young man named Perkin Warbeck stepped forward claiming to be Edward. He was later exposed as a fraud, but there are some who still think otherwise. Partial skeletons of two young people were unearthed in the Tower in 1674, and many believe they are the remains of the king and his brother. But experts have never agreed on the age or even the sex of the remains. Translation of inscription: "Here lie interred the remains of Edward V King of England, and Richard, Duke of York, whose long desired and much sought after bones, after above an hundred and ninety years, were found by most certain tokens, deep interred under the rubbish of the stairs that led up to the Chapel of the White Tower, on the 17th of July in the year of our Lord 1674. Charles the second, a most merciful prince, having compassion upon their hard fortune, performed the funeral rites of these most unhappy princes among the tombs of their ancestors, anno domini 1678."
Bio by: Kristen Conrad
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