The amateur historian who discovered the remains of Richard III found under a car park in Leicester has uncovered evidence that could upend the central theory about what happened to the princes in the Tower.
It was long believed that the 12-year-old King Edward V and his nine-year-old brother were killed by their uncle Richard III in 1483. were murdered so that he could become monarch.
But shocking new documents unearthed by Phillipa Langley suggest both boys survived their imprisonment in the Tower of London.
Their findings suggest that Edward and Richard, the Duke of York, assumed the identities of Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck, who have long been known to have made failed attempts to depose Henry VII in the late 15th century.
Edward is believed to be Simnel, who was the central figure in the Yorkist invasion of England in 1487.
Warbeck, who had originally claimed to be Richard, failed in his attempt to take the throne in 1497 and then signed a confession admitting that he was the son of a boatswain.
But Ms. Langley’s testimony suggests that he really was the young prince.
One of the four key documents to be featured in a Channel 4 documentary tomorrow is a witness statement said to have been written by him.
The 1493 manuscript tells how Richard and his brother were separated in the Tower before two men “swore by honor and oath to hide me secretly until certain years had passed.”
In “The Princes in the Tower: The New Evidence,” which airs on Saturday, Ms. Langley – who co-hosts the show with Robert Rinder – talks about the “amazing discoveries” she has made after seven years of research.
The princes in the Tower may have escaped imprisonment and fled to Europe rather than be killed, according to new, explosive evidence
Ms Langley believes a pair of boys dismissed as pretenders to the throne – Lambert Simnel (left) and Perkin Warbeck (right) – were the real princes. Each of these boys initiated failed attempts to depose Henry VII towards the end of the 15th century
Edward V – who was never crowned – and his brother were the sons of Edward IV, who died in 1483.
After being declared illegitimate heirs by Richard III, then Duke of Gloucester, the two princes were taken to the Tower of London and then disappeared from historical records.
For years, experts have wanted to examine the remains of four children – two of which were found in the Tower of London in the 16th century and two in the grounds of Windsor Castle in the 18th century – in the hope that some may belong to Edward and Richard.
However, the late Queen Elizabeth II was understood to have blocked any investigation on the grounds that the bodies had long been buried in royal crypts.
Ms Langley said documents in European archives point to the princes’ escape and later attempts to invade England.
She conducted her investigation with 300 freelance researchers to find out what really happened.
The historian’s findings are also presented in her new book “The Princes In The Tower”.
Among the four key documents to be featured in a Channel 4 documentary tomorrow is a 1493 witness statement said to be from Prince Richard, Duke of York, who was nine years old when he disappeared with his brother in 1483 . She tells how they were separated in the tower before two men “swore by honor and oath to hide me secretly until certain years had passed.”
In The Princes In The Tower: The New Evidence, which screens tomorrow, Philippa Langley – who co-hosts the program with Robert Rinder – talks about the “amazing discoveries” she has made after seven years of research
The full testimony is written in Middle Dutch – a precursor to the modern language – and was probably copied from an original that would have been written in Latin or French.
Written in the first person in 1493, it describes how Richard was smuggled out of the Tower of London by Henry and Thomas Percy.
Experts have confirmed that it was written during this period.
It says: “I was taken to the Tower of London to join my brother, who was already there.”
“We were separated. I was secretly taken to a room in a place where the lions were kept.
“Lord Howard came to me and encouraged me.
“Finally he ordered the guards to leave and then brought two more men to me. Their names were Henry Percy and Thomas Percy.
“They swore by honor and oath to hide me in secret until certain years had passed.”
It continues: “They shaved my hair and dressed me in a poor and dreary shirt, and we went to St. Katharine’s [dock].’
The program includes an animated dramatization of the moment the princes were imprisoned in the Tower of London
Another document from Holland dates from 1483 and appears to bear a royal seal and the signature of “Richard, Duke of York”. It promises that after Richard ascends to the English throne, he will pay 30,000 guilders to Duke Albert of Saxony
For centuries there has been a belief that King Richard III. had the boys murdered so he could take the throne
It goes on to say that he was taken by boat to France before traveling to Portugal.
Another document dates from 1493 and was written in French by a scribe at King Maximilian’s court.
It explains why Maximilian, the leader of the Holy Roman Empire, believes that the young man in the testimony is Prince Richard.
It describes three distinctive birthmarks on the young man’s body.
The third document comes from Holland and is dated 1483 and appears to bear a royal seal and the signature of “Richard, Duke of York”.
It promises that after Richard ascends to the English throne, he will pay 30,000 guilders to Duke Albert of Saxony.
A man claiming to be Richard landed in England with a small army in hopes of seizing the throne.
When a first attempt failed, he fled to Scotland and launched another bid in 1497.
After being captured, he signed a confession stating that he was actually Warbeck, the son of a boatswain, but Mrs. Langley believes that he was probably Prince Richard.
Author Anne Wroe expanded on a similar theory about Warbeck being Prince Richard in her 2003 book Perkin: A Story Of Deception.
The fourth piece of evidence identified by Ms Langley is a receipt for arms for the “son of King Edward IV” for the York invasion of England in 1487, of which Simnel was the figurehead.
The prevailing belief about Simnel is that he claimed to be, or actually was, Edward, Earl of Warwick.
But Mrs. Langley suspects that Simnel was really the young King Edward.
In the documentary she says: “When we discovered the remains of Richard III. found, I said the job was done, but in reality it wasn’t job done.”
“Did Richard III. “The two princes in the tower murdered?” I don’t think they were murdered, I think they actually survived.
“I have been researching the story of the two princes for seven years. “We work with an army of researchers who have made the most amazing discoveries that prove what happened to the two princes.”
She adds: “I put out an SOS call looking for volunteers. “I was inundated. I have over 300 members of the project.
“I asked them to search their local archives to find out what they could.” I want the property so I can build a puzzle about what happened at this place and find facts.
In Shakespeare’s play Richard III. The Machiavellian king has his two nephews killed in the Tower of London (pictured) in order to get closer to the throne
“The discoveries they made were extraordinary.” And if these discoveries are real, then they have the potential to rewrite history.
“If you’re right, I don’t think the princes were murdered, they actually survived.”
It is not clear how the new findings match research Ms. Langley was involved in in 2021.
This project suggested that Richard III. Edward may have been spared and instead allowed him to live under an assumed name in a rural Devon village.
Academics followed a paper trail containing medieval documents that led them to Coldridge, where royal York symbols are carved in the local church of St Matthew’s.
The results suggested a secret deal between the boys’ mother and Richard III. which enabled Edward V to live his life under the false name “John Evans”.
In the church there is also an effigy of “John Evans” looking directly at a stained glass window depicting Edward V, suggesting that they were the same person.
The Princes In The Tower: The New Evidence, co-hosted by Philippa Langley and Rob Rinder, will be shown on Channel 4 tomorrow at 8pm.
RICHARD III: THE KING WHO LOCKED HIS NEPHEW IN THE TOWER OF LONDON
Richard was born in 1452 at Fotheringhay Castle in Northamptonshire.
During the War of the Roses, Richard’s father, Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, was killed.
In 1470, Richard and his brother Edward were exiled when Henry VI died. took back the throne from the rival House of Lancaster.
Henry’s reign was short-lived and during a battle the following year Edward became king.
In 1483, Edward died and Richard was appointed protector of the realm for Edward’s son and successor, the 12-year-old Edward V.
Edward V and his brother Richard were housed in the Tower of London and, after a campaign to condemn the late king’s marriage to Elizabeth Woodville, the princes were declared illegitimate.
Richard III was born in 1452 at Fotheringhay Castle in Northamptonshire
The following day Richard III ascended. the throne.
He was crowned in July and in August of the same year the two princes disappeared.
Rumors spread that the king had killed them to remove any threat to his rule.
In 1485, Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, launched an attack on Richard III. at Bosworth Field in Leicestershire.
Many of Richard III’s key lieutenants. defected and he was killed in battle. Henry Tudor ascended the throne as Henry VII.
The discovery of his remains under a car park in Leicester in 2012 proved that he had a curvature of the spine similar to that of Shakespeare in his play Richard III. had presented.
Scientists also discovered that the king was infested with roundworms after finding large quantities of the parasite’s eggs in the soil of his pelvic area.