In 2012, Philippa Langley stunned the world by leading the successful search for the body of King Richard III of England. One mystery remained to be solved: the fate of Richard’s nephews, Edward and Richard; the sons of his older brother King Edward IV, and pretenders to the throne. They were last reported in the Tower of London in 1483, aged 12 and 9. Some argued the boys were killed by their uncle, while others argued they escaped or died of natural causes. Centuries of biased reporting from both sides contributed to the mystery.
Princes in the Tower. Painting by Paul Delaroche, 1829 (public domain).
Book cover.
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Philippa Langley and her research team have been searching for new evidence about the nephews. They concluded the first phase and published the findings in a new book: The Princes in the Tower.
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The team uncovered several relevant records in Dutch archives. I will not analyze that evidence here, since that is what the book is for. Several of the discovered records can be found online. I thought it would be convenient to provide a preview and links for easy access if you want to learn more.
Corrections and improvements
Unfortunately, while trying to find the images, I uncovered some errors in the book’s citation and discussion of the Dutch sources, as detailed below. The errors complicate finding the originals but do not undermine the conclusions in the book. It does suggest that the references were not (all) verified before publication. I corrected the errors below.
In other places, the references were not as durable as they could be. The authors referred to page numbers of scans on several occasions, instead of the folio numbers of the original. Page numbers of scans can change if skipped pages are later digitized and inserted, if duplicate scans are removed, or if the book is scanned with different scan choices (e.g., as separate left and right pages instead of spreads). I cited the folio numbers of the original to avoid these issues in the future. The book used the non-permanent links to the West-Brabants Archief website, rather than the permalinks provided by the archives, that they plan to redirect if the website changes. I provided the permalinks in my citations.
I have provided the corrected and improved source citations for each of the online Dutch sources, with a note about any issues I found. Clicking the scan or the name of the archive in the citation will take you to the relevant call number in the finding aid. You can then browse the images to find the relevant entries.
The story of Richard of York, circa 1500
Unidentified author, story about Richard of York, circa 1500, with transcript, 1500s; call no. 1549, Diverse Charters and Acquisitions, Record Group 0510, Gelders Archief, Arnhem, Netherlands; finding aid and images, Gelders Archief (https://permalink.geldersarchief.nl/F64A979DBCB749FEA86D788752068FC9 : accessed 24 November 2023).
Note: The book says the name of the duke of Buckingham was spelled “Buckgegen” but the original shows “Buckgegem.” The transcipt has the name as “Buckeghem.”
County Accounts of Holland
Thomas Beukelaar, steward-general of the County of Holland, account, 1495, fol. 102r, 104v, 105r; call no. 191, Account Chamber of the County and Domains of Holland, Approved and Deposited accounts, Record Group 3.01.27.02, National Archives, The Hague, Netherlands; finding aid and images, Nationaal Archief (https://www.nationaalarchief.nl/onderzoeken/archief/3.01.27.02/invnr/191 : accessed 24 November 2023).
City Accounts of Bergen op Zoom
Bergen op Zoom, accounts of receipts and expenses of the stewards, 1487/1488, fol. 67r, April 1487; call no. 759, City of Bergen op Zoom, Record Group box – 0005, West-Brabants Archief, Bergen op Zoom, Netherlands; finding aid and images, West-Brabants Archief (https://westbrabantsarchief.nl/collectie/archieven/file/6e1a1881a1894a11803ff132fa7e8536 : accessed 24 November 2023).
Note: The book cited this entry as p. 72 (RH).
Bergen op Zoom, accounts of receipts and expenses of the stewards, 1487/1488, fol. 29v, April 1487; call no. 759, City of Bergen op Zoom, Record Group box – 0005, West-Brabants Archief, Bergen op Zoom, Netherlands; finding aid and images, West-Brabants Archief (https://westbrabantsarchief.nl/collectie/archieven/file/6e1a1881a1894a11803ff132fa7e8536 : accessed 24 November 2023).
Note: The book cited this entry as p. 34 (LH).
Bergen op Zoom, accounts of receipts and expenses of the stewards, 1487/1488, fol. 68r, May 1487; call no. 759, City of Bergen op Zoom, Record Group box – 0005, West-Brabants Archief, Bergen op Zoom, Netherlands; finding aid and images, West-Brabants Archief (https://westbrabantsarchief.nl/collectie/archieven/file/6e1a1881a1894a11803ff132fa7e8536 : accessed 24 November 2023).
Note: the book cited this entry as page 73 (RH page).
Bergen op Zoom, accounts of receipts and expenses of the stewards, 1494/1495, fol. 189v, ; call no. 765, City of Bergen op Zoom, Record Group box – 0005, West-Brabants Archief, Bergen op Zoom, Netherlands; finding aid and images, West-Brabants Archief (https://westbrabantsarchief.nl/collectie/archieven/file/1486697ac6a34b71a5ddc856f5fc01d5 : accessed 24 November 2023).
Note: These entries mention expenses for the Duke of Saxony and the Duke of York on 6 January 1495. This register and page was cited in footnote 25 of chapter 15. However, the footnote is attached to a mention of the Duke of Saxony in 1493. The footnote cites page 44 (LH page) of the scans rather than the folio number. No information from 1493 was found on that scan.
Rent letters and recognizances, Bergen op Zoom
Aldermen’s Court (Bergen op Zoom), register of rent letters and recognizances, 1487, fol. 126r, entry for 12 April 1487; call no. 5142, City of Bergen op Zoom, Record Group box – 0005, West-Brabants Archief, Bergen op Zoom, Netherlands; finding aid and images, West-Brabants Archief (https://westbrabantsarchief.nl/collectie/archieven/file/77e0e9a6d8c04ad9a5f5d1133a594c14 : accessed 24 November 2023).
Note: this register was misidentified in the book as call no. 302 of the Aldermen’s Court of Bergen op Zoom. That call number is for a civil case from 1651-1652, unrelated to the Princes in the Tower investigation. The series of Aldermen’s Court records does not have a register of rent letters and recognizances under any other call number either. Such a register was found in the City of Bergen op Zoom records, which contained the entry as translated in the book. This source was cited in the corrected citation.
More evidence?
The search for more evidence continues, as more archives around the world are searched for evidence about the lives of these boys and their final resting place. Anyone who has tips or skills that can contribute to the project are invited to contact the team at the Missing Princes Project.
About Yvette Hoitink
Thank you for the links to the documents and the corrected citations! I read the book last weekend so am glad to be able to see the original records.
You are welcome!
Thanks for doing this 🙂 While a dedicated researcher, I don’t believe Philippa is a trained historian or genealogist, and it’s clear the editors at the History Press don’t understand the nuances of citing original sources.
Good to know, however, that the overall conclusions she reached aren’t compromised. As a long-time Ricardian, I’m encouraged by these discoveries, but it’s still by no means incontrovertible proof of Richard’s innocence. While I have never thought he ordered the deaths (hence being a Ricardian), I do believe he bears some responsibility in their fate as they disappeared under his watch.
My first suspect has always been Buckingham, acting in cahoots with Margaret Beaufort…but I’ve also always wondered if they were spirited away to their aunt in Burgundy.
Again – thanks so much for your improvement to the sources. I have asked for the book for Christmas, and look forward to reading it.