The Biggest Murder Mystery in History?

Taken from: A Bend in the Sky: An Anthology of Creative Non-Fiction, Edited by Richard May, Queen’s University, 2022

Please note that this is a work of creative non-fiction and uses MLA references.

If I could go back in time to any point in history, I would go back to
the Tower of London in the summer of 1483, in order to solve one of
the biggest murder mysteries in history. Before I embed myself, let’s
look at a bit of the backstory.
In 1483, King Edward IV died, making his twelve-year-old son,
Edward V, king. He would be king for less than three months when he
was declared to be illegitimate due to his father had violated a
previous marriage contract (Lewis, Richard III 287). His uncle became
King Richard III. Edward and his nine-year-old brother Richard, Duke
of York, were taken into the Tower of London for their protection. They
were not seen again after the summer of 1483 (Mackenzie). This mystery
is known as “The Princes in the Tower.” Many people believe that the
boys were killed on the orders of their uncle, King Richard III. There is,
however, no evidence of this. This is what makes it so impressive.
I would start my journey at the Tower of London in July of 1483,
because this was close to the time when the princes were last seen
(Lewis, Survival 22). Since, in this reality, time travel is possible, I am
going to assume that it would also be possible for me to fit into a position
where I would have full access to the Tower and would be completely
fluent in Middle English, which was spoken at the time. I will also make
the assumption that my actions cannot change the outcome of history due
to the fact that they have already happened.

Most of the accounts that blamed Richard III were not written at the
time and were biased towards King Henry VII, who defeated Richard III
in battle in 1485 and took the crown. The most popular account was
written by Shakespeare during the reign of Henry VII’s granddaughter,
Elizabeth I. His account portrayed Richard III as severely deformed.
When Richard III’s remains were discovered under a parking lot in 2012,
it was found that he did suffer from scoliosis, but was not deformed in
the way that Shakespeare portrayed him, and it is possible that his
condition was not known to the public until after his death, when his
naked body was displayed by Henry VII. (Ashdown-Hill).
I would be vigilant at all times but, given the fact that there is no
known specific disappearance date, I may have to wait for a few months.
It would be necessary for me to fit into palace activities as a member of
King Richard’s court. During this time, I would keep a close watch on
the whereabouts of the Tower. I would keep an eye on the princes. If they
were to suddenly disappear, the first thing that I would do would be to
look for disturbed ground, especially near the staircase to the White
Tower, where they were rumoured to have been buried and where
children’s bones were recovered during the reign of Charles II who were
believed to have been the bones of the princes and were deposited in an
urn in Westminster Abbey among the graves of many other kings and
queens.
The bones have not been examined using modern science: the Queen
will not grant permission for the urn holding the bones to be opened. It
is, however, possible that Prince Charles may grant permission during
his reign.
Given that the White Tower is located right in the centre of the
Tower of London, I do not think that I will witness a burial or find a new
grave, as it would raise too many questions for too many people.
As I wait, the summer turns into fall. October is another possible
date for the boy’s death, as it was marked by the beginning of
Buckingham’s Rebellion. The Duke of Buckingham had been one of
Richard III’s strongest supporters, making his rebellion seem odd. One
theory is that he had the boys killed believing that this was what Richard
would have wanted, and that he rebelled when Richard was appalled by
what he had done. Should the boys disappear around this time, this would
be my primary suspicion.
Finding the boys gone, I would place myself as close to the King as
possible during the rebellion to determine what the King perceived to be
Buckingham’s motivation for rebelling. I may have to pretend to be a
military advisor to be that close to the King. I am, however, not sure how
qualified I am to advise on fifteenth-century warfare, given the fact that
my knowledge of the subject is based solely on information that has
survived to the present day.
The fact that the boys were murdered has never actually been
confirmed as a fact itself. The longer I am required to wait in the tower,
the larger their hopes of survival become. Their continued survival could
cause problems for their uncle, as they could always be used to form a
rebellion around. So, it would have been beneficial for Richard III to let
the public believe they were dead while hiding them away somewhere
under a false identity. As time wore on, it would become increasingly
necessary to keep a close eye on the boys before they were moved to
determine where they were going. I can say fairly confidently that they
would be broken up, so it would only be possible to follow one of them.
Which ideally would be the older boy, the former King Edward V. This
is where I may end my journey, for at this point there are too many
variables as the boys could be sent to the remote parts of England, or
perhaps another country altogether.
Now, if that had not happened by Richard’s command and I found
myself and the princes still in the Tower by August 1485, when Richard
III was killed in the Battle of Bosworth by the forces of Henry Tudor,
who would become King Henry VII (Lewis, Richard III 384), the boys
would certainly be endangered. In order to combine the houses of
Lancaster and York, Henry VII married the boy’s sister, repealing the act
that had declared her and her siblings illegitimate.
Had the boys still been alive, both of them would now have a better
claim to the throne. This would be a very tense and potentially dangerous
time to stay in the Tower. If the boys were not immediately rushed away
to safety by someone lost to history, they surely would have been quietly
killed on the orders of King Henry VII. This is at last when I find myself
at the end of my journey with one of many possible answers.

WORKS CITED
Ashdown-Hill, John. The Last Days of Richard III and the Fate of His
DNA. History Press, 2013.
Lewis, Matthew. Richard III: Loyalty Binds Me. Amberley, 2018.
—. The Survival of the Princes in the Tower. History Press, 2017.
Mackenzie, Neil. Richard III: The King in the Car Park: A Medieval
Game of Thrones. Neil Mackenzie, 2014.

Charles Veale. March 18th, 2022