The Princes in the Tower, page 58
John Dike (Joined Project: 8 January 2018)
John Dike is a professional electrical engineer, now retired from the electricity supply industry, who is passionate about history. He regularly presents several talks on various historical subjects and has written books relating to local history. His Bristol Blitz Diary (1982) was recommended reading by the Imperial War Museum as a source of information on urban warfare. He adopts an analytical style to historical research in an attempt to acquire a truth that is not always present in the written narrative. It was while writing about Coldridge in Devon that he came across the significant evidence of a possible connection between the village and Edward V and joined Philippa Langley’s The Missing Princes Project. John is Lead Researcher of the project’s Coldridge Research Group with fourteen members.
Zoë Maula (Joined Project: 17 July 2019)
Zoë Maula is a Dutch national and graduate from Leiden University with a bachelor and master’s degree in Japan studies, with a specialisation in Japanese pre-modern history. Whilst Zoë’s specialisation might differ from the focus of The Missing Princes Project, British history of the fifteenth and sixteenth century has always fascinated her and ignited her interest due to its parallels with the Warring States Period (1477–1568) of Japanese history. Zoë’s current research focus is the Van Glymes family and the secret ciphers of the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I and the Spanish monarchs, Isabella and Ferdinand.
Acknowledgements
Over the past thirty years I have been researching the life and times of Richard III. This book is the result of two journeys: the first, an investigation of all known source materials; the second, the search for new and neglected material in archives around the world. Such an ambitious search required an army and it is this army to whom our most grateful thanks are extended. In particular to the Dutch Research Group led by Nathalie Nijman-Bliekendaal with members Zoë Maula, Albert Jan de Rooij, Jean Roefstra and William Wiss. Their commitment and dedication has been unwavering. Our thanks go in particular to Nathalie and Albert, their extraordinary discoveries changing what we know. Nathalie would also like to thank: Drs Paul Baks, Leanne Erras, MA, Marjolein Jacobs-Driessen, MA, Dr Fred van Kan, Zoë Maula, MA, Jean Roefstra, Mr Albert Jan de Rooij, Irene Rooker, MA, Drs Alfred Schweitzer, Koen Vermeulen, MA, Drs William Wiss and Drs Ad van der Zee (Dutch academic titles in italics).
The Missing Princes Project in America was launched by its lead, Sally Keil, in November 2018. The goal was to scour libraries, institutions and archives in the US and Canada for primary-source documents dated between 1483 and 1509. More than twenty-three people participated. With thanks to its top researchers: Maureen Chelak, Evelyn Fair, Jim Minor, Amy Odenbaugh, Jean Pivetz, Suzanne Sage, Julie Stafford, Denise Testa, and Tish Wolter. The ‘stars’ of the project were Linda McLatchie, who searched fifty-two libraries; Sally Keil, who went through 101; and Bobbie Franks, who delved into the archives of 146 institutions. Recently concluded, The Missing Princes Project in America represents a remarkable research achievement.
With special appreciation to the Coldridge Research Group in Devon led by John Dike and its team of eleven dedicated researchers: Jessica Bailey, Rosalind Bailey, Eileen Bates, Diane Bosley, Ian Churchward, Donna Egan, Lyn Green, Helen Ingram, Terri-Kate Lee, Julie Stafford and Beth Williams.
Grateful thanks are extended to the Somerset Branch Research Group in Wells led by Kieran Molloy and its dedicated researchers, including Louisa Purcell, Christine Simpson, Helena Smith, Keith Stenner, Rosemary Swabey, Cathy Symons and the late Hugh Warren.
Special thanks are also extended to the ancient families and their archivists who have generously aided our researches: Lady Jadranka Beresford-Peirse, Julie Biddlecombe-Brown, Daniel Blagg, David Brackenbury, Lord Gerald and Lady Emma Fitzalan-Howard, Christopher Hunwick, Craig Irving, Isabel Keating, Charlie Malet de Carteret, Seigneur of St Ouen, Jersey, Alison McCann, Ali McGrain, Alan McKerchar, Diana Percy, Max Percy, Lord Egremont, Ralph Percy, 12th Duke of Northumberland, Malcolm and Sue Rayfield, Christopher Ridgeway, John Martin Robinson, Lady Hetti Ronaldshay, David, Lord Willoughby de Broke and Ruth Wrigley.
The debt owed to the more than 300 members of the project is legion, too numerous to mention here, but they all have my deepest gratitude. Many of their names are recorded in this work. Particular gratitude to: Naomi Asukai, Marie Barnfield, Tracy Branagan, Sharon Camilletti, Annette Carson, Abigail Cherry, Jean Clare-Tighe, Suzanne Court-Oak, Michele Cross, Annette Davies, Iain Farrell, Dr Judith Ford, Amanda Geary, Gwendolen Godfrey, Nicola Heathcote, Mark Hicks, Francesca Icaza, Alice Johnson, Randolph Jones, Wendy Corbet Kelley, Lesley Lambert, Joanne Larner, Maria Grazia Leotta, Isabelle Lloyd, Sharon Lock, Satu Mannonen, Dan Moorhouse, Marion Moulton, Matt Oliver, Dr Alan Pendlington, Dr Sandra Pendlington, Art Ramirez, Lucy Roberts, Ian Rogers, Matthew Rolfe, Michele Schindler, Sandra Secchie, Kate M. Smith, Carol Southworth, Elena Taborri, Kirsteen Thomson, Dr Christopher Tinmouth, Lindsay Trenholme, Elizabeth Watson and Neil Whalley.
I am incredibly grateful to all the specialists who gave their time and expertise: Clive Atkinson, Silvija Banić, Dame Professor Sue Black (Baroness Black), Dr Eleoma Bodammer, Dr Tobias Capwell, Dr Heather Falvey, Professor Peter Field, Professor Lucina Hackman, Peter and Carolyn Hammond, Dr A.J. Hibbard, Ken Hillier, the late Mike Ingram, Dr David Johnson, Wendy Johnson, Carol Ann Kerry-Green, the late Dr Arthur Noel Kincaid, Dr Betty Knott, Sara Kondol-Hanna, Professor Henrike Lähnemann, Dr Greg Lambert, Dr Joanna Laynesmith, Matthew Lewis, Professor George Maat, Richard Mackinder, António Marques, Isolde Martyn, Wendy Moorhen, Toni Mount, Peter O’Donoghue (York Herald), Dr Lynda Pidgeon, Professor Compton A. Reeve, Dr Mariam Rosser-Owen, David Santiuste, John Saunders, Doris Schneider-Coutandin, Léonie Seliger, Dominic Sewell, Gordon Smith, Dr Shelagh Sneddon, Isobel Sneesby, Susan Troxell, Maureen Tyrell, Christopher Vane (Chester Herald), Dr Livia Visser-Fuchs, Louise Whittaker and Diana Withee.
With gratitude to all the archivists, librarians, museum curators and employees, custodians of ancient properties and local historians and researchers whose names are too many to list here but with thanks in particular to: Jennifer Allison, Clare Brown, Nathan Coyde, the late Ian Curteis, Gabriel Damaszk, Laurence Delsaut, Katie Dungate, Susan Freebrey, Bill Hare, James Harte, Alicia Hendrick, Cindy Hopkins, Joanne Iddison, Dr Bob Irving, Camille Koutoulakis, Louise Christine Larson, Dr Eckhart Leisering, Kate McQuillian, Graham Mitchell, Valérie Noël, Kris Palmer, Tom Richardson, Clare Rider, Rosanne Rietveld, Linda Romeril, Jan and Mike Saunders, Elizabeth Scudder, Janet Senior, Garry Smith, Kimberley Starkie, Nora Thornton, Marine Vasseur, Emily Ward, Anne Warsönke, Dickon Whitewood, Professor Peter Wiegand and Marc Yates.
My thanks also to all the project members from the police and judiciary for their continuing advice and analysis: Jayne Adams, Peter Camilletti, Gary Edginton (USA), Jeff Goodwin, Carl Holdcroft and Graham Roberts. Those working in our intelligence services and Ministry of Defence whose names cannot be recorded here for security purposes, you know who you are.
I would also like to thank my literary agent Charlie Viney and all those at The History Press who believed in this book: Claire Hopkins (commissioning editor), Cynthia Hamilton (head of PR and marketing), Chrissy McMorris (editorial manager), and my independent publicist Angela Martin. With thanks also to Georgia Holmes (senior acquisitions editor) at W.F. Howes for commissioning the audiobook and Alistair George (audiobook producer) in my home town of Edinburgh for making it happen.
Finally, my heartfelt thanks go to the three people who helped make this book possible: Dr David Johnson, for kindly reading the early draft of each chapter and for his helpful suggestions, comments and additions. Likewise to Annette Carson, who checked (and edited) the extensive endnotes so critical to this work and identified and aided a number of clarifications within the text. And to Director Janice Sutherland, who gave me the belief and impetus to place my journey on screen. Thank you.
For the onscreen story: with especial thanks to those who gave their time and elucidation: Nathen Amin, Dr Tracy Borman, Mallaurie Dandois (archivist), Professor Henrike Lähnemann, Matthew Lewis, Dr Elizabeth Norton, Dr Janina Ramirez, Irene Rooker, MA, (archivist) and Dr Ann Wroe, and with especial gratitude to Emily Shields, Commissioning Editor at Channel 4, Malcolm Brinkworth (executive producer and chief executive officer, Brinkworth Productions), Xander Brinkworth (executive producer), Dr Emilia Chodorowska (producer), Florrie Reeves (assistant producer), Matt Kennedy (director of photography), Janice Sutherland (director), and the inimitable Rob Rinder, who I now have the honour to call friend. Thank you for sharing my journey.
This book is dedicated to all those who seek truth, and to the memory of Richard Plantagenet (1452–85), whose good name and reputation is now returned to him.
Requiesce in pace.
1. Earliest known (copy) portrait of Richard III (1452–85), c. 1510. Society of Antiquities, London. Panel portrait. See Plate 10. (Bridgeman Images)
2. John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk (1442–85), c. 1500, stained-glass window from his seat at Tendring Hall, Norfolk, or south chapel, Stoke-by-Nayland church, now lost. (Geoffrey Wheeler)
3. Six-year-old Edward (V), Prince of Wales (1470 to after 1487), c. 1477, with his mother, Queen Elizabeth Woodville, and father, Edward IV. Anthony Woodville, Earl Rivers (kneeling), second from left. Figure (standing) in blue believed to be Richard, Duke of Gloucester. Lambeth Palace, London. (© Lambeth Palace Library / Bridgeman Images)
4. Eleven-year-old Edward (V), Prince of Wales, c. 1482, stained-glass window, Little Malvern Priory, Worcester. Wearing circlet crown of a prince. The priory was rebuilt at this time by John Alcock, Bishop of Worcester, tutor to Edward and President of his household. (Steve Carse for The Missing Princes Project, 5 April 2022)
5. Edward V age 16 from coronation (Sunday, 27 May 1487), c. 1500, stained-glass window, Coldridge Church, Devon. Wearing crown of a king and holding the royal sceptre. Coldridge was owned by Edward V’s half-brother, Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset (d. 1501), and his wife, Cecily Bonville (d. 1529). (John Dike)
6. & 7. Edward (V), Prince of Wales (right) and Richard, Duke of York (left), after 1660s, Royal Window, Canterbury Cathedral. Following restoration, Edward and Richard are shown in closed crowns of a king. Original window, c. 1482, children of Edward IV depicted in circlet crowns. (Geoffrey Wheeler)
8. Twenty-year-old Richard, Duke of York (1473–99?), c. 1494, Tournament Tapestry, Musée des beaux-arts de Valenciennes, France. York (centre, facing) depicted at royal tournament with Burgundian royal family, with his aunt Margaret of York and Burgundy on his left. Margaret holds a gilly flower at York’s heart. The gilly flower (carnation) was the emblem of York’s mother, Elizabeth Woodville (d. 1492). Mark visible at Richard’s right eye. (RMN-Grand Palais / René-Gabriel Ojeda / RMN-GP / Dist. Photo SCALA, Florence)
9. Pencil sketch (c. 1560) of 20-year-old Richard of York, c. 1494, from painting (uncredited). Searches are ongoing for the painting. Reveals mark by right eye and hair detailed as ‘blon’ (blond). Sketch probably by herald Jacques le Boucq. Arras, France. (Bridgeman Images)
10. One of the earliest known (copy) portraits of Edward IV (1442–83), c. 1510, Society of Antiquaries, London. Panel portrait. Note resemblance to Richard, Duke of York (youngest son), see Plate 9. (Bridgeman Images)
11. Elizabeth Woodville (1437–92), mother of Edward V and Richard, Duke of York. Earliest known (copy) portrait, c. 1513–30, Royal Collection. (Royal Collection Trust)
12. Margaret of York and Burgundy (1446–1503), c. 1468, Louvre Museum, Paris. Sister of Edward IV and Richard III, and aunt of Edward V and Richard, Duke of York. Leading supporter of both Yorkist claimants to the English Crown. (Musée du Louvre)
13. Maximilian I (1459–1519), 1519, by Albrecht Dürer, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria. Leading supporter of Edward V and Richard, Duke of York. Holy Roman Emperor (1508–19). (Kunsthistorisches Museum)
14. Tower of London, 1480s. Contemporary image from manuscript of poems by Charles, Duke of Orléans (1394–1465). Many of the poems were written while the duke was imprisoned at the Tower (1415–40). Image shows a number of scenes, including the duke writing poetry in the White Tower and gazing out of a window. Reveals White Tower apartments. Artistic style suggests illustrator was Dutch. From manuscript, Bruges. (The Picture Art Collection / Alamy Stock Photo)
15. Tower of London, Survey 1597; image, 1742. Royal Apartments, Lanthorne Tower, circled in blue (note ‘Privy Garden’ where princes were probably seen shooting arrows). Lions Tower, circled in green, where Richard of York was housed nearby in July 1483. St Katherine’s is located to the east. Buildings were added to southern aspect of the central White Tower, demolished in the 1670s. (© British Library Board. All Rights Reserved / Bridgeman Images)
16. Tower of London entrance, moat and drawbridge. Lions Tower: semi-circular area by moat. Artist’s reconstruction by Ivan Lapper. (Historic Royal Palaces)
17. Medieval carvel-built ship, similar to vessel which transported 9-year-old Richard, Duke of York, to France from the Tower of London in mid-July to early August 1483. Travel was organised by John Howard, Duke of Norfolk, Earl Marshal and Lord High Admiral of England. York was cared for by Peirse brothers Henry and Thomas. Manuscript image (sixteenth century) of Edward (IV) landing in Calais in exile in 1459.
Carvel-built: relatively small, fast sailing into the wind with two to three masts. Due to the bottom of the ship protruding below the surface of the water by only a small distance, it is extremely manoeuvrable. Crew size: seven up to fifteen, including passengers. Bears 120 tons of cargo and could be armed with a weapon. Being small with a shallow keel enables it to sail upriver and close to shore. Average length: 23–25m (75–81ft). Image possibly carvel or carrack (broader and less manoeuvrable). Carracks may have been used for Edward V’s invasion fleet of 1487. (Musée Thomas Dobrée-Musée Archéologique, Nantes, France / Bridgeman Art Library (Ms. 18 f. 109v.); description of carvel-built ship, thanks to Jean Clare-Tighe)
18. Edward V, Proof of Life, 16 December 1497: ‘to serve her nephew – son of King Edward, late her brother (may God save his soul), [who was] expelled from his dominion.’ (Archives Départementales du Nord, Lille, France, ADN B 3521/124564)
19. Sunday, 27 May 1487, 16-year-old Edward V is carried in triumph at his coronation in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin. Edward is carried as a young man by the giant William D’Arcy of Platten (Great Darcy). Edward was likely of a slim (gracile) build, similar to Richard III (his uncle). From James Ward mural, 1913, Dublin City Hall. (Courtesy of Dublin City Library & Archive)
20. Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, site of Edward V’s coronation. Edward was crowned on the same (holy) day as the coronation of his mother, Elizabeth Woodville, at Westminster Abbey, twenty-two years earlier (the Sunday after Ascension). All records pertaining to Edward V’s coronation and Parliament were destroyed on the orders of Henry VII. (Philippa Langley)
21. Obverse, Great Seal of Edward V, 13 August 1486. Seal affixed to grant patent to Peter Butler, Sheriff of Kilkenny. Witnessed by Edward’s ‘very dear cousin’, Gerald, Earl of Kildare, Governor of Ireland. It remains one of the few surviving artefacts from Edward V’s reign. Edward V’s image can be seen on the front, crowned and seated on a throne. (National Library of Ireland, Dublin: MS UR 016658, Ref. D 1855)
22. Reverse, Great Seal of Edward V. It shows the royal arms of leopards and lilies quartered, covered with an arched (closed) crown of a king. (National Library of Ireland, Dublin)
23. Matrix seal of John de la Pole, Earl of Lincoln, dating from 21 August 1484 to 22 August 1485. Circular 3 0/9in. Lincoln was Richard III’s heir following the death of Edward of Middleham, Prince of Wales. After Parliament repealed Titulus Regius on 23 January 1486, Edward V superseded his claim. Leading supporter of Edward V. (British Museum, No. 1838,1232.16)
24. Matrix seal of John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford (1442–1513), following restoration in 1485. Circular 2 5/8in. Victor of the battles of Bosworth (1485) and Stoke (1487). (© The Society of Antiquaries of London)
25. Charter and letter patent of Richard of England, Duke of York, with royal seal, 4 October 1493. Acknowledgement of a loan from Albert of Saxony of 30,000 florins and signed ‘Richard of England’, with royal monogram. Includes seals (and signatures) of York’s supporters, Sir Robert Clifford and William Barley, Esquire (Clifford’s father-in-law). (Sächsisches Staatsarchiv, Hauptstaatsarchiv Dresden, 10001 Ältere Urkunden, Nr. 9005 [Saxon State Archives, Main State Archive, Dresden, Germany] (SHA))
26. Royal signet seal of Richard of England depicting the shield of royal arms of leopards and lilies quartered and covered with the arched (closed) crown (cross at top) of a king. Arms are encircled by Yorkist roses and suns (in splendour), with the letter ‘R’ at the base, placed between a rose and sun. The seal survives intact. (SHA, Nr. 9005)
27. Richard, Duke of York, Proof of Life, c. 1493. Witness statement, page 1: ‘They swore by honour and oath to Duke Howard, as mentioned before, to hide me secretly until certain years were past.’ It is one of four pages (including cover page). (Gelders Archief, Arnhem, Netherlands, 0510, Nr. 1549 Diverse charters/diverse aanwinsten)
28. Margaret of York and Burgundy’s Palace at Binche (Belgium). ‘Richard’s room’, at the arch in the centre of image, was located beneath the chapel and led out onto a tennis court. (Philippa Langley)
