Edward V was the oldest son of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville. He had a younger surviving brother, Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, and five sisters. Edward was made Prince of Wales in 1471 and in 1473 given his own household at Ludlow Castle on the Welsh border. He was nominal president of the Council of Wales and the Marches, though the actual duties were taken care of by adults. Edward IV placed his son in the care of his maternal uncle, Anthony Woodville, Earl Rivers and laid down strict instructions for the Prince's education and upbringing. An Italian diplomat later reported that Edward was bright for his young age, spoke clearly, had a dignified bearing, and showed much promise for the future. Edward IV was in negotiations for his son to marry a Breton princess.
Then in 1483, tragedy struck. Edward IV died suddenly. His now 12-year-old son was King Edward V of England. Elizabeth Woodville knew the Plantagenet family history when it came to child heirs to the throne. She took Richard of York and her five daughters into sanctuary at Westminster Abbey. Edward IV's will named his brother, Richard of Gloucester, as Protector of the Realm. Edward set out from Ludlow to claim his inheritance, meeting up with Uncle Richard, who was coming from Yorkshire. They met in Stony Stratford. That evening, Richard of Gloucester dine with Earl Rivers, Edward's half-brother Richard Grey, and Edward's chamberlain, Richard Vaughn and all seemed peaceful enough. The next day all three men were arrested and Richard had control of the young King. In May, 1483, Edward entered into London and was lodged in the Tower, to all outward appearances, soon to be crowned King according to custom. Richard persuaded his mother Elizabeth to allow her younger son Richard to join his brother.
The Council wanted to proceed to a coronation and avoid the need for a Protectorate. Richard kept postponing the coronation. Edward and his brother were regularly seen on Tower Green, playing as young boys would do. Then, in June 1483 a preacher asserted that Edward IV had been engaged to Lady Elizabeth Butler when he married Elizabeth Woodville, making Edward IV's marriage invalid and all his children illegitimate. Where this propaganda came from, no one knows but it suited Richard's plans. A delegation of lords and commons declared Richard III the legitimate King of England, and confirmed that Edward IV's children were bastards and George of Clarence's children forfeited by his attainder. This was later confirmed in the Titulus Regius, a formal bill passed by Parliament. On June 26, 1483, Richard of Gloucester was crowned Richard III of England and the two young boys were seen less and less, disappearing from view by the end of summer, 1483.
The commonly excepted theory, which may be Tudor propaganda, held that the boys were smothered to death in their sleep at Richard's orders. This was the plot used by Shakespeare in his Richard IIIm and later memorialized in the boys' epitaph at Westminster Abbey. Some sources believe that Edward, who was being regularly seen by a doctor during this time, may have died of an illness. Still others maintain that the boys were murdered by the Duke of Buckingham on orders of Henry Tudor, who later put the blame on Richard. In 1674, workers at the Tower of London discovered the bones believed to be of two young children. Charles II, himself a Plantagenet and Tudor descendant, believed them to be the Princes in the Tower and had them reburied in Westminster Abbey. Still later, in 1789, workers accidently broke into Edward IV's tomb at Westminster, noticing the coffins for two small royal children, who were actually found elsewhere. Who were the coffins intended for, really? The world will never know.
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