Guest Author - Kim DeLeary

Life for Britain�s royals could be precarious. Depending on who your enemies were, you could be imprisoned and executed for crimes you did not commit or for being of royal lineage. The power of your enemies could determine your fate and not even royals were safe from imprisonment or execution.

Two such tragic figures include the two sons of Edward IV named Edward V and Richard. Upon Edward IV�s sudden death, Edward V was next in line for the throne. The brother of Edward IV named Richard III was hell bent on eliminating any rivals to the throne. After an Act of Parliament named the Titulus Regius declared the boys illegitimate, the boys were placed in the tower by Richard, their uncle, who was now king.

At the time of their imprisonment, Edward V was twelve years old and his brother Richard was ten years old. The year was 1483. Child mortality was high.

After being placed in the tower, the young royal brothers were never seen again. What happened to the young boys is truly unknown. A rumor went around London saying the boys were dead by late 1483. There was never a funeral held at that time which is even more suspicious because if the boys had died a natural death, there would probably have been a funeral. Many people of the time suspected that Richard had done away with his royal rival permanently. There is no evidence to support any theory of either murder or natural death.

Two small skeletons were discovered in 1674, when renovations were being done to the White Tower. The skeletons were found under the stairs, which lead to the chapel. These were reburied in Westminster Abbey and under the eventual order of Queen Elizabeth II were not to be disturbed again. In 1933, the bones were found to be a mixture of human and animal bones.

In the fifteenth century, the ghosts of the two children were seen in the Tower of London by guards. The ghosts wore white nightgowns and were moving down the stairs. Witnesses say the young ghosts seem frightened. They hold onto each other and when visitors try to comfort them, the ghosts of the two young royals fade away.

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