So wrote Shakespeare, in Richard III, no doubt to please his Tudor monarch and patron, Queen Elizabeth I. The debate over whether Richard III really killed his nephews will probably continue to fill books and engage people's minds forever.
The opening chapters of the tale, however, are more certain. On the night of 2nd November, 1470, in the security of Westminster Abbey, Elizabeth Wydville, the wife of King Edward IV, 'was lighted of a fair Prince' whom she named Edward, after his father. When the King was finally united with his Queen after invading England and crushing Henry VI and his supporters, he took the infant prince, 'his greatest joy', in his arms, weeping as he did so. Later that year he created his son Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester. Two years after Edward, a second prince, Richard, was born at the Dominican Friary in Shrewsbury on 17th August, 1473. in 1474, he was created Duke of York, setting the precedent for the train of giving this title to the second son of an English monarch.
King Edward IV, although a boisterous and licentious man, dearly loved his heir, Prince Edward. On 3rd July, 1471 the King commanded his chief magnates and 47 Lords to swear an oath of allegiance to the prince as 'the very undoubted son and heir of our sovereign Lord.' Several days later the King, who was constantly aware of the intrigues of court, issued letters patent, appointing a council that would be responsible for the administration of his son's household and estates until he reached the age of 14, his expected majority.
In 1473, when he was three, the prince's household was permanently established at Ludlow Castle on the Welsh Marches. For the next 10 years the castle provided a safe harbour for the Prince. Those around this bright young boy, including the people of Ludlow, grew to love and admire their future king.
On 23rd September, 1473, the King drew up a series of ordinances governing the prince's upbringing and education. These apparently strict rules nevertheless reveal the tender love Edward felt for his son and show a surprisingly enlightened attitude towards child-rearing. The prince was to rise each morning 'at a convenient hour according to his age,' and attend matins and mass before breakfast. Before dinner he was to be instructed 'in such virtuous learning as his age shall suffer to receive.' This included listening to 'such noble stories as behoveth a Prince to understand and know.' Afternoons were to be spent in physical activity and acquiring knightly arts such as horsemanship, swordsmanship, tossing the quintain and 'such convenient disports and exercises as behoveth his estate to have experience in.' After vespers and supper, the prince had time for play, and could indulge in 'such honest disports as shall be conveniently devised for his recreation.' His tutors and servants received instructions 'to enforce themselves to make him merry and joyous towards bed,' and once asleep, a watch was kept over him throughout the night in case sudden illness carry off 'God's precious sending gift,' and the king's 'most desired treasure'.
The records of the following 10 years preserve little information about the princes. Certainly their personal lives were overshadowed by the political events and intrigues going on around them, including the execution of their uncle, Clarence, for treason. By the age of 12, however, the young Prince Edward equalled his father in character, and surpassed the King's talent for learning. The stained glass portrait in the Priory Church of Little Malvern in Worcestershire may be an authentic likeness of the Prince at this age.
John Russell, Bishop of Lincoln and Lord Chancellor of England, wrote of the prince's, 'toward and virtuous disposition, his gentle wit and ripe understanding, far passing the nature of his youth.' A visiting Italian cleric, Dominic Mancini, wrote: 'in word and deed he gave so many proofs of his liberal education, of polite, nay, rather scholarly attainments far beyond his age.' Mancini then added that, 'his special knowledge of literature... enabled him to discourse eloquently, to understand fully, and to declaim most excellently from any work, whether in verse or prose, that comes into his hands. He had such dignity in his whole person, and in his face such charm that however much they might gaze, he never wearied the eyes of beholders.'
The unexpected death of King Edward IV on 9th April, 1483 set in motion a chain of events that changed the balance of political power in England, and exposed the princes to mortal danger. The exact date of Prince Edward's removal to the Tower of London, at the suggestion of his loyal protector, his uncle Richard, the Duke of Gloucester, remains uncertain. The event probably occurred on or about 19th May, 1483. The younger Duke of York, along with his mother and other family members, fled to safety within the sanctuary at Westminster in the early hours of 1st May.
By mid-June, Gloucester had executed Lord Hastings, the prince's powerful and loyal supporter, and dismissed Edward's long-time servants, leaving the prince at the mercy of his uncle. Dr. John Argentine, a Strasbourg doctor and the last of the attendants whose services the Prince enjoyed, reported that Edward, 'like a victim prepared for sacrifice, sought remission of his sins by daily confession and penance, because he believed that death was facing him.' The doctor also noted that the Prince suffered from a diseased jaw and perhaps a toothache, and that the pain only added to his depression and sense of hopelessness.
Meanwhile, Gloucester had prised the young Duke free from his sanctuary under the pretence that the two brothers should be together during Edward's crowning as king. On the 21st June, Richard conducted the nine-year-old Duke to the Tower to join his older brother.
But Edward never wore the crown. Gloucester himself unexpectedly ascended the throne as King Richard III on 26th June, 1483, after declaring that Edward IV's marriage had been invalid and that his two sons were therefore illegitimate. Thomas More wrote that on the day Richard ascended the throne, Prince Edward sighed and said, 'alas, I would my uncle would let me have my life yet, though I lose my kingdom.' According to More's account, the prince was so sunk in misery and fear that he could not perform even basic tasks, such as dressing himself properly.
Richard's coronation took place on the morning of the 6th July, 1483. The chroniclers of the day note that from that moment on, the princes were never seen alive again. The suffering queen who had sought sanctuary at Westminster had lost two adored sons. The Nation had lost a fine, worthy and rightful heir to the throne.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Taken from: http://phoenixandturtle.net/excerptmill/kilby.htm
