The Fate of Princes (22 page)

The accepted story is that the Princes’ bones were found beneath some steps in the Tower during the reign of Charles II and later reinterred in Westminster Abbey However, a Dutch historian quoting Maurice, Prince of Orange, who visited England during the reign of Elizabeth I, mentions a secret room in the Tower being opened in which were found the skeletons of two young boys and which was instantly sealed up again. This room must have been in the royal apartments for a second opening of it is mentioned on the flyleaf of a 1641 edition of Thomas More’s life of Richard III. These royal apartments were later pulled down under the protectorship of Oliver Cromwell 1649-1660. Cromwell’s officers must have discovered the secret room and, being anti-royalist, simply dumped the bodies in a box and placed it under some stairs, where they remained until discovered in the reign of Charles II (1674).

Of course, Lovell alleges that these were the skeletons of two imposters. The idea that the Princes either escaped or were abducted from the Tower persisted right throughout the reign of Henry VII. Lambert Simnel first declared he was the younger Prince before changing his claim to being Edward of Warwick. Perkin Warbeck, who caused a great deal of trouble to Henry in the 1490s, also claimed to be Richard of York. There is no doubt of the Tudor dynasty’s fear of the Yorkist cause. Henry VIII successfully wiped out all but one of the Yorkist claimants to the throne. But, to return to the original question, why didn’t Henry VII proclaim the truth? The simple answer is that Henry may have been
protecting someone else (his own mother), as well as avoiding a terrible dilemma; after all, he who finds the body may well be the murderer. Henry VII may have even known about the secret chamber. According to Colvin’s book
The King’s Works
, Henry VII carried out extensive building work in the royal apartments. Surely he must have found the secret room?

Finally, the story of Richard of Eastwell may be found in a work published in the 18th century entitled
DESIDERATA CURIOSA.
According to this, Richard Plantagenet died on 22nd December 1550 and is buried in the parish church there. Before he died, he revealed his true name to a local nobleman who was surprised to find a mason capable of reading Latin. I have followed the general outlines of this story. I believe his tomb at Eastwell can still be visited.