Edward V and Richard, Duke of York were the only sons of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville that were alive at the time of the death of Edward IV. Edward V was 12. Richard was 9. Their uncle, a shady character and the future Richard III, deposed Edward V and locked both boys in the Tower of London. He did this under the guise that he was preparing Edward V for his coronation...but in the meantime, he declared their mother's marriage invalid and the children illegitimate. All it boiled down two was he was a sour, shady man who wanted to be king. After they were incarcerated, they were seen playing together in the courtyard, but no more sighting were reported after 1483. There is no direct evidence that the boys were, in fact, murdered. Likely murders were Richard III, future brother in law Henry VII, or uncle Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham. It is also possible that they died from illness, as conditions inside the Tower were not the best for long living. Two bodies were found inside the Tower and people automatically assumed they were the bodies of these boys, though DNA testing has never been allowed to confirm their identity. There were also reports that they escaped somehow and survived. I would say that Richard III knew exactly what happened to the boys. If they escaped, he would have been told. If they were ill and died from illness, he would have been told. If they were murdered and he did not do it with his own two hands, he would have ordered someone to do it and probably had them killed to shut them up. I have no doubt that he knew exactly where they were and what was done with them at all times.

Alison Weir is one of my favorite female historians that I came across by accident. I generally enjoy her work and research skills. Her books are always readable, and I genuinely learn plenty from what she writes. That being said, this is probably my least favorite book that I have read thus far by her. The fact of the matter is, there is no definitive proof that has been uncovered to this date about what happened to those boys. She is staunchly against Richard III, (I cannot say that I am very impressed with him either), and makes a strong case based on rumor that he was behind the murders of these two boys. That may be the most likely cause of their deaths, but there is no proof to say that for sure. I did not like the bias that this book had that was not based on concrete evidence. If you wanted a conspiracy theory book, this would be a good one for that.