Edward V 1470-83
King of England

Born in Westminster, London, he was the son of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville. When his father died (1483), he and his younger brother, the Duke of York, were left to the guardianship of their paternal uncle, Richard, Duke of Gloucester (the future Richard III). The Woodvilles (headed by Edward V's uncle, Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers) tried to gain influence over him, but Richard took Edward to London (May 1483), and the same month was appointed Protector. In June the Duke of York also reached London, and the two boys were placed in the Tower of London (then a royal residence as well as a prison). Parliament petitioned Richard to take over the throne the day after that originally set for Edward's coronation, and the 'Princes in the Tower' made no more public appearances. From about October 1483 there were rumours that Richard had had them murdered, and in 1674 some bones were discovered and re-interred as theirs in Westminster Abbey. In recent years it has been suggested that Henry VII may equally have been responsible for their deaths.

Bibliography: Alison Weir, The Princes in the Tower (1992)