Princes in the Tower were the two young sons of King Edward IV of England. Richard III, their uncle, imprisoned them in the Tower of London. The two boys were King Edward V (born in 1470) and Richard, Duke of York (born in 1473).
When Edward IV died in 1483, Edward V was too young to rule. Richard of Gloucester became guardian of the two princes and protector of England. He put the princes in the Tower of London, then claimed the throne as Richard III, on the false grounds that the princes were not legitimate. The two boys were not seen again after 1483. Richard’s enemies and later Tudor historians claimed that he had the princes murdered. In 1674, the skeletons of two children were discovered in the Tower of London. Scholars disagree over whether these skeletons were those of the princes.
