DNA tests on Princes in the Tower
5th March 2007
The sons of King Edward IV were imprisoned in the Tower of London by their uncle Richard III (above) in 1483. The imprisoned boys were King Edward V (who was king for just 2 months) and Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York. How and when they died has been a mystery for centuries.
Five-hundred-year-old hair could hold the key to the royal mystery of the "Princes in the Tower."
A researcher is hoping to use the strands trapped in a Tudor locket to discover the fate of two young princes who disappeared after being locked away in the Tower of London.
Brothers Edward V and Richard of Shrewsbury, the sons of King Edward IV, were imprisoned by their uncle Richard III in 1483. They were never seen again.
In 1674 skeletons of two children were discovered under a staircase in the tower leading to the chapel prompting speculation they were the remains of the princes.
John Ashdown-Hill, doctoral student in History at Essex University, is hoping a locket containing hair from Mary Tudor, the boys' niece (who was King Henry VIII's sister and King Louis XII of France's wife), will prove whether the bones are theirs.
He hopes mitochondrial DNA could be used to match the remains to Mary's DNA. Edward, 12, and Richard, nine, were imprisoned by Richard III after an act of Parliament known as Titilus Regius declared them illegitimate.
Princess Mary Tudor, the niece of the Princes in the Tower and the younger sister of King Henry VIII, and second husband Charles Brandon, duke of Suffolk, c1516, unknown artist. Her first husband was King Louis XII of France.
Richard III was next in line to the throne and became King. Mystery surrounds the disappearance of the boys but popular legend suggests they were murdered by the king or by the Duke of Buckingham or Henry VII.
The locket is kept in Moyse's Hall Museum in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, and is seeking permission to get hold of it from St Edmunsbury Borough Council.
The Two Princes in the Tower, 1483 by Sir John Everett Millais, 1878
Mr Ashdown-Hill said: "There is just one problem; at the moment the locket which has held this lock of hair since at least the 1840s, refuses to open. Hopefully conservation staff from the Colchester Museums Service will be able to unseal it for me."
But staff at the council said the request may prove difficult because of fears of damaging the locket.
Alan Baxter, museums manager, said: "We've been through this already with someone else and even got as far as trying to open the locket.
"However, it is sealed shut so we went no futher for dear of damaging the locket."
Mr Ashdown-Hill must also seek permission from the Queen to examine the remains, which were reburied at Westminster Cathedral.
dailymail.co.uk
5th March 2007
The sons of King Edward IV were imprisoned in the Tower of London by their uncle Richard III (above) in 1483. The imprisoned boys were King Edward V (who was king for just 2 months) and Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York. How and when they died has been a mystery for centuries.
Five-hundred-year-old hair could hold the key to the royal mystery of the "Princes in the Tower."
A researcher is hoping to use the strands trapped in a Tudor locket to discover the fate of two young princes who disappeared after being locked away in the Tower of London.
Brothers Edward V and Richard of Shrewsbury, the sons of King Edward IV, were imprisoned by their uncle Richard III in 1483. They were never seen again.
In 1674 skeletons of two children were discovered under a staircase in the tower leading to the chapel prompting speculation they were the remains of the princes.
John Ashdown-Hill, doctoral student in History at Essex University, is hoping a locket containing hair from Mary Tudor, the boys' niece (who was King Henry VIII's sister and King Louis XII of France's wife), will prove whether the bones are theirs.
He hopes mitochondrial DNA could be used to match the remains to Mary's DNA. Edward, 12, and Richard, nine, were imprisoned by Richard III after an act of Parliament known as Titilus Regius declared them illegitimate.
Princess Mary Tudor, the niece of the Princes in the Tower and the younger sister of King Henry VIII, and second husband Charles Brandon, duke of Suffolk, c1516, unknown artist. Her first husband was King Louis XII of France.
Richard III was next in line to the throne and became King. Mystery surrounds the disappearance of the boys but popular legend suggests they were murdered by the king or by the Duke of Buckingham or Henry VII.
The locket is kept in Moyse's Hall Museum in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, and is seeking permission to get hold of it from St Edmunsbury Borough Council.
The Two Princes in the Tower, 1483 by Sir John Everett Millais, 1878
Mr Ashdown-Hill said: "There is just one problem; at the moment the locket which has held this lock of hair since at least the 1840s, refuses to open. Hopefully conservation staff from the Colchester Museums Service will be able to unseal it for me."
But staff at the council said the request may prove difficult because of fears of damaging the locket.
Alan Baxter, museums manager, said: "We've been through this already with someone else and even got as far as trying to open the locket.
"However, it is sealed shut so we went no futher for dear of damaging the locket."
Mr Ashdown-Hill must also seek permission from the Queen to examine the remains, which were reburied at Westminster Cathedral.
dailymail.co.uk
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