Did King Richard III Kill His Nephews In Their Sleep? | Britain's Bloody Crown | Timeline

nearly 600 years ago England was torn apart by a series of bloody battles for the throne in just 30 years the crown changed hands seven times tens of thousands were slaughtered it is one of the most turbulent and violent periods in British history it's known as the Wars of the Roses the most infamous story in the entire blood-soaked era happens 20 years after the Wars of the Roses begin the slaying of two innocent young boys the princes in the tower in the late summer of 1483 12 year old King Edward v and his 9 year old brother Prince Richard have murdered here at the Tower of London it causes such outrage such hatred that it topples a king who brings down the longest ruling dynasty in English history the man responsible was almost certainly the princes uncle Richard the third this is a controversial and bloody tale in which Richard is usually portrayed as the evil homicidal hunchback hell-bent on stealing the crown I'm going to show you a very different version of history one in which the princes deaths is far less simple far less and comic books story of pure evil because the truth is these deaths were the result of a violent clash of events and personalities that took place over a six-month period in which litters options narrowed to just one because in this world and at this time the princes had to die [Music] [Applause] the heir to the throne is Edward the fourths eldest son the 12 year old Prince Edward his guardian and Tudor is his uncle the Queen's brother Antony would fill Earl rivers a brilliant night and scholar the young Prince Edward hero worships him there is close as father and son on the 14th of April 1483 five days after the event rivers finally receives the terrible news the princes father ed with the fourth is dead the burden of ruling England now rests on the shoulders of a twelve-year-old boy [Music] though he's yet to be formally crowned the king of day the young prince is now King Edward v long live the king but Edward will never have a coronation in less than 4 months he and rivers will both be murdered [Music] the man who will kill them is Richard Duke of Gloucester brother of Edward the fourth and also uncle to the new king but in spring 1483 Richard is the total opposite of the Hunchback Shakespearean baddie we've all heard of yes he has a slightly curved spine but he's also an English hero and a brilliant soldier Richard's tamed the rebellious north and crushed the Scots for his brother Edward the fourth he's been admired and trusted by his men and by the King of England he's in his lands in the north when news of his brother's death reaches him [Music] when Richard hears of his brother's death he comes to York changes into the black clothes of morning and he attends a memorial service here at the Minster where he weeps for his dead brother Richard now sees it as a duty of loyalty to carry out his brother's final wishes according to a contemporary source Edward the fourth swill made Richard Protector of England this would give him control of the country until the 12 year old King reaches adulthood Richard's only goal now is to follow his brothers instructions and make this happen in the days following the King's death the country is temporarily in the charge of the old King's Council in London it's made up of some of the country's most powerful Nobles Lord Hastings is a senior member of the Council he's also intensely loyal to the late king so Richard writes to Hastings immediately he's relying on Hastings to make sure Edward the fourth swill is followed Richard must be confirmed as protector of England straight away to Richard this seems perfectly reasonable he's the most senior adult royal he's acting on his brother's last wishes and he's an experienced decision maker and a warrior he can see what needs to be done and he's quick decisive and ruthless about making it happen but that attitude will also turn out to be his fatal weakness unfortunately for Richard there's another source of royal power in England one that doesn't care to stick doggedly to the old King's final wishes the wood fills the Queen Elizabeth Woodville and her family had a meteoric rise from second-class nobility to national leaders under the old king they currently run the Navy the Treasury and the armory but Richards unlikely to dispense favors to the wood fills with the same enthusiasm as his dead brother if he becomes Protector the Woodville's to be left with nothing my Lords Hastings does his best to do what Richard asks but the Woodville's aren't stupid they have a majority on the council in London and they use it instead of handing the keys of England to Richard as protector they decide that young Edward will start to rule immediately with advice provided by the council or in other words by them Richard will be powerless and the Woodville's are appalling Lee smog about getting one over on him it is true men we have such import that even without the Kings awful we may make decisions as we wish [Music] from Richards point of view the Woodville's are disrespecting the authority of his royal blood these are not the sort of people who should be in charge of the new king so he has two choices he could suck up the disrespect or he can do something about it now Richard is brilliant a decisive problem solving that's what makes him such a great soldier and now he has a problem to solve the Woodville's Richard makes a fateful decision he writes to rivers suggesting they all meet up on the way down to the coronation in London to show the unity of the whole royal family that seems fair enough but remember rivers is a Woodville to Richard they are now the enemy richard waits for them at northampton with his right-hand man lord buckingham your grace on April the 29th 1483 leaving the young king and nearby lodgings rivers meets up with Richard all of us must at some time look to others for guidance and assistance he finds him with his friend Buckingham in a very convivial mood Rivers has good reason to feel comfortable in Richards company Richard had recently resolved a tricky land dispute for rivers my lord it pleases me greatly that I could promote your course everything is going famously [Music] gentlemen they agreed to pick up the young King in the morning and head to London together for the coronation until the morrow but rivers will never make it to London Richard believes he's trying to do the right thing acting on the wishes of his dead brother Edward the fourth in reality by arresting the new King's uncle Lord rivers one of the hated Woodville's Richards started down the road to disaster along with his henchmen Buckingham Richard meets his nephew Edward the fifth at Stony Stratford your grace when it comes to his nephew Richards on unchartered territory he spent most of his time taming the north for his brother but Edwards spent much of the last ten years in Ludlow so when they arrived here at Stony Stratford they may be uncle and nephew but in reality they're as good as strangers we're all of us most grieved by the passing of our right and Noble King I bring further grave news your grace it concerns your uncle and his company and his foul responsibility in the passing of your father Richard claims rivers and his allies had a hand in the death of the young king's father Edward the fourth the Lord's rivers and gray cannot stand at liberty in the face of their great treason this argument doesn't go down well with the young prince my uncle is no traitor Edwards loyalties clearly lie with the wood fills and rivers in particular to the young king it's not rivers actions that look dangerously traitorous it's Richards it's easy to look at Richard's behavior and see the seeds of tyranny the arrests of rivers and gray taking control of the young king but actually turns out that is not that simple the truth is revealed by an extraordinary book unearthed 80 years ago here at the Leal biblioteca in France and this is it this is the only contemporary copy of a book by an italian scholar called dominic man Chaney and when it was discovered in the 1930s it profoundly changed the way we think about Richard because man Cheney is in England during 1483 so this is pretty much an eyewitness account and it's an incredible privilege to be able to read it the really interesting bit is here because man Cheney says that according to the common report Hastings who he calls a stinker had advised Richard to come to the capital with a strong force for Team Arnhem he said that if he did so he'd be able to avenge the insults done to him by his enemies and he said this would be easy if before coming to London Richards took the young King Edward into his protection purrr and under his authority so Hastings is basically telling Richard to imprison rivers and gray and to snatch the young king from the Woodville's and that is big because far from secretly planning to become a tyrant which is actually following the advice of one of the most respected and senior nobles in the land and the best power of his dead brother Edward the fourth of course it's unlikely the young king knows any of this it must look like Richard is pretty much committing treason for your protection we must return with you to London Richard undermines his case even further by claiming rivers terrible crime was that he encouraged head with the fourths famously heavy drinking and this killed him basically rivers committed treason because he got the old king drunk now that's a pretty pathetic argument the Richard doesn't really care his explanations are just window dressing for other people he's going to do what he certain needs to be done if other people are too stupid to realize that well was not as specially bothered unfortunately for Richard the young King see straight through - Edward Richards whole argument is a sham he has total faith in the integrity of rivers and absolutely none in Richard this unswerving loyalty will ultimately seal the young Kings fate but right now like it or not he's in Rich's care Richard and Buckingham take Edward to Richard knows he has to restore some sense of normality particularly because may the fourth the day they all arrived in London was the day originally scheduled for young Edwards coronation well Richards actions have clearly blown all of that out of the water so on May the 10th at a meeting of the council here at Westminster he has the council very publicly announced a new date for the coronation June the 22nd seven weeks away man Cheney records that sensationally Richard also forces the council to proclaim him protector and regent of the King and the realm he's got exactly what he wants Richard has pretty much all the powers of a king which is after all only what he believes his brother Edward the fourth will demanded he sends the young King to the Tower of London your grace under my protection you shall be kept safe now it's true that the tower is a royal palace but in reality the young king is under house arrest he can't do anything Richard doesn't want your grief for example help the Woodville's young Edward will never set foot outside the tower again keep him free from harm your grace there is however a catch to Richard's new powers the council put a seven week time limit on them they cease on Edwards coronation they clearly have serious reservations about Richards behavior this is the core of Richards problem his total self belief has made him very effective in seizing power but that same trait prevents him from realizing that other people don't see the world the same way that he does the clock is ticking for Richard to carry out what he believes are his dead brother's wishes he must neutralize any opposition in the next seven weeks Richard needs to move quickly against the wood Phil's starting with the family patriarch Earl rivers rivers is the man closest to young Edward and that makes him Richards most dangerous adversary now fortunately rivers is locked up at sheriff Hutton castle in Yorkshire but as soon as Edwards ground is guaranteed to release rivers rivers will make very sure the Richards protector ends so what started as a mission to secure his brother's legacy has become a grim and bloody fight for survival he must now do whatever it takes to stop the Woodville's from sweeping back into power sweeping him straight to the scaffold of course most of Richard's properties would go away if rivers should die for any reason [Music] my Lords I urgently petition you that Lord rivers be charged with crimes most heinous against royal authority Richard demands the council try rivers and his allies for treason because they were preparing to kill him the Lord Protector it's another of Richard's paper-thin arguments for this crime they should be treated as traitors and suffer the traitors fate death what say you my Lords he doesn't much care if the council believe it as long as they do what he wants and he has Hastings and Buckingham fighting his corner aye aye but the council point out that since the ambushes would have taken place before Richard were Protector it wouldn't be treason even if it were true [Music] Hey but it's obvious that many on the council simply don't believe him that's hardly surprising after all Richards locked up a senior Nobel snatched the king and forced the council to give him a protectorate it's no wonder that from their point of view he is starting to look a little bit dangerous the young king's mother Elizabeth Woodville is certainly scared of Richard she's fled to the sanctuary of Westminster Abbey with her children including Edwards little brother she's banking on the fact that religious sanctuary is a boundary no one dares cross and no one has yet June the 9th richard has spent five weeks trying to force the council to support him he's been blocked at every turn he has just two weeks left if he can't get rivers he's going after someone more vulnerable he wants Edward the fifths little brother nine-year-old Richard my Lords the Prince Richard Duke of York must be released into the care of the protector so he may attend the coronation Richard's got the King what does he need with his younger brother I think all of this stuff about wanting the Prince of the coronation just feels like one of Richard's flimsy excuses to do something else what say you my Lords I I think he realizes that the wood fills could use the princes status to launch a new challenge to Richard's authority but if Richard controls the young prince that problem will go away nay No hey name Hastings has been totally loyal to Richard but this is starting to feel like treason Richards difficulties with the council Stoke a growing paranoia his henchmen Buckingham pause fuel on the fire he says Hastings is in secret meetings with Richards opponents there's nothing to suggest Buckingham is telling the truth but that doesn't matter to Richard anymore [Music] from Richards point of view Hastings one of a dwindling number of allies has now betrayed him the walls are closing in anyone no matter who they are or how important who looks like they could threaten his survival will now be treated as an enemy it no longer matters if it's true or not if Richard believes you've crossed him you're a dead man nay nay nay On June the 13th with just nine days remaining until the coronation richard attends a council meeting here at the Tower of London now for most people the coronation will mark the point at which normality is finally restored but not Richard for him the coronation will mark his fall from power and a chance for the wood fills to hunt him down so unlike everyone else Richard arrives here with one mission to stop the coronation and his first step is to eliminate anyone who might stop him my lords God give you a good day please join us please be seated richard is called a much reduced council meeting he's included his staunch ally Hastings which is surprising considering Richard now suspects Hastings is working against him the meeting starts well but Richards about to make another appalling decision my Lords I must briefly beg your leave Hastings is left wondering what on earth is going on he doesn't have to wait long My Lord buckingham take Lord Hastings without no my lord Buckingham has become Richards devious Lackey prepared to do anything richard asks hastings is executed in the yard outside this is nothing less than a choreographed act of terrorism execution without a trial by your peers is a violation of basic English law Richard claims Hastings committed treason by conspiring to kill him treason is abroad in this country we shall suffer no more of it to the rest of the world the idea that the upstanding and basically honorable Hastings was doing anything so base it's plainly ludicrous but Richards backs against the wall and he's not thinking like the rest of the world as far as Richard's concerned throughout this whole mess he's taken a series of unavoidable decisions to save the monarchy and to save himself and in his mind that's probably what he's still doing but in reality Richards crossed a line and is no coming back whatever people actually think of his sham excuses there now cowed into silence by fear Richard and his remaining ally buckingham can now do pretty much whatever they want but time is running out for Richard the coronation is now just days away a Hastings death doesn't change the reality that the Woodville's will still be coming for Richard so what next well in truth there's only one scenario in which Richard isn't destroyed and that's if Edward never takes the throne but if young Edward isn't crowned king then who is from Richards perspective that's an easy question him as far as he's concerned he's just been trying to do what his brother wanted and of course keeping himself alive I don't think Richards snatching the throne was inevitable from the beginning I think it emerged from a combination of his own personality his blinkered loyalty to his brother and the rapidly flourishing hatred between him and the Woodville's and all of that drove him one decision at a time to the point of no return On June the 16th six days before Edwards due to be crowned Richard moves against the young Kings mother Elizabeth Woodville she's still sheltering inside Westminster Abbey under the powerful laws of sanctuary Richard sends in the eight-year-old Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas voucher to persuade her to give up her youngest son to Richard Elizabeth staying at the Abbott's house here at Westminster Abbey the archbishop visits to reassure her that Richard is simply doing his duty as Protector and that her younger son will have a pivotal role in the coronation but it must be crystal clear to Elizabeth that if she doesn't comply Richard won't hesitate to violate sanctuary and snatch the Prince anyway after all he's just murdered one of the country's senior Nobles I believe you come with good intent but is there truly any assurance you can give me for my son's protection Elizabeth's dilemma is acute she not only has her little boy with her but also her daughters if she continues to resist it's entirely possible Richard will kill them all but if she hands over her son there's at least a chance that all survived until her eldest son's coronation [Music] Elizabeth folds she hands her son into Richards care [Music] richard immediately sends the little prince to join his brother in the town the next morning June the 17th Richard postpones Edwards coronation by four months after weeks of banging his head against the wall Richards finally getting people to do what he wants principally because they're terrified of him everyone's living in fear after Hastings murder and there are rumors that Richards bringing 20,000 men south to London no one dares to stop but his plan to snatch the throne is quite obviously illegal so Richard gets his best mate to sell another flimsy and outrageous justification to the country On June the 25th Richards ally Buckingham strides boldly in here to the Guildhall in London and in his wake comes a party of lords and knights he's clearly assembled self he makes his way here to the east end of the hall and climbs up on a raised platform to address his audience and he repeats a sensational and very convenient rumor that's been doing the rounds for the past few days Edward the fort's marriage to Elizabeth Woodville was invalid Buckingham claims Edward the fourth was already contracted to marry someone else before Elizabeth Woodville if that's true under English law Edward the fourth children are illegitimate none can rule England Buckingham claims that only richard has the legitimacy and the integrity to take the crown which is a pretty tough sell after all we are talking about a man who's imprisoned two little boys threatened to violate sanctuary raise an army against the capital murdered a senior nobleman and is now very clearly user being the throne but bokkeum is effectively Rich's chief of staff and he's an oily untrustworthy man on the make if he gets this right he ends up being the new Kings best pal on the same day Richard finally deals with Lord rivers one of his most dangerous Woodville opponents after more than two months in prison he's convicted of treason but it's a sham trial of course rivers isn't even allowed to speak [Music] he's executed the same day his body thrown into a common grave with his main opponents dead or neutralized the throne is Richards for the taking this is the site of baynard's castle a fabulous riverside mansion where richard staying literally the day after rivers murder buckingham leads are hastily assembled and I think rather scared delegation of nobles bishops and Londoners here to meet Richard they meekly accept his claim for the princess of bastards and formally offer him the crown Richard hesitates theatrically should he accept is he the right man seriously the party heads to Westminster Hall where they declare Richard king in just 13 weeks Richard has descended from Noble defender of his dead brother's last wishes to a murderous tyrant and he probably believes that every rash and violent decision was totally justified to save himself and the crown [Music] [Music] but of course Richards not the only one with a claim to the crown his rule will never truly be safe as long as his young nephews remain alive [Music] July the 6th 1483 only three months after his brother Edward the fourths death Richard Duke of Gloucester is crowned King Richard the third of England having repeatedly violated the law Richard now pulls a handbrake turn and starts trying to spin the image of a noble king everything is done by the book [Music] Buckingham's unflinching loyalty to Richard earns him pride of place as master of ceremonies [Music] [Music] but sharper observers cannot miss one notable absence neither of his nephews the printers in the tower of [Music] the two princes have been seen playing here in the tower grounds but on July the 9th three days after his coronation Richard dismisses all of their servants they're never seen outside these walls again Richard has them under close arrest but he doesn't seem to have worked out what to do with them rigid sets off on a tour of the country to calm tensions and show that there is a safe and reliable monarch on the throne but while he's away Richard receives whirring news there's been an attempt to spring the princes from the tower the plan was to set light to buildings across the city and spirit the boys away in the confusion Richards men rap the conspirators before they can act but it's a stark reminder of how dangerous challenges for the throne are sooner or later someone will succeed in freeing the princes and there's a fair chance that that person will kill Richard and replace him with Edward so the truth is if Richard wants to keep his crown the princes have to die sightings of the princes at windows in the tower persists for a few weeks after the plot to spring them is uncovered Edwards physician visits the princess and reports that the young king is preparing like a victim for sacrifice he's taking daily confession believing the death is coming for he's right by early autumn the princes have simply vanished there's no reliable record of their death no bodies are found and no one is put on trial but by September almost nobody believes they're still alive rumors circulate that the boys have been smothered in their sleep poisoned even drowned in a vat of wine the truth is nobody knows the one thing we can say for certain is that the person who benefits most from their deaths is Richard even though he started with the best of intentions I think it's almost certain that he had them murdered Richards not done yet in October 1483 his loyal crony Buckingham rebels against him richard has him executed Richard will be the last of the Plantagenet Kings that have ruled England for more than 300 years Richard's nephews were pretty much the last of the line now he is truly alone most previous Plantagenet Kings had a substantial royal family around them brothers uncles cousins nephews someone to keep the royal line going but apart from his own son rich the third the fourteenth Plantagenet has pretty much known his misguided attempts to secure the power of his own dynasty have ended up wiping them out and along the way he's been transformed from an English hero into a paranoid child murderer all in just six months next time the Wars of the Roses come to a bloody end as Richard the third meets his fate he's brought down not by a king or a nobleman but by a brilliant and politically astute woman Margaret Beaufort [Music] [Music]

Channel: Timeline - World History Documentaries

Views: 985,128

Rating: 4.8340988 out of 5

Keywords: History, Full Documentary, Documentaries, Full length Documentaries, Documentary, TV Shows - Topic, Documentary Movies - Topic, 2017 documentary, BBC documentary, Channel 4 documentary, history documentary, documentary history, Wars of the roses, Dan Jones, Historian, Henry IV, 1483, Tudor, Earl of Warwick, monarch, middle ages, medieval documentary, late middle ages documentary, middle ages documentary bbc, medieval history, game of thrones, early middle ages documentary

Id: TeFRXB1LLYQ

Length: 45min 8sec (2708 seconds)

Published: Sat May 26 2018