The 'smoking gun' evidence that could finally prove Princes in the Tower were murdered
By Tom McArdle
The discovery of a will is the "smoking gun" evidence in the unsolved murder case of the Princes in the Tower, historians believe.
In 1483, uncrowned Edward V and his younger brother Prince Richard disappeared from the Tower of London without a trace.
Many believe they were murdered on the orders of their uncle, Richard III.
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The Princes in the Tower - Edward V and Richard, Duke of York - are believed to have been murdered by their uncle King Richard III. Getty
The discovery of the will shows the prime suspect in the murders left a piece of Edward V's jewellery to his sister-in-law.
The chain – likely to have been a chain of office, a golden symbol of status and his prized possession – was part of Lady Margaret Capell's estate.
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She is related to Sir James Tyrell, who was a trusted knight of Richard III and believed by some to have confessed to the murders under his orders.
A print titled “The Murder of the Princes in the Tower”. Getty
Professor Tim Thornton, a fellow of the Royal Historical Society and deputy vice-chancellor of the University of Huddersfield, uncovered the find in Lady Margaret's previously overlooked will.
In the 1522 document, she left her son his "faders Cheyne which was young king Edwarde Vth" (his father's chain which was young King Edward V's).
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'Extremely exciting'
Tracy Borman, the historian who oversees the Tower of London as co-curator of Historic Royal Palaces, said the "extremely exciting" find gave credibility to the theory the boys were murdered on the orders of their uncle.
The princes were held in the Tower of London and were never seen again, believed to have been murdered. Getty Images/iStockphoto
"This chain provides a vital link to the young Edward V, and the fact that it was in the possession of someone closely linked with one of the prime suspects in their presumed murder could be hugely significant," she said.
She called it the "smoking gun" in the case.
The discovery backs up Prof Thornton's previous written work on Sir Thomas More, a former lord chancellor, who blamed Richard III for the princes' deaths.
Prof Thornton told The Times: "You usually get at least some alleged materials left by the people who disappeared, but they went without a trace until now.
"This, for the first time, is an indication that we have a physical survival from the princes."
The research is being published in the journal History and will be revealed in Tuesday's Channel 5 documentary The Princes in the Tower: A Damning Discovery.
"Historians don't work on the basis of beyond reasonable doubt," Prof Thornton added.
"We have to work on the evidence that survives. We work on the balance of probabilities and increasingly that balance of probabilities is tilting towards the suggestion that Richard is responsible for the boys' deaths and the account given by More is more likely than not to be true."
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