The Princes in the Tower

Philippa Langley took the world by storm when, against all the odds and a seven-year investigation, she discovered the grave of King Richard III (1452-1485) in a Leicester car park. A king finally laid to rest, the rediscovery and reburial of Richard III was watched by an estimated global audience of over 366 million.

Now, Langley reveals the findings of a remarkable new research initiative: ‘The Missing Princes Project’. In the summer of 1483, Edward V (aged 12) and his brother Richard Duke of York (aged 9), disappeared from the Tower of London. For over 500 years, history has judged that they were murdered on the orders of their uncle Richard III.

Following years of intensive research in UK, American and European archives, astonishing new archival discoveries have been uncovered that changes what we know about the fate of the Princes in the Tower. Established by Langley in 2016, ‘The Missing Princes Project’ employed the methods of a cold-case police enquiry. Using investigative methodology, it aimed to place this most enduring of mysteries under a forensic microscope for the first time.

In The Princes in the Tower: Solving History's Greatest Cold Case, Langley records the painstaking investigative work and research of the project. By questioning received wisdom, she and her international team of researchers shed light upon one of history's greatest miscarriages of justice, revealing a phenomenal untold story.

10 b/w illustrations and 16 colour plates

About the Author

Philippa Langley MBE is an historian and award-winning producer, best known for her role in the discovery and reburial of Richard III in 2012. She is co-author of the bestselling The King's Grave with Michael Jones (John Murray 2013), and Finding Richard III, the official account of her ‘Looking For Richard Project’.

On the ten-year anniversary of discovering Richard III, her extraordinary story was released as the internationally acclaimed major feature film, The Lost King, directed by Stephen Frears and starring Sally Hawkins. Her latest venture, ‘The Missing Princes Project’, is an international initiative based on rigorous original research to unveil the truth behind one of history’s greatest mysteries.