Good morrow. It is the twenty-sixth of June, fourteen eighty-three. I am William, and this is your Daily Brief. The air in London is thick today, heavier than the summer heat warrants. Moments ago, at Baynard’s Castle, the Duke of Gloucester—Richard—formally accepted the petition to assume the crown. He is no longer merely the Lord Protector. He is King Richard III. But while the great bells ring and the soldiers from the North patrol our streets, a quieter, darker story is unfolding just a mile away. It concerns the rightful heir, twelve-year-old Edward V, and his brother, Richard of Shrewsbury. They are in the Tower of London, ostensibly for their protection, but sightings of the boys have ceased. To understand the atmosphere of fear gripping the capital, we go now to the shadow of the Tower. Joan, can you hear me?
I hear you, William. I am standing by the postern gate, just out of sight of the guards. The mood here is not one of celebration. It is a suffocating silence. The soldiers you mentioned—thousands of them camped at Finsbury Fields—have cast a long shadow over the city. People are afraid to speak. They lock their doors. But I have managed to find Thomas, a garden servant who has worked within the Tower walls for twenty years. Thomas, thank you for speaking with us.
Keep your voice down, mistress. Please. The very stones have ears today.
Thomas, you have access to the inner grounds. The Garden Tower. The people of London are asking—where is King Edward? Where is the little Duke of York?
We do not call him King Edward now. Not since the sermon at St. Paul’s. They say he is a bastard. But… yes, I saw them. I saw them both.
When, Thomas? When did you last see them?
It was three days past. Or perhaps four. Time is strange in there now. They were shooting at the butts—archery practice—in the garden. The little one, Lord Richard, he was laughing. But the older one, Edward… he looked pale. He looked like an old man in a child’s body. He stood by the window, watching the river, but he did not wave.
And since then? Have you seen them at the windows?
No. The shutters are drawn. The door is barred. Only one man goes in or out now. The physician, Doctor Argentine. I saw him leave yesterday. He looked… he looked like a man who had seen a ghost. He would not speak to the guards. He just hurried past, clutching his bag.
Doctor Argentine is the last attendant left to them? What happened to their other servants?
Gone. Dismissed. Sent away. It is just the boys and the doctor. And the silence. You must understand, mistress, it is not just that we do not see them. It is that we are forbidden to ask. The Northern men, they stare at us. They sharpen their pikes. We focus on our work. We prune the roses. We do not look up at the windows.
William, the rumors here are swirling faster than the currents of the Thames. Some say the boys are being moved to a country estate for their safety. Others whisper that the illegitimacy ruling—this claim that King Edward the Fourth was married to another before the Queen—is a pretext for something permanent.
Thomas, if I may ask you directly—what is the feeling among the household staff? Do they believe the Princes are safe?
Safe? With Lord Hastings dead? With Earl Rivers beheaded this very week? No one is safe. We pray, master. We pray for the boys. But when the physician leaves, and the food trays go in untouched… we fear the worst. I must go. The guard change is coming. God keep you.
He is gone, William. He has slipped back into the shadows. And that is the reality here. A new King sits at Baynard’s Castle, proclaimed by the lords and the commons, but here at the Tower, the old King’s sons are fading into memory. The paranoia is palpable. Every closing door sounds like a sentence.
A chilling report, Joan. Stay safe. We will continue to monitor the situation as the coronation approaches. Richard III is King. But the fate of the Princes in the Tower remains the question that no one in London dares to answer aloud. For the Daily Brief, I am William.
Backgrounder Notes
Based on the historical events depicted in the transcript, here are key concepts and figures that provide essential context for the reader.
Baynard’s Castle A medieval riverside palace in London that served as the personal headquarters of the House of York. It was at this location—rather than a government building or royal palace—that Richard publicly accepted the petition to assume the throne.
Lord Protector A title granted to a senior nobleman to govern the realm when the monarch is a minor or incapacitated. Richard was appointed Lord Protector to rule on behalf of his 12-year-old nephew, Edward V, giving him legal control over the military and government before he seized the crown for himself.
The Garden Tower Now known as the "Bloody Tower" due to the legend of the Princes' murder, this structure was originally a luxurious residential apartment within the Tower of London. It is important to note that the Tower was a royal palace as well as a prison, and the boys were initially lodged there in keeping with tradition for an upcoming coronation.
The Illegitimacy Ruling (The Precontract) Richard’s legal claim to the throne rested on the allegation that his brother, the late Edward IV, was already betrothed (a "precontract") to a noblewoman named Eleanor Butler when he married the Queen. Under canon law, this precontract would render the King's marriage bigamous and his children, the Princes, illegitimate.
Earl Rivers (Anthony Woodville) The brother of the Queen Mother and the governor of Prince Edward’s household. He was the primary guardian of the young King; his execution at Pontefract Castle was a decisive move by Richard to strip the Princes of their maternal family's protection.
Lord Hastings (William Hastings) A powerful loyalist to the late King who initially supported Richard's protectorate but was abruptly executed without trial on June 13, 1483. His summary execution signaled the end of political maneuvering and the beginning of Richard's violent seizure of power.
Doctor Argentine John Argentine was a prominent physician and later Provost of King's College, Cambridge, historically recorded as the last of the Princes' attendants to be dismissed. Contemporary chronicler Dominic Mancini reported that Argentine described the young King Edward V as preparing himself for death through daily confession.
Sources
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wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_III_of_England
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thewarsoftheroses.co.ukhttps://thewarsoftheroses.co.uk/how-did-richard-iii-become-king/
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wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princes_in_the_Tower
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thehistoryofengland.co.ukhttps://thehistoryofengland.co.uk/resource/the-fate-of-the-princes-evidence/
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