History Main / TheFateOfThePrincesInTheTower

* Creator/MaryShelley wrote a novel, ''The Fortunes of Perkin Warbeck'' that portrays Perkin as the real Richard of Shrewbery. In her introduction, Shelley asserts her story is based on documents that existed in the Tower.

Edward V of England and his brother Richard of Shrewsbury were the young sons of [[UsefulNotes/EdwardIV King Edward IV]] and his consort Elizabeth Woodville. Upon the death of their father, their uncle, [[UsefulNotes/RichardIII Richard, Duke of Gloucester]], who had been appointed Lord Protector, had the boys declared illegitimate and seized the throne for himself as Richard III. The boys were lodged in The Tower of London and disappeared sometime in 1483. By the time of Richard's defeat at Bosworth Field (1485) and the ascension of [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfTudor Henry VII]], most people presumed the princes to be dead.

# Richard did it. He had motive, means, and opportunity to order someone to kill the princes.
# Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, a man with his own claim to the throne whom Richard executed for treason, did it as part of a scheme to take the crown. Stafford was initially one of the main allies of Richard III, until leading "Buckingham's rebellion" against his former ally. He was executed without trial.

# One or both of the boys [[SentIntoHiding escaped]], and one or more of the Pretenders that dogged Henry VII's reign may have been genuine, which would circle back to suspect number three. Perkin Warbeck, who gained much support in his lifetime (including Richard's sister, UsefulNotes/MargaretOfYork) and was eventually executed by Henry VII, claimed to be Richard of Shrewsbury and is a favorite candidate for being the real deal.[[note]]Reportedly, King James I, the first post-Tudor monarch, believed this story.[[/note]]

Moreover, this new narrative opens up fresh avenues for historical fiction writers to explore, including the details of how the boys escaped, what ultimately happened to each of the princes once grown to adulthood, and the fate of any children they might have had. Richard of York/Perkin Warbeck did marry and had a son, Richard, who disappeared from the public record.

* The premise of the original season of ''Series/TheBlackAdder'' is that everything about this story is Tudor propaganda, and that in fact, the princes were never locked up, and Richard, Duke of York, grew up to become Creator/BrianBlessed, who had two sons of his own (the younger of which, Prince Edmund, Duke of Edinburgh, becomes the titular Black Adder) and reigned for several years as Richard IV, following Richard III's death at Bosworth Hill. Henry VII, who managed to survive Bosworth Field, reformed the calendar and pretended none of it had ever happened - after Percy accidentally poisoned the entire royal family in the season finale, leaving Henry the only possible heir left.

* In ''Literature/TheMissing'', a TimeTravelEscape series by Creator/MargaretPetersonHaddix, the two princes are rescued from their death and brought to the modern day, but they have to go back to the past using TrickedOutTime to avoid changing history too much. It is shown that Richard III ordered their murder but [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone regrets it terribly afterward.]] This is complicated when it turns out [[spoiler:the princes survived the murder attempt even in the original timeline, and died later when they fought on Richard's side during the Battle of Bosworth.]]

In 2016, The Richard III Society, inspired by their remarkable success in finding Richard's remains, launched The Missing Princes Project, in an attempt to discover the fate of the princes and working to prove theory number five, specifically that the boys were sent away by Richard. On November 18th, 2023, Phillippa Langley released a book and ITV aired a documentary ''The Princes in the Tower: The New Evidence'' claiming, based on uncovered documents, that Richard III sent both boys into exile, and that two most famous pretenders to challenge Henry Tudor, Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck, were in fact the real princes. More specifically, the project concludes that Edward V was the focus of the rebellion culminating at the Battle of Stoke[[note]]Henry Tudor claimed that an imposter version of the Edward that was the son of the Duke of Clarence called Lambert Simnel was the focus and not Edward V.[[/note]] and he either died in the battle or escaped to Ireland. Meanwhile, they assert that the man Henry Tudor called Perkin Warbeck was Richard of York, and while it was likely he was executed in 1499, the man who was hanged had a beaten face so it is not certain. These conclusions are based on uncovered archival evidence, including accounting records from Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Low Countries that seem to show the princes alive after Bosworth Field and a chronicle of the younger prince's life dictated to a scribe by Prince Richard himself while he was in exile. Tudor skeptics agree that the account of Richard of York's survival is authentic to the period, but assert it was simply part of the fraudulent campaign to put Perkin Warbeck on the throne, and they claim the accounting documents are simply being misread. Ricardans counter that Margaret of York had living nephews that she could have championed, so it makes no sense that she would advance imposter princes, and they stand by the accuracy of their interpretation of the other documents. Ricardians also acknowledge that many of these documents, including the testimony of Richard of York/Perkin Warbeck are not brand-new discoveries but have not been examined for, in some cases, centuries. Ricardians insist that documents previously interpreted through the lens of Tudor propaganda and dismissed should be re-evaluated.

In 2016, The Richard III Society, inspired by their remarkable success in finding Richard's remains, launched The Missing Princes Project, in an attempt to discover the fate of the princes and working to prove theory number five, specifically that the boys were sent away by Richard. On November 18th, 2023, Phillippa Langley released a book and ITV aired a documentary ''The Princes in the Tower: The New Evidence'' claiming, based on uncovered documents, that Richard III sent both boys into exile, and that two most famous pretenders to challenge Henry Tudor, Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck, were in fact the real princes. More specifically, the project concludes that Edward V was the focus of the rebellion culminating at the Battle of Stoke [[note]]Henry Tudor claimed that an imposter version of the Edward that was the son of the Duke of Clarence called Lambert Simnel was the focus and not Edward V.[[/note]] and he either died in the battle or escaped to Ireland. Meanwhile, they assert that the man Henry Tudor called Perkin Warbeck was Richard of York, and while it was likely he was executed in 1499, the man who was hanged had a beaten face so it is not certain. These conclusions are based on uncovered archival evidence, including accounting records from Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Low Countries that seem to show the princes alive after Bosworth Field and a chronicle of the younger prince's life dictated to a scribe by Prince Richard himself while he was in exile. Tudor skeptics agree that the account of Richard of York's survival is authentic to the period, but assert it was simply part of the fraudulent campaign to put Perkin Warbeck on the throne, and they claim the accounting documents are simply being misread. Ricardans counter that Margaret of York had living nephews that she could have championed, so it makes no sense that she would advance imposter princes, and they stand by the accuracy of their interpretation of the other documents. Ricardians also acknowledge that many of these documents, including the testimony of Richard of York/Perkin Warbeck are not brand-new discoveries but have not been examined for, in some cases, centuries. Ricardians insist that documents previously interpreted through the lens of Tudor propaganda and dismissed should be re-evaluated.

The Missing Princes project has not concluded and the search for more documents and evidence continues.

In 2016, The Richard III Society, inspired by their remarkable success in finding Richard's remains, launched The Missing Princes Project, in an attempt to discover the fate of the princes and working to prove theory number five, specifically that the boys were sent away by Richard. On November 18th, 2023, Phillippa Langley released a book and ITV aired a documentary ''The Princes in the Tower: The New Evidence'' claiming, based on uncovered documents, that Richard III sent both boys into exile, and that two most famous pretenders to challenge Henry Tudor, Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck, were in fact the real princes. More specifically, the project concludes that Edward V was the focus of the rebellion culminating at the Battle of Stoke [[note]]Henry Tudor claimed that an imposter version of the Edward that was the son of the Duke of Clarence called Lambert Simnel was the focus and not Edward V.[[/note]] and he either died in the battle or escaped to Ireland. Meanwhile, they assert that the man Henry Tudor called Perkin Warbeck was Richard of York, and while it was likely he was executed in 1499, the man who was hanged had a beaten face so it is not certain. These conclusions are based on uncovered archival evidence, including accounting records from Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Low Countries that seem to show the princes alive after Bosworth Field and a chronicle of the younger prince's life dictated to a scribe by Prince Richard himself while he was in exile. Tudor skeptics agree that the account of Richard of York's survival is authentic to the period, but assert it was simply part of the fraudulent campaign to put Perkin Warbeck on the throne, and they claim the accounting documents are simply being misread. Ricardans counter that Margaret of York had living nephews that she could have championed, so it makes no sense that she would advance imposter princes, and they stand by the accuracy of their interpretation of the other documents. Ricardians also acknowledge that many of these documents, including the testimony of Richard of York/Perkin Warbeck are not brand-new discoveries but have not been examined for, in some cases, centuries. Ricardians insist that documents previously interpreted through the lens of Tudor propaganda and dismissed should be re-evaluated. On top of that, their project has not concluded and the search for more documents and evidence continues.

In 2016, The Richard III Society, inspired by their remarkable success in finding Richard's remains, launched The Missing Princes Project, in an attempt to discover the fate of the princes and working to prove theory number five, specifically that the boys were sent away by Richard. On November 18th, 2023, Phillippa Langley released a book and ITV aired a documentary ''The Princes in the Tower: The New Evidence'' claiming, based on uncovered documents, that Richard III sent both boys into exile, and that two most famous pretenders to challenge Henry Tudor, Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck, were in fact the real princes. More specifically, the project concludes that Edward V was the focus of the rebellion culminating at the Battle of Stoke [[note]]Henry Tudor claimed that an imposter version of the Edward that was the son of the Duke of Clarence called Lambert Simnel was the focus and not Edward V.[[/note]] and he either died in the battle or escaped to Ireland. Meanwhile, they assert that the man Henry Tudor called Perkin Warbeck was Richard of York, and while it was likely he was executed in 1499, the man who was hanged had a beaten face so it is not certain. These conclusions are based on uncovered archival evidence, including accounting records from Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Low Countries that seem to show the princes alive after Bosworth Field and a chronicle of the younger prince's life dictated to a scribe by Prince Richard himself while he was in exile. Tudor skeptics agree that the account of Richard of York's survival is authentic to the period, but assert it was simply part of the fraudulent campaign to put Perkin Warbeck on the throne, and they claim the accounting documents are simply being misread. Ricardans counter that Margaret of York had living nephews that she could have championed, so it makes no sense that she would advance imposter princes, and they stand by the accuracy of their interpretation of the other documents. Ricardians also acknowledge that many of these documents, including the testimony of Richard of York/Perkin Warbeck have been known to historians for centuries but had previously been interpreted through the lens of Tudor propaganda and therefor must be reevaluated. On top of that, the project has not concluded and the search for more documents and evidence continues.

Thanks to the Missing Princes Project's assertions, there is a new push to subject the bones interred in Westminster Abbey to modern forensic testing or at the very least have the signage changed to indicate there is significant doubt that the bones belong to the princes. Yet, historian Annette Crosby has pointed out that even based on the existing evidence from the discovery of the bones and their later examination in 1934, it is unlikely that the remains are the bones of the princes. Pushes for DNA smoking guns are a part of the modern CSI effect. Yet, the investigation will undoubtedly continue, with more light being shed on this 500-year-old cold case.

In 2016, The Richard III Society, inspired by their remarkable success in finding Richard's remains, launched a project to discover the fate of the princes, working to prove theory number five, specifically that the boys were sent away by Richard. On November 18th, 2023, Phillippa Langley released a book and ITV aired a documentary ''The Princes in the Tower: The New Evidence'' claiming, based on uncovered documents, that Richard III sent both boys into exile, and that two most famous pretenders to challenge Henry Tudor, Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck, were in fact the real princes. More specifically, the project concludes that Edward V was the focus of the rebellion culminating at the Battle of Stoke [[note]]Henry Tudor claimed that an imposter version of the Edward that was the son of the Duke of Clarence called Lambert Simnel was the focus and not Edward V.[[/note]] and he either died in the battle or escaped to Ireland. Meanwhile, they assert that the man Henry Tudor called Perkin Warbeck was Richard of York, and while it was likely he was executed in 1499, the man who was hanged had a beaten face so it is not certain. These conclusions are based on uncovered archival evidence, including accounting records from Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Low Countries that seem to show the princes alive after Bosworth Field and a chronicle of the younger prince's life dictated to a scribe by Prince Richard himself while he was in exile. Tudor skeptics agree that the account of Richard of York's survival is authentic to the period, but assert it was simply part of the fraudulent campaign to put Perkin Warbeck on the throne, and they claim the accounting documents are simply being misread. Ricardans counter that Margaret of York had living nephews that she could have championed, so it makes no sense that she would advance imposter princes, and they stand by the accuracy of their interpretation of the other documents. Ricardians also acknowledge that many of these documents, including the testimony of Richard of York/Perkin Warbeck have been known to historians for centuries but had previously been interpreted through the lens of Tudor propaganda and therefor must be reevaluated. On top of that, the project has not concluded and the search for more documents and evidence continues.

In 2016, The Richard III Society, inspired by their remarkable success in finding Richard's remains, launched a project to discover the fate of the princes, working to prove theory number five, specifically that the boys were sent away by Richard. On November 18th, 2023, ITV aired a documentary ''The Princes in the Tower: The New Evidence'' claiming, based on uncovered documents, that Richard III sent both boys into exile, and that two most famous pretenders to challenge Henry Tudor, Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck, were in fact the real princes. More specifically, the project concludes that Edward V was the focus of the rebellion culminating at the Battle of Stoke [[note]]Henry Tudor claimed that an imposter version of the Edward that was the son of the Duke of Clarence called Lambert Simnel was the focus and not Edward V.[[/note]] and he either died in the battle or escaped to Ireland. Meanwhile, they assert that the man Henry Tudor called Perkin Warbeck was Richard of York, and while it was likely he was executed in 1499, the man who was hanged had a beaten face so it is not certain. These conclusions are based on uncovered archival evidence, including accounting records from Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Low Countries that seem to show the princes alive after Bosworth Field and a chronicle of the younger prince's life dictated to a scribe by Prince Richard himself while he was in exile. Tudor skeptics agree that the account of Richard of York's survival is authentic to the period, but assert it was simply part of the fraudulent campaign to put Perkin Warbeck on the throne, and they claim the accounting documents are simply being misread. Ricardans counter that Margaret of York had living nephews that she could have championed, so it makes no sense that she would advance imposter princes, and they stand by the accuracy of their interpretation of the other documents. Ricardians also acknowledge that many of these documents, including the testimony of Richard of York/Perkin Warbeck have been known to historians for centuries but had previously been interpreted through the lens of Tudor propaganda and therefor must be reevaluated. On top of that, the project has not concluded and the search for more documents and evidence continues.

In 2016, The Richard III Society, inspired by their remarkable success in finding Richard's remains, launched a project to discover the fate of the princes, working to prove theory number five, specifically that the boys were sent away by Richard. On November 18th, 2023, ITV aired a documentary ''The Princes in the Tower: The New Evidence'' claiming, based on uncovered documents, that Richard III sent both boys into exile, and that two most famous pretenders to challenge Henry Tudor, Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck, were in fact the real princes. More specifically, the project concludes that Edward V was the focus of the rebellion culminating at the Battle of Stoke [[note]]Henry Tudor claimed that an imposter version of the Edward that was the son of the Duke of Clarence called Lambert Simnel was the focus and not Edward V.[[/note]] and he either died in the battle or escaped to Ireland. Meanwhile, they assert that Perkin Warbeck was genuine, though the project calls into question whether or not the man who was hanged in his name was the real prince. These conclusions are based on uncovered archival evidence, including accounting records from Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Low Countries that seem to show the princes alive after Bosworth Field and a chronicle of the younger prince's life dictated to a scribe by Prince Richard himself while he was in exile. Tudor skeptics agree that the account of Richard of York's survival is authentic to the period, but assert it was simply part of the fraudulent campaign to put Perkin Warbeck on the throne, and they claim the accounting documents are simply being misread. Ricardans counter that Margaret of York had living nephews that she could have championed, so it makes no sense that she would advance imposter princes, and they stand by the accuracy of their interpretation of the other documents. Ricardians also acknowledge that many of these documents, including the testimony of Richard of York/Perkin Warbeck have been known to historians for centuries but had previously been interpreted through the lens of Tudor propaganda and therefor must be reevaluated. On top of that, the project has not concluded and the search for more documents and evidence continues.

Meanwhile, rumors indicate that King UsefulNotes/CharlesIII is far more willing to have the remains interred in Westminster Abbey subjected to modern forensic testing than his late mother was. All of this has shown that new information can still shed light on this 500-year-old ExtremelyColdCase.

Related tropes include EvilUncle, EvilChancellor, HiddenBackupPrince, LostOrphanedRoyalty, ReallyRoyaltyReveal, SentIntoHiding, WouldHurtAChild, WouldntHurtAChild and TheWrongfulHeirToTheThrone.

In 2016, The Richard III Society, inspired by their remarkable success in finding Richard's remains, launched a project to discover the fate of the princes, working to prove theory number five, specifically that the boys were sent away by Richard. On November 18th, 2023, ITV aired a documentary ''The Princes in the Tower: The New Evidence'' claiming, based on uncovered documents, that Richard III sent both boys into exile, and that two most famous pretenders to challenge Henry Tudor, Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck, were in fact the real princes. More specifically, the project concludes that Edward V was the focus of the rebellion culminating at the Battle of Stoke [[note]]Henry Tudor claimed that an imposter version of the Edward that was the son of the Duke of Clarence called Lambert Simnel was the focus and not Edward V.[[/note]] and he either died in the battle or escaped to Ireland. Meanwhile, they assert that Perkin Warbeck was genuine, though the project calls into question whether or not the man who was hanged in his name was the real prince. These conclusions are based on uncovered archival evidence, including accounting records from Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Low Countries that seem to show the princes alive after Bosworth Field and a chronicle of the younger prince's life dictated to a scribe by Prince Richard himself while he was in exile. Tudor skeptics agree that the account of Richard of York's survival is authentic to the period, but assert it was simply part of the fraudulent campaign to put Perkin Warbeck on the throne, and they claim the accounting documents are simply being misread. Ricardans counter that Margaret of York had living nephews that she could have championed, so it makes no sense that she would advance imposter princes, and they stand by the accuracy of their interpretation of the other documents. Ricardians also acknowledge that many of these documents, including the testimony of Richard of York/Perkin Warbeck have been known to historians for centuries but had previously been interpreted through the lens of Tudor propaganda and therefor must be reevaluated.

In 2016, The Richard III Society, inspired by their remarkable success in finding Richard's remains, launched a project to discover the fate of the princes, working to prove theory number five, specifically that the boys were sent away by Richard. On November 18th, 2023, ITV aired a documentary ''The Princes in the Tower: The New Evidence'' claiming, based on uncovered documents, that Richard III sent both boys into exile, and that two most famous pretenders to challenge Henry Tudor, Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck, were in fact the real princes. More specifically, the project concludes that Edward V was the focus of the rebellion culminating at the Battle of Stoke [[note]]Henry Tudor claimed that an imposter version of the Edward that was the son of the Duke of Clarence called Lambert Simnel was the focus and not Edward V.[[/note]] and he either died in the battle or escaped to Ireland. Meanwhile, they assert that Perkin Warbeck was genuine, though the project calls into question whether or not the man who was hanged in his name was the real prince. These conclusions are based on uncovered archival evidence, including accounting records from Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Low Countries that seem to show the princes alive after Bosworth Field and a chronicle of the younger prince's life dictated to a scribe by Prince Richard himself while he was in exile. Tudor skeptics agree that the account of Richard of York's survival is authentic to the period, but assert it was simply part of the fraudulent campaign to put Perkin Warbeck on the throne, and they claim the accounting documents are simply being misread. Ricardans counter that Margaret of York had living nephews that she could have championed, so it makes no sense that she would advance imposter princes, and they stand by the accuracy of their interpretation of the other documents.

Historian Matthew Lewis, author of the book ''The Survival of the Princes in the Tower'' believes that the tide has turned and eventually the survival of the princes will be accepted by the mainstream. He further points out that their survival exonerates other suspects such as the Duke of Buckingham and Margaret Beaufort for the murders, since no murders happened. The acceptance of this new information is not out of the question, since there are multiple occurrences of historians accepting new information about Richard III that contradicts the Tudor narrative, although it usually takes some time for them to do so.

Moreover, this new narrative opens up fresh avenues for historical fiction writers to explore, including the details of how the boys escaped, what ultimately happened to each of the princes once grown to adulthood, and the fate of any children they might have had. Richard of York/Perkin Warbeck did marry and had a son, Richard.

In 2016, The Richard III Society, inspired by their remarkable success in finding Richard's remains, launched a project to discover the fate of the princes, working to prove theory number five, specifically that the boys were sent away by Richard. On November 18th, 2023, ITV aired a documentary ''The Princes in the Tower: The New Evidence'' claiming, based on uncovered documents, that Richard III sent both boys into exile, and that two most famous pretenders to challenge Henry Tudor, Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck, were in fact the real princes. More specifically, the project concludes that Edward V was the focus of the rebellion culminating at the Battle of Stoke [[note]]Henry Tudor claimed that an imposter version of the Edward that was the son of the Duke of Clarence called Lambert Simnel was the focus and not Edward V.[[/note]] and he either died in the battle or escaped to Ireland. Meanwhile, they assert that Perkin Warbeck was genuine, though the project calls into question whether or not the man who was hanged in his name was the real prince. These conclusions are based on uncovered archival evidence, including accounting records from Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Low Countries that seem to show the princes alive after Bosworth Field and a chronicle of the younger prince's life dictated to a scribe by Prince Richard himself while he was in exile. Tudor skeptics agree that the account of Richard of York's survival is authentic to the period, but assert it was simply part of the fraudulent campaign to put Perkin Warbeck on the throne, and they assert the accounting documents are simply being misread. Ricardans counter that Margaret of York had living nephews that she could have championed, so it makes no sense that she would advance imposter princes, and they stand by the accuracy of their interpretation of the other documents.

In 2016, The Richard III Society, inspired by their remarkable success in finding Richard's remains, launched a project to discover the fate of the princes, working to prove theory number five, specifically that the boys were sent away by Richard. On November 18th, 2023, ITV aired a documentary ''The Princes in the Tower: The New Evidence'' claiming, based on uncovered documents, that Richard III sent both boys into exile, and that two most famous pretenders to challenge Henry Tudor, Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck, were in fact the real princes. More specifically, the project concludes that Edward V was the focus of the rebellion culminating at the Battle of Stoke [[note]]Henry Tudor claimed that an imposter version of the Edward that was the son of the Duke of Clarence called Lambert Simnel was the focus and not Edward V.[[/note]] and he either died in the battle or escaped to Ireland. Meanwhile, they assert that Perkin Warbeck was genuine, though the project calls into question whether or not the man who was hanged in his name was the real prince. These conclusions are based on uncovered archival evidence, including accounting records from Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Low Countries that seem to show the princes alive after Bosworth Field and a chronicle of the younger prince's life dictated to a scribe by Prince Richard himself while he was in exile. Tudor skeptics agree that the account of Richard of York's survival is genuine, but assert it was simply part of the fraudulent campaign to put Perkin Warbeck on the throne, and they assert the accounting documents are simply being misread. Ricardans counter that Margaret of York had living nephews that she could have championed, so it makes no sense that she would advance imposter princes, and they stand by the accuracy of their interpretation of the other documents.

In 2016, The Richard III Society, inspired by their remarkable success in finding Richard's remains, launched a project to discover the fate of the princes, working to prove theory number five, specifically that the boys were sent away by Richard. On November 18th, 2023, ITV aired a documentary ''The Princes in the Tower: The New Evidence'' claiming, based on uncovered documents, that Richard III sent both boys into exile, and that two most famous pretenders to challenge Henry Tudor, Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck, were in fact the real princes. More specifically, the project concludes that Edward V was the focus of the rebellion culminating at the Battle of Stoke [[note]]Henry Tudor claimed that an imposter version of the Edward that was the son of the Duke of Clarence called Lambert Simnel was the focus and not Edward V.[[/note]] and he either died in the battle or escaped to Ireland. Meanwhile, they assert that Perkin Warbeck was genuine, though the project calls into question whether or not the man who was hanged in his name was the real prince. These conclusions are based on uncovered archival evidence, including accounting records from Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Low Countries that seem to show the princes alive after Bosworth Field and a chronicle of the younger prince's life dictated to a scribe by Prince Richard himself while he was in exile. Tudor skeptics agree that the account of Richard of York's survival is genuine, but assert it was simply part of the fraudulent campaign to put Perkin Warbeck on the throne, and they assert the accounting documents are simply being misread. Ricardans counter that Margaret of York had living nephews that she could have championed, so it makes no sense that she would advance imposter princes, and they stand by the accuracy of their interpretation of the other documents. Historian Matthew Lewis, author of the book ''The Survival of the Princes in the Tower'' believes, however, that the tide has turned and eventually the survival of the princes will be accepted. He further points out that their survival exonerates other suspects such as the Duke of Buckingham and Margaret Beaufort for the murders, since no murders happened.

In 2016, The Richard III Society, inspired by their remarkable success in finding Richard's remains, launched a project to discover the fate of the princes, working to prove theory number five, specifically that the boys were sent away by Richard. On November 18th, 2023, ITV aired a documentary ''The Princes in the Tower: The New Evidence'' claiming, based on uncovered documents, that Richard III sent both boys into exile, and that two most famous pretenders to challenge Henry Tudor, Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck, were in fact the real princes. More specifically, the project concludes that Edward V was the focus of the rebellion culminating at the Battle of Stoke [[note]]Henry Tudor claimed that an imposter version of the Edward that was the son of the Duke of Clarence called Lambert Simnel was the focus and not Edward V.[[/note]] and he either died in the battle or escaped to Ireland. Meanwhile, they assert that Perkin Warbeck was genuine, though the project calls into question whether or not the man who was hanged in his name was the real prince. These conclusions are based on uncovered archival evidence, including accounting records from Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Low Countries that seem to show the princes alive after Bosworth Field and a chronicle of the younger prince's life dictated to a scribe by Prince Richard himself while he was in exile. Skeptics agree that the account of Richard of York's survival is genuine, but assert it was simply part of the fraudulent campaign to put Perkin Warbeck on the throne, and they assert the accounting documents are simply being misread. Ricardans counter that Margaret of York had living nephews that she could have championed, so it makes no sense that she would advance imposter princes and stand by the accuracy of their interpretation of the other documents.

In 2019, The Richard III Society, inspired by their remarkable success in finding Richard's remains, launched a project to discover the fate of the princes, working to prove theory number five, specifically that the boys were sent away by Richard. On November 18th, 2023, ITV aired a documentary ''The Princes in the Tower: The New Evidence'' claiming, based on uncovered documents, that Richard III sent both boys into exile, and that two most famous pretenders to challenge Henry Tudor, Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck, were in fact the real princes. More specifically, the project concludes that Edward V was the focus of the rebellion culminating at the Battle of Stoke [[note]]Henry Tudor claimed that an imposter version of the Edward that was the son of the Duke of Clarence called Lambert Simnel was the focus and not Edward V.[[/note]] and he either died in the battle or escaped to Ireland. Meanwhile, they assert that Perkin Warbeck was genuine, though the project calls into question whether or not the man who was hanged in his name was the real prince. These conclusions are based on uncovered archival evidence, including accounting records from Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Low Countries that seem to show the princes alive after Bosworth Field and a chronicle of the younger prince's life dictated to a scribe by Prince Richard himself while he was in exile. Skeptics agree that the account of Richard of York's survival is genuine, but assert it was simply part of the fraudulent campaign to put Perkin Warbeck on the throne, and they assert the accounting documents are simply being misread.

In 2019, The Richard III Society, inspired by their remarkable success in finding Richard's remains, launched a project to discover the fate of the princes, working to prove theory number five, specifically that the boys were sent away by Richard. On November 18th, 2023, ITV aired a documentary ''The Princes in the Tower: The New Evidence'' claiming, based on uncovered documents, that Richard III sent both boys into exile, and that two most famous pretenders to challenge Henry Tudor, Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck, were in fact the real princes. More specifically, the project concludes that Edward V was the focus of the rebellion culminating at the Battle of Stoke [[note]]Henry Tudor claimed that an imposter version of the Edward that was the son of the Duke of Clarence called Lambert Simnel was the focus and not Edward V.[[/note]] and he either died in the battle or escaped to Ireland. Meanwhile, they assert that Perkin Warbeck was genuine, though the project calls into question whether or not the man who was hanged in his name was the real prince. These conclusions are based on uncovered archival evidence, including accounting records that seem to show the princes survival and an account of the younger prince's life dictated to a scribe by Prince Richard himself while he was in exile. Skeptics agree that the account of Richard of York's survival is genuine, but assert it was simply part of the fraudulent campaign to put Perkin Warbeck on the throne, and they assert the accounting documents are simply being misread.

In 2019, The Richard III Society, inspired by their remarkable success in finding Richard's remains, launched a project to discover the fate of the princes, working to prove theory number five, specifically that the boys were sent away by Richard. On November 18th, 2023, ITV aired a documentary ''The Princes in the Tower: The New Evidence'' claiming, based on uncovered documents, that Richard III sent both boys into exile, and that two most famous pretenders to challenge Henry Tudor, Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck, were in fact the real princes. More specifically, the project concludes that Edward V was the focus of the rebellion culminating at the Battle of Stoke [[note]]Henry Tudor claimed that an imposter version of the Edward that was the son of the Duke of Clarence called Lambert Simnel was the focus and not Edward V.[[/note]] and he either died in the battle or escaped to Ireland. Meanwhile, they assert that Perkin Warbeck was genuine, though the project calls into question whether or not the man who was hanged in his name was the real prince. These conclusions are based on uncovered archival evidence, including an account of the younger prince's life dictated to a scribe by Prince Richard himself while he was in exile.

In 2019, The Richard III Society, inspired by their remarkable success in finding Richard's remains, launched a project to discover the fate of the princes, working to prove theory number five, specifically that the boys were sent away by Richard. On November 18th, 2023, ITV aired a documentary ''The Princes in the Tower: The New Evidence'' claiming, based on uncovered documents, that Richard III sent both boys into exile, and that two most famous pretenders to challenge Henry Tudor, Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck, were in fact the real princes. More specifically, the project concludes that Edward V was the focus of the rebellion culminating at the Battle of Stoke [[note]]Henry Tudor claimed that an imposter version of the Edward that was the son of the Duke of Clarence called Lambert Simnel was the focus and not Edward V.[[/note]] and he either died in the battle or escaped to Ireland. Meanwhile, they assert that Perkin Warbeck was genuine, though the project calls into question whether or not the man who was hanged in his name was the real prince. These conclusions are based on uncovered archival evidence, including an account of the younger prince's life dictated to scribe by the prince himself while he was in exile.

In 2019, The Richard III Society, inspired by their remarkable success in finding Richard's remains, launched a project to discover the fate of the princes, working to prove theory number five, specifically that the boys were sent away by Richard. On November 18th, 2023, ITV aired a documentary ''The Princes in the Tower: The New Evidence'' claiming, based on uncovered documents, that Richard III sent both boys into exile, and that two most famous pretenders to challenge Henry Tudor, Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck, were in fact the real princes. More specifically, the project concludes that Edward V was the focus of the rebellion culminating at the Battle of Stoke [[note]]Henry Tudor claimed that an imposter version of the Edward that was the son of the Duke of Clarence called Lambert Simnel was the focus and not Edward V.[[/note]] and he either died in the battle or escaped to Ireland. Meanwhile, they assert that Perkin Warbuck was genuine, though the project calls into question whether or not the man who was hanged in his name was the real prince. These conclusions are based on uncovered archival evidence.

The Richard III Society, inspired by their remarkable success in finding Richard's remains, launched a project to discover the fate of the princes, working to prove theory number five, specifically that the boys were sent away by Richard. On November 18th, 2023, ITV aired a documentary ''The Princes in the Tower: The New Evidence'' claiming, based on uncovered documents, that Richard III sent both boys into exile, and that two most famous pretenders to challenge Henry Tudor, Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck, were in fact the real princes. More specifically, the project concludes that Edward V was the focus of the rebellion culminating at the Battle of Stoke [[note]]Henry Tudor claimed that an imposter version of the Edward that was the son of the Duke of Clarence called Lambert Simnel was the focus and not Edward V.[[/note]] and he either died in the battle or escaped to Ireland. Meanwhile, they assert that Perkin Warbuck was genuine, though the project calls into question whether or not the man who was hanged in his name was the real prince. These conclusions are based on uncovered archival evidence.

The Richard III Society, inspired by their remarkable success in finding Richard's remains, launched a project to discover the fate of the princes, working to prove theory number five, specifically that the boys were sent away by Richard for their own safety on November 18th, 2023, ITV aired a documentary ''The Princes in the Tower: The New Evidence'' claiming, based on uncovered documents, that Richard III sent both boys into exile, and that two most famous pretenders to challenge Henry Tudor, Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck, were in fact the real princes. These conclusions are based on uncovered archival evidence.

The Richard III Society, inspired by their remarkable success in finding Richard's remains, launched a project to discover the fate of the princes, working to prove theory number five, specifically that the boys were sent away by Richard for their own safety on November 18th, 2023, ITV aired a documentary ''The Princes in the Tower: The New Evidence'' claiming, based on uncovered documents, that Richard III sent both boys into exile, and that two pretenders, including Perkin Warbeck, were in fact the real princes.