Re: [Richard III Society Forum] History's Mysteries

I watched it! It showed two cute little blonde boys getting smothered with
their pillow in the Tower. Then who comes on but Alison Weir who says
"There's only one culprit-Richard III." I screamed NO IT'S NOT!!!!!!! at the
tv screen LOL. My dad must think I'm nuts. Then I was so happy cuz a David
Starkey series on Henry VIII was on next. Forget Henry...I was so happy
because this is the first tudor documentary I saw that actually elaborated on
my favorite tudor person, Thomas More.

-Victoria
"Crying is the refuge of plain women, but the ruin of pretty ones."-Oscar
Wilde

--- In , hockeygirl1016@a...
wrote:
> I watched it! It showed two cute little blonde boys getting
smothered with > their pillow in the Tower. Then who comes on but
Alison Weir who says> "There's only one culprit-Richard III." I
screamed NO IT'S NOT!!!!!!! at the> tv screen LOL.

Richard isn't the only possible culprit, but he shouldn't be ruled
out. The execution of deposed monarchs was de rigeur during that
period. Even much later as Chales I & Louis XVI found out and their
'democratic' counterparts: Presidents & Prime Ministers can be
targets.

I find the sentimentality surrounding Edward V interesting. As you
say, they - Edward & Richard, Duke of York - are always depicted as
two cute little blonde boys. This myth about them owes as much or
more to 19th century Romanticism than reality. Millais in his
painting of the princes (bastards) depicts them as lovely, mildly
frightened in a dark Tower of London. Millais actually used his
daughters as models. This is probably twaddle. Richard III could not
afford to be sentimental about them, because they undoubtedly would've
executed him as a traitor had they escaped, as indeed Edward IV
would've had he been miraculously resurrected.