On the Trail of King Richard III. L. M. Ollie

      ‘Remember, Brackenbury didn't come on the scene until the seventeenth. Buckingham was appointed High Constable on the fifteenth. It’s my contention that, with or without Howard's help, Buckingham arranged the death of the two boys sometime between the fifteenth and seventeenth of July, probably late at night and perhaps as you’ve suggested. He didn't join up with Richard in Gloucester until the twenty-ninth and that was when they had the argument. Anti-Richard types suggest it was because Richard told Buckingham that he was thinking of murdering the boys, or had already murdered them. It could just as well have been the other way around.’

      ‘Richard would have been furious,’ Gail said, shaking her head.

      ‘That would be the understatement of the week, but what could he do? The deed had been done and by his most trusted adviser, friend and confidant. Frankly I think Buckingham had the whole thing planned right from the start, just after King Edward died. Become Richard's friend, help destroy the Wydvilles, put Richard on the throne, discredit him by murdering the Princes and then, when he left Richard in a huff, he began to plot against him, which culminated in open rebellion later that year. When he arrived at his estates in Wales, guess who was there?’

      ‘Mrs. Buckingham?’

      Laura laughed. ‘John Morton, Bishop of Ely. Remember, he was one of the men arrested in Council when Hastings was accused of treason? He became a prisoner under the care of Buckingham. He even asked to be Morton’s jailer which, in itself, is suggestive.

      ‘Now, Morton was a nasty bit of work. Sly, secretive, a lover of intrigue, he hated Richard with a passion. Soon Buckingham and Morton were busy scheming together. I doubt if Buckingham told Morton the truth about the Princes. Besides, Morton would want to believe that Richard murdered them because that was just what was needed to undermine Richard, both as a man and a king. Morton must have rubbed his hands in glee. There’s no doubt that Morton masterminded the events that followed. Poor Buckingham ended up being dragged along when Morton made it clear that he would support Henry Tudor and not him in a bid for the throne. Buckingham was faced with a dilemma then. His claim to the throne was much stronger than Henry's, but without support, and he couldn't expect much in the way of help after his recent attachment to Richard, his chances of success were virtually nil. Perhaps, he reasoned, once Richard was gotten rid of he could step forward, show his pedigree and bump Henry off, literally and figuratively.’

      Gail chuckled.

      ‘Well, you’d have to be smoking funny cigarettes to believe that a man like Buckingham would have been happy putting Elizabeth Wydville's daughter on the throne, or Tudor. Tudor's branch of the royal tree was on the wrong side of the blanket, to put it politely, so I can't imagine Buckingham accepting such a sow's ear on the English throne.

      ‘Anyhow, Morton and Buckingham made their way to London and had a wee chat with Henry Tudor's mother, Margaret Beaufort. A deal was struck. Buckingham would help put Henry on the throne, Henry would marry Elizabeth of York and everyone would live happily ever after. In the meantime, rumours were circulated that the two boys had been murdered by order of their uncle. Everyone assumed that that was Richard, of course, although Buckingham was their uncle too. Neat, aye?’

      ‘And when did Elizabeth Wydville find out and who told her?’

      ‘I would imagine that that job fell to Margaret Beaufort. Again, it’s the good news, bad news scenario. First the bad news; your sons are dead, Richard killed them but, the good news is that your daughter will marry my son and be a Queen.

      ‘Well,’ Laura said, leaning back in her chair and lighting another cigarette, ‘how did you like that story?’

      ‘I feel sorry for Elizabeth Wydville.’

      ‘Don't,’ Laura said flatly. ‘She had her chance and she blew it. So many people hated her and her cool aloofness, her counterfeit regal bearing. Buckingham did. He hated her so much that killing her sons would have been easy for him. He might even have enjoyed it.’

      ‘You make him sound like a monster.’

      ‘He was. Do you know what Richard said of Buckingham when he heard of his defection? He called him; “the most untrue creature living”.’

      Gail turned her wine glass around and around, thinking. ‘Why didn't Richard denounce Buckingham? Why didn’t he let the whole world know up front that it was Buckingham who murdered the Princes?’

      ‘Well, at first I doubt if Richard believed him and that was probably why he sent Green down to London. Green returned with the horrible truth that the boys were missing, but no one knew what happened to them or where they were, alive or dead. Brackenbury may have delayed telling Richard in the hope of finding the boys before anyone knew. Can you imagine his panic when he took office only to find his two charges missing? And I think that's important. The boys were missing; the concept of murder probably never entered anyone's head. Children don't get murdered.’

      ‘But everyone believed that Richard did murder them.’

      ‘Now you have it; Shakespeare, More, how pleased they would be because now we have a true morality play. Richard's draconian treatment of everyone from the dowager Countess Elizabeth Howard way back in his early twenties, right through to Hastings' execution without trial; all the birds were coming home to roost. He had dared and succeeded at the most unlawful, disgusting and frankly, bloody crimes. As a result he was universally feared and even hated. Everything he had ever done was for his own gain, even where the Church was concerned. Kill two young boys? If it meant that he could feel more secure on the throne - sure. That people believed that he was capable of such a crime - most certainly.

      ‘Like his long dead brother, George, Richard became the instrument of his own destruction. Whether or not he murdered the Princes in the Tower became academic. The fact that most people believed he did was all that was important. And, no one knew better than Buckingham just how vulnerable Richard was in that regard.

      Laura sighed as she pushed her notes aside. ‘Anyhow, we’ll have lots of time to talk about this during our travels. That’s enough. At the risk of being told I drink too much, I think I’ll have a nice glass of port.’ Smiling broadly at Gail, she signalled their waiter. Gail recovered just in time to add a dish of spumoni ice cream to the order before the waiter hurried away.