EDWARD V.—Only ten weeks of 1483.
How Richard, Duke of Gloucester, was guardian to the young King
Edward the Fifth; how he put Lord Hastings to death, and made himself
King; and how the little King Edward and his brother were murdered in
the Tower.
When Edward the Fourth died, his son Edward, Prince of Wales, was
only thirteen years old; and his younger son, Richard, Duke of York,
only ten.
The Prince of Wales was with some of his relations at Ludlow, and the
little duke with his mother in London.
Their guardian was their uncle, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, whose
wicked and cruel deeds you read about in the last chapter.
Now the Duke of Gloucester, whom the people called Crook-back,
because he was deformed, wished to be king himself; but there were
several noblemen who determined to try to prevent his depriving his
little nephew of the kingdom; and when the boy was brought to London,
and lodged in the palace in the Tower, to keep him safe, as his uncle
said, they tried to watch over him, and prevent any wrong from being
done to him. But Richard of Gloucester was too cunning and too cruel
for them. He contrived, in the first place, to get the little Duke
of York out of his mother’s hands, and to lodge him in the Tower, as
well as his brother. He next pretended that he wanted to talk with
the little king’s friends about the proper day for setting the crown
on his head, and letting the people see him as their king. So the
lords who wished well to the young princes all came to the Tower, and
were sitting together waiting for the Duke of Gloucester.
At last he came, and said, very angrily, that he had found out
several persons who were making plans to put him to death, and had
bribed some persons to poison him; and then turning to Lord Hastings,
who was one of young Edward’s best friends, asked him fiercely
what the persons deserved who had done so? “They deserve severe
punishment,” said Lord Hastings, “IF they have done so.”—“IF! dost
thou answer me with IFS?” roared out Gloucester; “by St. Paul, I will
not dine till thy head is off!”
The moment he had said this he struck his hand upon the table, and
some soldiers came into the room. He made a sign to them to take away
Lord Hastings, and they took him directly to the court before the
windows. There they laid him down with his neck on a log of wood, and
cut off his head, and the cruel Gloucester went to his dinner.
After this, nobody was surprised to hear that Richard had put to
death several more of the king’s friends; and that the next thing he
did was to get the people to make him king, and to say that the young
prince was not fit to be king.
After this, he ordered both the princes to be murdered in the Tower;
and I will tell you how it was done.
[Illustration: Death of the little Princes in the Tower.]
The governor of the Tower at that time was Sir Robert Brackenbury,
and Richard found that he was so honest, that while he was there he
would not let anybody hurt the little princes, so that he sent away
Brackenbury upon some business that was to take him two or three
days, and gave the keys to a wicked servant of his own to keep till
Brackenbury came back. The bad man’s name was Tyrrell; and he had
no sooner got the charge of the little king and his brother, than
he sent for two persons more wicked even than himself, and promised
them a great deal of money, if they would go into the children’s room
while they were asleep and murder them.
These two men’s names were Dighton and Forrest. They went into the
room where the princes were both on the same bed. Their little
arms were round each other’s necks, and their little cheeks close
together. Then the wicked murderers took some cushions, and laid them
over the poor children as they lay asleep, and smothered them.
Then they took them on their shoulders, and carried them to a little
back-staircase, near their room in the Tower, and buried them in a
great hole under the stairs, and threw a heap of stones over them;
and a long time afterwards, some workmen, who were employed to repair
that part of the Tower, found their bones in that place.
And this was the end of our little King Edward the Fifth, and his
brother York.
You will read something about their sister Elizabeth very soon.