Could Lady Margaret Beaufort Have Killed the Princes in the Tower?

From History Calling

Did Lady Margaret Beaufort kill the Princes in the Tower so that her son could take the English throne? Their disappearance in the Tower of London in 1483 is one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in English history and Margaret’s involvement is one of the most popular alternative theories for those who don’t want to believe that Richard III killed his nephews, Edward V and Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, but what evidence is there that Henry VII’s mother, Lady Margaret Beaufort, matriarch of the Tudor dynasty, was a child killer? Where did this theory come from and why is it increasingly popular? Is there any contemporary proof linking Margaret Beaufort to the disappearance of the Princes in the Tower? How strong is the case compared to the traditional accusation against Richard III and what do most modern historians believe today? In this video from History Calling we go back to the tail-end of the Wars of the Roses to explore the theory that the two lost boys were killed by the woman who would soon be known as My Lady the King’s Mother. We'll explore Margaret Beaufort's possible motives, her political influence, her connections with key figures of the period and whether she had the means and opportunity to orchestrate such a crime. We look at the origins of this theory, put forward by Sir George Buck in 1619, at why his work does and doesn’t deserve merit and at what Cornwallis had to say about it at a later date. We also examine how the novels of Philippa Gregory, The Red Queen and The White Queen, as well as the TV shows based on them, have popularised this theory for new generations and the dangers of historical fiction as a source.