One of the Princes in the Tower Was Married and This Is What Happened to His Wife | Anne Mowbray

From History Calling

A royal child bride, a mysterious death and a lost coffin rediscovered over four centuries later. This is the incredible true story of what happened to Anne Mowbray, Duchess of York, the wife of one of the Princes in the Tower. Born in December 1472, Anne de Mowbray (as she is also known) became one of the wealthiest heiresses in England after her father’s death and the Countess of Norfolk in her own right. She was married at just five years old to Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, the younger son of King Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville, ultimately making her the aunt of Henry VIII. Tragically, Anne died of an unknown illness in November 1481 aged only eight and two years before her young husband and his brother, Edward V, vanished inside the Tower of London in one of the most enduring mysteries of the Wars of the Roses. In this detailed Plantagenet history documentary from History Calling, I take you through the life of Anne Mowbray, including her christening, her royal marriage, her early death, her burial at Westminster Abbey, and the astonishing fate of her remains. Moved once by the Tudors to the Abbey of the Minoresses near Aldgate, Anne’s coffin disappeared from history until an accidental discovery beneath London in 1964 revealed her lost tomb. We’ll uncover what archaeologists found inside Anne Mowbray’s coffin, including how her shroud and hair were preserved, what her teeth and bones revealed about her health, diet and genetics and why high levels of a deadly poison shocked researchers. You’ll also hear about the ethical debates in the House of Lords that followed her disinterment, her solemn lying in state, and her final reburial in Westminster Abbey in 1965, near the supposed resting place of her little husband, Richard in the Henry VII Lady Chapel. Through the story of Anne Mowbray, we explore a world of royal alliances, child marriages, medieval burial customs, and Tudor reinterment practices, shining light on how one small coffin transformed our understanding of England’s royal past. So if you’re interested in hearing about the life of Edward IV’s daughter in law, the death of Anne Mowbray, royal child marriages, royal burials in Westminster Abbey and the Plantagenet royal family, then this is the video for you.