Edward V was the eldest son of
King Edward IV of
England. He succeeded his father to the
throne in April
1483 at the age of 12, with his uncle, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, to be
regent until he was of age. However, by June, an enemy of Edward's mother's family claimed that Edward IV's
marriage to Elizabeth Woodville had not been legal because he was supposedly already betrothed to another.
Parliament agreed with this accusation and declared the marriage invalid, which made Edward V an
illegitimate child and not legally able to be king. The Duke of Gloucester was crowned
Richard III on 25 June 1483; the former king and his younger brother Richard were to live in the
Tower of London.
No one is completely sure what happened to them -- later rulers said Richard had them smothered in their sleep and Sir James Tyrell confessed under torture to having done so in 1502. However, some think the boys were moved to a castle in Yorkshire, were still alive after Richard III's death, and were killed by Henry VII when he came to power. The mystery of "the Princes in the Tower" is still spawning a lot of discussion.