History unfortunately does not always record who our ancestors were. Lost of name and face they may be,but vestiges remain. Stone circles and ancient battlefields tell their own part of that shadowy story of ancient peoples if we have but the mind to see.
Mystery is wonderful to our minds desires but so frustrating if we delve into a record of yesterday as will all prove to exist to set the story true? Not always is it so, as police seem to be baffled in murder cases often when case is from just over night and with all the technical aid of today at hand. For King Richard111 all London blamed him to his face the he had murdered his own nephews .The Princes in the Tower. Why did he say nothing and so remain silent according to the famous Paxton letters. Well! if he had not a single clue what could he say? Then it would have perhaps served him greatly to show the bodies and blame someone else whilst he was out of that city. That fact is he did nothing and that in Churchills eyes made him guilty. I can think like Sir Winston for I knew him. I shall give to you another set of evidence that may just help to change your mind.
Walk with me now down the avenue of centuries to a date in time some 533 years ago. Depending on your view point but to me that is last month in the long files of man kinds history. Now for our case in short.
Edward 1V the King of England was dead. we see him laying out on his day bed, alone. His wife of many years distant we find and no place to be found. The Kings loyal brother Richard Duke of Gloucester was far off in the North on his Kings duty as judge. Back we travel to see the dead King is now with all his family around the corpse. It is a mystery as to what killed the King. Then that will also be on Richards mind later. The battle hero who was the sun king of old England a legend at 17. The most loved King of England a real man of fame was he.
Richard was still not informed of his brothers death. Weeks rolled by.
Edward was married to Elizabeth Woodville a ginger blonde widow whom he had seduced .But here my friends we must stop at the records. Before us is the sworn statement of a church Bishop called Robert Stillington. In this letter in his own hand he tells of a marriage performed by he between the young King Edward and the granddaughter of the famous Talbot, a girl called Elizabeth Butler. If so we must conclude that this marriage was the real deal and that Edward was not just a legend but a bigamist too.
This then made his children born to Woodville ,bastards. We must see that England then was staunchly catholic and under the Vatican rules marriage was a vow before God.
On we see this it is expected that Richard would not argue as indeed he knew well his able brothers love of the female form. He had sorted out his girl friends upsets for years. This blonde giant of a king was a magnet to the ladies. Then we know Richard had still not been informed of his brothers death as we stand at the funeral we see the Royal colours over the coffin. It is lowered under the stone floor as the work men start on the marble and alabaster tomb. Saint Georges Hall Windsor Castle England is now far behind us as we travel north to the market town of Appleby in the county of Westmoreland and here inside the old court rooms in his gown and official robes of judge Richard is reading Lord Hastings letter. It informs the Duke that his brother had died and was buried suddenly some two months ago.
He rides dressed in black in respect of the dead to York and in its cathedral he pays to order mass to be said in his Royal brothers name.
Meanwhile back we race to London and the Queens chamber and a family gathered around a group of many cases of jewels, gold vases, coins and the Kings clothing. Her father the admiral of the fleet sat with ships moored in the Thames waiting to be loaded with all the Royal treasury. Off he sails to his home in Ireland,never to be seen again.Our Royal worth in coffers of taxation by the people and Edwards Neville family worth now vanished.
Richard suddenly appears and takes control as he has the eldest son of the Queen with him on his ride south came across the boys procession coming from Ludlow castle school. The Queen runs into Westminster Abbey out buildings with lots of furniture and boxes of Royal gold. barricades herself with the younger son in holy sanctuary safe from Richards rightful upset.
Cutting fast to the quick Richard sees he must claim his brothers throne as Stillington is pressed for the truth. Richard thought fast, as a General in war from age 16 he could. The throne was his. If not that same Woodville faction would have him killed. He placed the two boys , his nephews whom he had loved and played with in his home at Middleham Castle Yorkshire on many Christmas parties on record. in the Royal apartments in the Tower of London grounds he placed them.This was luxury and safer place than anywhere in the City allowed. They could play in the Constables garden and often did.
The Londoners could see the Princes play not like today all is locked out of our view in private peace for our Queen. The Kings then had to be public and children seen. Now we race to the mystery as we must.
Richard had no need to rid himself of two nephews .He was already crowned King . My ancestor Sir William Parr Baron de Kendal argued with Richard about the method he had employed to be King and left to ride back home to Parr Castle in Kendal upset.. What ever now, the King was in charge of all. He had many enemies as all powerful men have. One such man was Bishop Morton a real nasty dog. Cleaver and wicked Richard had caught him helping himself to riches belonging to the throne and banned him from ever coming back to England.
Do we see the King mount his best white horse White Surrey he named it and loved that grey white horse. with in just two years he would be killed by loosing it at Bosworth the ending battle. 22nd August 1485. Just King for two years Henrys men cut the lone King and his six supporters down dead. All else had left the field under Earl Stanleys command. But we return to the facts related
The lady Queen we see riding close to her husband. Kings progress around his Nobles is customary and off they ride South as we reenter the palace to wave them off the notable vacant place of one Lady Margaret Beaufort and her new husband are vacant. Morton is plotting his way home as plans come to him of a change of Kings his mind works hard to destroy Richard. From Rome he rides.
Far off from London our King and Queen Anne are feasting on the table set for the event. In London all is set to kill two boys .Earl Stanley Margaret Beaufort and now Archbishop Morton are planning Richard down fall. In the wings Lady Beauforts son was approaching Englands lovely shores. His vast French German army in ships paid for by his mother are ready to land.
Morton tells of his evil worked plan. If Margaret wanted her son as King they had to discredit Richard in the eyes of all England. They also had to pave the way with no related King to argue.So now two Princes had to be killed.Blamed on Richard works just a treat and the boys dead made such sense as no more civil war as kings they grow.
smothering children is not seen as a mans way of murder then or now. So did Margaret do the killing and Morton blessed them and gave last rites whilst the hole beneath the stair back was being dug as a grave by Stanleys men. 10 foot deep.Then back to today we know that sandy gravel London soils and heavy mountain of stone on top will sink that box from 5 feet down below if left.As it was left.
We arrive far forward in our story and at a rich mans table. Serving at table are many nobles sons .It being the custom so to serve as education in running their own houses in later life. Young Tom More the Judges son is approaching, he with the silver salver, with the roast goose slices. Morton is heard talking to a man next to him. The table buzzes in many conversations but More hears well Mortons talk .” Yes I tell you those boys smothered to death , dead as stone. They are buried at the base of the Royal apartments, back stone stairs; under a great pile of stones.”
More is noticed, so quickly he slinks off, back to the Kitchens. he has taken all in and one day when this boy rises to Chancellor of all England, he will set it all down for us to read.
So lest we break, we shall not rest. Enough for me to say in truth the question must be how did Morton know exactly what went on in 1483 when the Princes died. It was more a closed case when in 1667 the then King Charles 11 decided, as fire had ruined most of his capital, to pull down the wooden houses and he came to the Royal apartments and made no change, all came down. Under the fallen timbers a stair case in stone was discovered unknown to the King. On closer inspection he sees the pile of round stone and has it dug out for use elsewhere. Then the box is unearthed inside of which two skeletons lay face down to each other . King Charles believed that these are the Princes remains and he placed them in Westminster Abbey in a specially made casket, were they do stand to this day.Undisturbed by moth or rust but pilfered by trophy hunters when the bones lay waiting to be placed in casket being carved by Wren
To conclude our journey into times long gone we look at motive and who had more to loose. The facts are well known so no need to go into all here. The only real facts are motive .Richard may be the victim of both the Earl Of Oxfords play performed by Shakespeare and Kit Marlow whos work suggested it. Even Churchill had it in for Richard.Not one studied that More history of events and Morton statement as in fact he was so correct to be found guilty.
So why do I think against such great men? My belief is that Beaufort had the only Motive as she would have sold her own soul to place that crown on her son Henrys head. She is called a pious lady by many who did not know her in France as she had according to the French most of the the French Kings guardsmen as lovers. So much so that she had not a clue to who sired her only child. What ever the case they who committed the sins of regicide and infanticide, murder most foul, must have long ago been judged by the Almighty power above. We who are left to dig into old facts as historians become detectives of time. My case is that of greed and power and a high born lady who thought she could rule old England found she was stumped so brought on her only boy so she could rejoice at victory. How she constructed a plan may not have been her idea as Morton was more than capable of thinking out of the box. He was after all a tax collector at one time and evil .Mortons fork law was his most devilish act. Then murder of two lovely ill boys was not beyond his mind or capability.
To have her son crowned Margaret would have stooped to anything. Her soldier husband was power mad and would have made the threesome a thinking gang. The King away the old Queen powerless .Time was right for the game to begin. I needed bodies , motive and location of persons. I have all three to say beyond doubt Richard was not the guilty party and I have named the real killers after 533 years is the case now closed.Well as always you who rode aside me all the way must now make up the jury and find yeah or nay, my Lords and Ladies fair. Mine was to lead you to the clues not used by my confederates. To show to you how I arrived at my decision was my overall plan.
I hope we all meet again to go through yet another mysterious case together. Thank you for your company and Gods speed. I am your servant in the matter related.
Sir Kevin Parr, Baronet.
copyright 2018 30th March. Kevin James Parr Bt
Amazing Facts On History 