The Princes in the Tower

Solving History's Greatest Cold Case

By: Philippa Langley

Narrated by: Philippa Langley

Length: 16 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

Philippa Langley took the world by storm when, against all the odds and a seven-year investigation, she discovered the grave of King Richard III (1452-1485) in a Leicester car park. A king finally laid to rest, the rediscovery and reburial of Richard III was watched by an estimated global audience of over 366 million. Now, Langley reveals the findings of a remarkable new research initiative: ‘The Missing Princes Project'. In the summer of 1483, Edward V (aged 12) and his brother Richard Duke of York (aged 9), disappeared from the Tower of London. For over 500 years, history has judged that they were murdered on the orders of their uncle Richard III. Following years of intensive research in UK, American and European archives, astonishing new archival discoveries have been uncovered that change what we know about the fate of the Princes in the Tower. Established by Langley in 2016, ‘The Missing Princes Project' employed the methods of a cold-case police enquiry. Using investigative methodology, it aimed to place this most enduring of mysteries under a forensic microscope for the first time. In The Princes in the Tower: Solving History's Greatest Cold Case, Langley records the painstaking investigative work and research of the project. By questioning received wisdom, she and her team shed light upon one of history's greatest miscarriages of justice, revealing a phenomenal untold story.

©2023 Philippa Langley (P)2023 W. F. Howes Ltd

Not as open minded as she pretends

This is a sequel to the very successful finding and excavation of the skeleton of Richard III, in which the author was deeply involved. This book examines the best-known crime in which Richard III may have been involved: the imprisonment and disappearance of the young boys, sons of Edward IV, who probably had better credentials than Richard III to the throne. The stylistic theme of the current book is to describe a supposedly scientific/historical examination of the possible truths of what may have happened to the princes. But just pretending to be a scholar doesn't necessarily reveal the facts. The problem with the supposedly scholarly assessment is that the outcome drives the analysis. It is clear from the first that the author will never seriously consider the possibility that the princes died in the Tower, but will consider as plausible a whole raft of weakly supported alternatives, most of which have been debunked in previous centuries. That plus her droning reading style make for a boring book where lively discussion could still have been entertaining.

Interesting historical dectectvibe inquiry

How does the illegitimate Cecily Neville, daughter of Joan Beaufort, give legitimacy to her children? Didn’t know an illegitimate granddaughter of John of Guant can pass this on- very interesting.

Excellent and thorough research and investigation.

Great research and determination by the author to find out the truth and question the historical narrative.
The author is not an audio book narrator and should have left that to the professionals. Her delivery is monotone and hard to follow, aside from that it’s a great read!

Treasure in the Archives

I really don't know much about this period in history except the bare bones of what was said to have happened. Because I was fascinated with Ms. Langley's finding of Richard III, I figured I would be in good hands for a deep dig into this topic of the Princes from a fresh point of view. Not disappointed! This is an excellent illustration of why getting hands dusty in archives and thinking outside the box can lead to surprising and stunning documents and ideas.

The only place I gave 4/5 stars was performance, as it is narrated by the author. But I have to hand it to her, she knows how to pronounce all the players' names properly. There are only a small handful of repeated lines, which is more of an editing issue. While there is not a lot of inflection in the narrator's voice, it held up to the 1.3X speed at which I listened, and her voice is not unpleasant or too high for long sessions. The topic is detailed and intricate, but I didn't feel like I lost my place due to the narrator. None of this would stop me from listening again, as I really would like to have a second go-round to have a clearer understanding of the level of deceit and machinations which shaped the tale to this point.

Can't wait to see what Philippa Langley turns her attention to next as she moves forward with the worldwide team of volunteers who have lent their talents to this fascinating topic!

Wars of the Roses

The wars of the roses is the reason I fell in love with history. Dysfunction at the highest levels of society. Ion care what anyone says, Beaufort did it. Lol. I’ll let you know if my opinion changes by the end of this book.

Halfway Through - Ok, im listening.

Finished - I cant believe they lived. I just find it weird that after all these years, Richard kept a journal of his exile from England. Seems too good to be true. Skeptical hippo eyes lol

Finally a great mystery had been solved!

The information presented in this work is fascinating and sheds new light on The Princes in the Tower. The narration was pretty dry, however, perhaps it would have been better if someone other than the author had leant their voice. Regardless, it was well worth listening through.

Needs new narrator!

I realize the author is reading the book but her voice is distracting. I’m not sure I will be able to finish. I have much respect for Phillips but they should have hired someone else to read.

Pronounced: Par-la-munt, not Par-li-ament 🤦🏻‍♀️

I swear, we owe the tenacious Phillippa a lot. Finding King Richard was so great an achievement that she is forgiven for being the absolute dullest narrator there ever was... but please, please, make her stop saying Par-li-ament. She mispronounces so many words and names that the story becomes incoherent at times. One is, of course, a bit strained already because she also does not adhere to good ol' English sentence structure. She reads like a second grader reading in front of the class for the first time.
Ah well, onward.
Philippa, should you read this, let others narrate your work. Everybody will be better off for it.

I enjoy almost any story of history, & this did not disappoint me.

I have been interested in this story all of my adult life. I enjoyed the book very much but be aware, the author is hardly unbiased. While not unexpected or even surprising, its continued lack of any trace of doubt was a little trying. Also, I would’ve found a timeline summarizing events & players throughout the story helpful, although I acknowledge the complexity it would require. Maybe I’ll try one!

Engrossing, Factual and Informative. A great listen/read. I couldn't put it down.

I loved everything about this fantastic and informative dossier of past and newly found facts in this case that has always fascinated me. I heard about this book when listening to an episode of Dan Snow's History Hit podcast and immediately purchased an audible copy. It presents the case from a completely non biased view, which is rarely projected in literature these days

I find it sad and infuriating when age d schars who have "built their reputations" on an outdated narrative that has been suddenly proved falae due to new facts coming to light, refuse to acknowledge or even investigate these purported facts because they don't want to allow their own narratives to be discredited. Some even use threats and sabotage to try and keep their erroneous line of research alive and relevant. (Sorry you pompous as....... It's NOT!! Get over it!) Following a line such as that they lose all credibility in my opinion. It's rare and refreshing when a researcher and author realizes that with new evidence brought to light about a subject that they have invested themselves in over years of time actually looks at all the evidence and appreciates it for what it is and has the ability to shift directions and actually acknowledge the truth of what is laid out before them. Denying the facts that are laid out before them only shows their lack of character and professionalism and by such, they lose all credibility in my eyes and the minds of many, many other learned folk.

That being said, This is a great and all inclusive piece of work and I applaud the author and all the incredible individuals who invested themselves in the arduous research that went into compiling this wonderful and telling piece of lost history..

Although those poor souls were disinherited and england lost the possible opportunity of their rule, it warms my heart to now know by the obvious conclusions laid out here in factual detail, that they didn't lose their lives in the tower. Murdered by a group of individuals lusting for power. That they were obviously spirited away and although never able to reclaim their birthrights, got to endure and live their lives and continue their existences. Although neither one was ever able to reestablish themselves as the royalty and reclaim their birthrights, they continued to endure until their eventual demises.

All these years later perhaps their souls can find some peace with knowing that their actual stories have finally come to light thanks to the hard and industrious work by these individuals who gave of themselves to uncover the truth behind the narrative of their lives that has been sold to us for centuries.

5 Stars for this complete and satisfying delve in the mystery, that to me at least, is no longer such.
RIP to the young prince's.
Thank you for this engrossing piece of history hitherto untold and brought to light!