16 Most Bizarre Royal Deaths In British History

12. The "Princes In The Tower" Were Almost Certainly Murdered, Possibly By King Richard III (circa 1483)

The "Princes In The Tower" - or brothers King Edward V and Richard Duke of York - were believed to have been murdered in one of the most-notorious royal scandals in British history. Following Edward IV's death, Lord Protector Richard, Duke of Gloucester, had been appointed to watch over the brothers but instead he decided to lock them in the tower. Edward V was 12 and Richard Duke of York just nine when they were imprisoned - supposedly to protect the former until he was ready to assume the throne - but Richard Duke of Gloucester (King Richard III) instead stole power. Myth and legend still surround exactly what happened to the boys, although it is known they disappeared around 1483 - when the murders are believed to have taken place - and their bodies were not found until workmen dug up a wooden box containing two skeletons in 1674. Although King Richard III is the most-likely candidate to have killed the boys, several other suspects exist. They include Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham (Richard III's right-hand man); King Henry VII (who executed many rival claimants to the throne when he seized power in 1457); Margaret Beaufort, Henry VII's mother (for the same reason as him); and Jane Shore (King Edward IV's mistress). It will almost certainly never be proven who killed the boys, and it will remain one of the great scandals and tragedies in the history of the British monarchy.