A Monarch A Month - Edward V

Hello all!

I've added another Monarch Of The Month to the collection and thought it was about time he appeared on my blog. This is number seventeen, Edward V, looking young and very scared (or at least I think that's what his pose is supposed to be).

Edward V from Kings and Queens by Bothy Threads

Started - 1st June 2020

Finished - 2nd June 2020

Total stitching time - 3 hours 15 minutes

This period of history was dominated by Edwards and Richards and can be confusing.
Edward IV - the late king
Edward V - son of Edward IV
Richard, aka Gloucester, later Richard III - Edward IV's brother and Edward V's uncle
Richard - Edward V's bother

I've tried to make them as clear as possible in my little summary.

EDWARD V
Preceded by Edward IV (father)

Succeeded by Richard III (uncle)
Lived - 1470-1483
Reigned - 1483

Edward V became king after his father's death. At 12 years old he was already a well-educated and well-liked young man.

However, per Edward IV's will, Gloucester was to act as Protector until Edward came of age.

En route to London for his coronation, Edward was met by Gloucester who immediately dismissed and/or executed Edward's entourage.

Edward was then 'escorted' to The Tower Of London where he was housed 'for his own safety'. He was joined a few weeks later by his only brother, Richard.

Gloucester then declared Edward IV's marriage to Elizabeth Woodville invalid and their children illegitimate, thereby proclaiming himself King Richard III.

In the Tower, Edward and Richard were seen less and less, and by the end of 1483 it was assumed they were both dead.

Because no-one knows what happened to The Princes In The Tower, their fate has been the subject of numerous theories.

Shakespeare wrote that Richard III was the likely murderer, smothering the boys with a pillow.

Author Phillipa Gregory suggests in her books The White Queen and The White Princess that Margaret Beaufort, mother of the future Henry VII, was the instigator as she cleared the path for her own son's succession.

In 1674 the bones of two young children were found in Tower of London. Assumed to be those of Edward and Richard they were re-interred in Westminster Abbey.

In 1789 the coffins of two children were discovered in a vault adjoining Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville. Not those of their two children who predeceased them, their identities remain unknown.

Edward V may never have been crowned king but his disappearance makes him one of the most mysterious monarchs of the last 1000 years.

Next month then, the infamous Richard III.

Take care,
Rachel x