Editing Princes in the Tower (section)

==Background==
On 9 April 1483, Edward IV of England died unexpectedly after an illness lasting around three weeks.<ref name=RH>{{cite web|last=Horrox|first=Rosemary|title=Edward IV of England|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/8520/?back=,8521|work=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography|publisher=Oxford University Press|date=2004|access-date=25 August 2013}}</ref> At the time, Edward's son, the new King Edward V, was at [[Ludlow Castle]], and the dead king's brother, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, was at [[Middleham Castle]] in Yorkshire. The news reached Gloucester around 15 April, although he may have been forewarned of Edward's illness.<ref name=Pollard/> It is reported that he then went to [[York Minster]] to publicly "pledge his loyalty to his new king".<ref name=Pollard/> The ''[[Croyland Chronicle]]'' states that, before his death, Edward IV designated his brother Gloucester as [[Lord Protector]].<ref>''The Crowland Chronicle Continuations, 1459–1486,'' Nicholas Pronay and John Cox (eds.), (Richard III and Yorkist History Trust, Gloucester: 1986), p. 153.</ref> Edward's request may not have mattered, however, since "as the precedent of [[Henry V of England|Henry V]] showed, the [[Privy_Council_of_the_United_Kingdom|Privy Council]] was not bound to follow the wishes of a dead king".<ref name=Pollard/>

Edward V and Gloucester set out for London from the west and north respectively, meeting at [[Stony Stratford]] on 29 April. The following morning, Gloucester arrested Edward's [[retinue]] including the boys' uncle, [[Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers]], and their half-brother [[Richard Grey|Sir Richard Grey]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://words.fromoldbooks.org/Chalmers-Biography/w/wydeville-anthony-earl-rivers.html|title=Chalmers' Biography, vol. 32, p. 351|website=FromOldBooks.org}}</ref> They were sent to [[Pontefract Castle]] in Yorkshire where, on 25 June, they were beheaded.<ref name=Pollard/> Gloucester then took possession of the prince himself, prompting [[Elizabeth Woodville]] to take her other son, [[Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York|Richard, Duke of York]], and her daughters into [[Right of asylum#Medieval England|sanctuary]] at Westminster Abbey.<ref name=Pollard/>

Edward V and Gloucester arrived in London together. Plans continued for Edward's official coronation, but the date was postponed from 4 May to 25 June.<ref name=RH/> On 19 May 1483, Edward was lodged in the [[Tower of London]], then the traditional residence of monarchs prior to the coronation.<ref name=Rhodes/> On 16 June, he was joined by his younger brother Richard, Duke of York, who was previously in sanctuary.<ref name=Rhodes/> At this point, the date of Edward's coronation was indefinitely postponed by their uncle, Gloucester. On Sunday 22 June, a sermon was preached by Dr. Ralph Shaa, brother of the Lord Mayor of London, at [[St Paul's Cross|Saint Paul's Cross]] claiming Gloucester to be the only legitimate heir of the House of York.<ref>Skidmore, Chris. ''Richard III''. 2017, St. Martins Press, {{ISBN|9781250045485}}, p. 180</ref><ref>Weir, Alison. ''The Princes in the Tower''. 1992, Random House, {{ISBN|9780345391780}}, p. 116</ref> On 25 June, "a group of lords, knights and gentlemen" petitioned Richard to take the throne.<ref name=Pollard/> Both princes were subsequently declared illegitimate by Parliament; this was confirmed in 1484 by an [[Act of Parliament]] known as ''[[Titulus Regius]]''. The act stated that Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville's marriage was invalid because of Edward's [[precontract|pre-contract of marriage]] with [[Lady Eleanor Talbot|Lady Eleanor Butler]].<ref name=Pollard/> Gloucester was crowned King Richard III of England on 6 July.<ref>Peter Hammond and Anne Sutton, ''The Coronation of Richard III: the Extant Documents'' (Palgrave Macmillan, 1984)</ref> The declaration of the boys' illegitimacy has been described by Rosemary Horrox as an ''[[ex post facto]]'' justification for Richard's accession.<ref name=RH/>