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

Narrator

Please. Many authors read their books with excellent voice. Not here. Ms. Langley is not a good choice to read such an emotional story. She lacks the dramatic touch. Great book however.

My Musings

Fascinating and exact explanation of her research and how she came to conclusions. She has certainly put a different spin on this age old mystery. Personally, I never believed Richard III was the dastardly man so many historians have depicted him as. Glad she was relentless in pursuing the truth.
Now, I did feel some if writing was a bit redundant but I understand her need for it. After all, she’s changing the way the world has viewed this time in history for centuries.
As far as her narration, it’s a bit monotone at times. A mostly enthralled reader and listener!

Finally!!!!!!!

For many years I’ve been hoping that someone, somewhere, some how, would under take such a grand effort. I’m a 58 year old American and have been long enthralled with tales of the monarchy. The fiction and non-fiction are much more entertaining than our history of presidents and politics.

I’ve always known in my heart that Elizabeth wouldn’t have given up her second son without a plan or her daughters without some safeguards.
The evidence in this book is intriguing and believable. It makes more sense than the story of two little princes being smothered in their beds and buried in the Tower. I’m still sorry that neither was able to claim their birth right because I’ve never liked ANY of the Tudor monarchs.

Thank you for this investigation and kudos to creating a wide platform and process to facilitate research and reporting.

A most interesting subject BUT….

Phillipa Langley has done groundbreaking work and the history community owes her a great deal of acclaim. But her gifts do not include narration of a highly technical nature. The amount of data was astounding. She could be cited for reading while dead. I love the subject but could barely finish the book… im happy i did finish it. Please next time, hire a professional narrator.

Great Research but too many biased conclusions

The book presents excellent research and many issues to consider However, there is too much kind consideration given to the actions of Richard III in the steps leading up to the placement of King Edward. First, the idea that he was protector and given the task of safe transfer of the throne is not analyzed in the light that he utterly failed at that. Even if the quite convincing evidence that the disappearance is not necessarily the result of their murder at the hands of their uncle, there is not enough common sense analysis of the actions taken by Richard III. Mainly, his execution of Anthony Woodville and Hastings. It is simply explained that he could do it by right of his role as Constable. Because , he could does in know way explain that he should or had a reasonable reason for doing so. The remainder of the books evidence of the plausibility of the princes survival is good. Yet, the book spends too much time trying to justify horrific and sinister acts of Richard III. You can believe that he did not murder the children and still recognize he totally failed at protecting them and was overly aggressive and ambitious in claiming the throne.

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.

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.

Fascinating story with halting narration.

The narrator speaks haltingly and pauses every 3 of 4 words. The text is fascinating but the book is hard to listen to.

Painfully edited audiobook

This audiobook was sloppily put together. There are multiple chapters that randomly have sentences repeat, or badly spliced sentences from multiple takes.

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!