Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby - Involvement With The Princes in The Tower

Involvement With The Princes in The Tower

Stanley was made Constable of England by Richard III towards the end of 1483, the year in which Edward V and Richard, Duke of York (the Princes in the Tower) disappeared from their confinement in the Tower of London. As Constable (originally a position which constituted command of the royal armies), Stanley was formally responsible for anyone who entered or left the Tower – then the most secure of royal palaces. In this capacity, and as a loyal member of the Ricardian regime at the time, he can be considered at the very least an accessory to the Princes’ deaths, since once they had entered the security of the Tower they were never seen or heard of again. That said, since the Duke of Buckingham preceded Stanley as Constable of the Tower, Stanley could realistically only have had such an opportunity after Buckingham’s rebellion and execution in October and November 1483 on becoming Constable. This would have given Richard and Buckingham – considered a far more likely contender for killer of the Princes – ample opportunity to dispose of the Princes between their confinement in May 1483 and the rebellion in October. Also, since Buckingham’s uprising was expressly staged in favour of Henry Tudor’s claim to the throne – rather than that of the missing Edward V – it seems reasonable to assume that Buckingham knew the Princes were already dead prior to his rebellion and, hence, Stanley succeeding as Constable. However, it has also been suggested that in view of his being the stepfather of Henry Tudor and deserting Richard at Bosworth, it is not inconceivable that Stanley was at least in part responsible for the Princes' death after Henry's accession. The Princes, still living, would have presented just as much of a problem to Henry's occupation of the throne as they did to Richard's.