Hello all! I'm back after my little break, and have a teeny request to make.
I was wondering, could someone please put forward a complete case for Buckingham having done it for me? Motvie, means, etc? I know he is a popular suspect but it's been a LONG time since I researched this, so maybe you guys could help . . ?
Thanks, love ya all!
Buckingham is indeed a popular - perhaps the most popular - suspect among Ricardians. I leave it to Arianwen to fill in the details of his motive, means and opportunity. As someone who doesn't believe Buckingham did it, however, I will make the following points (which I'm sure Arianwen will tear apart in the space of a paragraph!) in his favor:
Why would Buckingham bother killing the princes in the Tower if most of England was sincerely convinced that they were illegitimate, as Richard III had declared? If the princes were truly regarded as illegitimate, then they were not in line for the throne and thus no threat to Buckingham or any other would-be pretender.
In that case, why didn't Buckingham simply kill Richard III and his son, Edward of Middleham, who, whether or not the princes were living, still stood between him and the throne?
Moreover, how did the Duke of Buckingham gain access to the Tower, especially given Constable Robert Brackenbury’s loyalty to Richard? And if Buckingham could accomplish such a feat, why didn’t he gain access to Richard and his son and kill them instead?
And why did southern England, chiefly Edward IV’s former retainers, explode into open rebellion against Richard III in the autumn of 1483, unless they were convinced that Richard III had indeed killed the princes in the Tower?