Unsolved Mystery

Like I said before, the Tower has a gory past, most of it from what I gather is linked to sex, power and deception. Tied to this past is the sad fate of two little boys who were supposed to become kings. Their ghostly apparitions have been seen many times over the last five centuries, in a section of the Tower known, quite rightly, as the Bloody Tower. The background to their deaths is still a mystery. But what we do know is that the older of the two boys 12, and he was about to be crowned King because his father had died. He and his brother were taken from their mother and placed in the Tower of London for 'safe keeping' with their uncle, while plans were made for the coronation ceremony. But somehow or other, a sordid affair came to light. It was revealed the 12 year old was an illegitimate son, his father was actually married when he was courting the boy's mother. So many people argued the boy was not the rightful heir to the throne.

In the confusion that followed, the 12 year old and his younger brother disappeared. They were never seen again. And shortly afterwards their uncle was conveniently crowned King. Until today there is considerable controversy as to how they died and who done it. But one rumour about those two little boys survived over the centuries. One child was rumoured to have been smothered, the other stabbed to death. In 1674 excavations were carried out in that part of the Tower where the little boys were taken for 'safe keeping'. The workmen that carried out the project found something that made them stop dead in their tracks. Two skeletons were uncovered under the foundations of a staircase. Assuming them to be the remains of the two little boys, the Ruler at that time commissioned the construction of a tomb. The skeletons were put in it and lain to rest in Westminster Abbey. But did they really put the remains of those two little boys to rest? As it turns out, those were infact the third set of bones that had been found in the Bloody Tower and taken to be that of two little boys. Controversy continued to rage until a famous professor of pathology examined the remains in the tomb at Westminster in 1933. All he could confirm was that the skeletal remains were of two children aged 12 and a half and 10 years. But he could decipher nothing else from the bones. So the mystery surrounding the two little boys remains, who killed them? And when and how? The only people who could put the mystery firmly to rest are the restless souls of the two little boys.

Their sad, yet eerie apparitions continue to haunt that part of the Tower. The two wide eyed boys are often seen hand in hand, clad in white pyjamas. But sadly, their tortured souls have remained mute, unwilling or unable to communicate the horrific truth of how their young lives came to an abrupt end. But you never know when a new clue could emerge to solve this horrible mystery. Because it seems the history of the Tower is still unfolding. Take for example what happened when they decided to build an extension to the Tower in 1976. When the new foundations for a History Gallery were being laid, on reaching a depth of 15 feet, the workmen stumbled on something they would rather have not seen. It was the skeleton of a young man. He lay on his back, his knees slightly bent and his hands crossed before him. His head was tilted to one side and his skull there was an ugly, gaping hole. Scientists worked out he had been lying there for nearly 2,000 years. But who he was and how and why he died so violently, they have no clue. More importantly, will his spirit return to haunt those who dared to violate his last resting place? Only time will tell.