King Edward IV's wife Elizabeth gave birth to her first son. Elizabeth had taken refuge at Westminster Abbey after King Henry VI had been restored to the throne by the Earl of Warwick and King Edward had fled to Burgundy. The baby was named Edward and would be heir to the English throne.

The young Prince of Wales and his brother lived at Ludlow Castle.

The health of King Edward IV was in decline and he declared that his brother Richard, Earl of Gloucester should be made Protector of England as the Prince of Wales was only twelve and too young to rule. Edward did not want the Queen and the Woodville family to have complete control of the country and by making Richard Protector of England, the King hoped to prevent a civil war.

Upon the death of the King Edward IV, his son Edward V became King of England. The nature of Edward IV's death is not known, but could have been caused by catching malaria in France or more likely due to excessive eating which he was known to often do according to a chronicler of the time. He died on April the 9th at the age of 41. Edward was buried at Windsor Castle in the new chapel of St. George.

The 4th of May had been set as the coronation date for Edward V, the new king. The Woodvilles wanted Edward crowned as soon as possible and they wanted The Duke of Gloucester's role as Protector changed so that he didn't command so much power. The Woodvilles were concerned that with the death of Edward IV who had been their protector, old rivalries would resurface and their grip on power may fail. The King was at Ludlow and the Woodvilles escorted him to London via Northampton where it was agreed that they should meet Richard, the Duke of Gloucester. When Richard reached Northampton, he discovered that the Woodvilles had already left and were at Stony Stratford.

Richard of Gloucester, assisted by the Duke of Buckingham rode to Stony Stratford where they met with the young Prince Edward under the pretence of offering their condolences for the death of his father. Instead, they captured Edward and took him directly to London and safe keeping in the Tower. Anthony Woodville, Earl Rivers was arrested and imprisoned at Sherriff Hutton Castle, near York. ¹

To become king Richard Earl of Gloucester had to remove the young Edward V. Richard declared that his father Edward IV was already married when he married Elizabeth Woodville which meant that the marriage to Elizabeth was invalid. This also meant that Edward V was born out of wedlock and not able to become king. At this time Richard also arranged that the King's brother was moved to the Tower of London from Westminster Abbey where he had been looked after by his mother Elizabeth.

At some point the young King Edward V and his brother Richard disappeared. Whether they were murdered in the Tower of London and by whom is not known, but they were not seen of again. Later, in 1491, a man called Perkin Warbeck appeared in Ireland and claims were made that he was really Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, one of the princes in the Tower.