The Princes in the Tower

Solving History's Greatest Cold Case

By: Philippa Langley

Narrated by: Philippa Langley

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

Please hire a real narrator!

I’ve been fascinated by the Princes in the Tower mystery since I was a kid and was so excited about this book. The new information brought to light in it is amazing. But I can’t finish listening. I don’t know why anyone ever thinks it’s a good idea to have authors who aren’t trained as narrators read their own books. Langley might be a wonderful researcher, but she’s a terrible narrator. Non-fiction narration requires a lot of skill and training to bring the text to life. This reading is completely flat, with weird pauses that sound like periods after every few words (often in the middle of names), and unfortunately mangled pronunciation of foreign names and words. Additionally, there are editing errors, with small sections being duplicated. I slogged through nearly 10 hours before finally deciding that I couldn’t take any more. Maybe I’ll buy the print book at some point.

Fascinating alternative to the unproven tale of record.

I loved the level of research and details provided as proof. Fascinating work and compelling concept. thank you

Approaching this as a missing persons case

Loved the historical research and evidence. Hated the droning voice of the author. Should have brought in additional readers to break it up.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Needs new narrator!

I realize the author is reading the book but her voice is distracting. I’m not sure I will be able to finish. I have much respect for Phillips but they should have hired someone else to read.

Pronounced: Par-la-munt, not Par-li-ament 🤦🏻‍♀️

I swear, we owe the tenacious Phillippa a lot. Finding King Richard was so great an achievement that she is forgiven for being the absolute dullest narrator there ever was... but please, please, make her stop saying Par-li-ament. She mispronounces so many words and names that the story becomes incoherent at times. One is, of course, a bit strained already because she also does not adhere to good ol' English sentence structure. She reads like a second grader reading in front of the class for the first time.
Ah well, onward.
Philippa, should you read this, let others narrate your work. Everybody will be better off for it.