Richard was the younger son of King Edward IV and was styled Duke of York. His elder brother Edward had been born in 1470 and was Prince of Wales. Richard was married to Lady Anne Mowbray in 1477, but she died in 1481.

Prince Edward became King Edward V in April 1483 upon the death of his father. In June 1483 his uncle Richard proclaimed himself Richard III and the two boys became the famous "Princes in the Tower". Nothing more was seen of them and it is presumed they were murdered on the instructions of Richard III, although there is a school of thought that maintains they were still imprisoned until after the battle of Bosworth in 1485 when Henry Beaufort defeated Richard and became Henry VII. It would have been obnoxious for the new House of Tudor to have two sons of the House of York still alive.

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