Princes in the Tower act stated that Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville's marriage was invalid because of Edward's pre-contract of marriage with Lady Eleanor Butler. Gloucester was crowned King Richard III of England on 3 July. The declaration of the boys' illegitimacy has been described by Rosemary Horrox as an ex post facto justification for Richard's accession. Dominic Mancini, an Italian friar who visited England in the 1480s and who was in London in the spring and summer of 1483, recorded that after Richard III seized the throne, Edward and his younger brother Richard were taken into the "inner apartments of the Tower" and
Vigil of the Princes same. Should the Duke of Edinburgh lie in state, he may receive the same homage, however he has indicated he does not want the "fuss" of a full state funeral. Vigil of the Princes The Vigil of the Princes refers to two occasions when male members of the British Royal Family "stood guard" during the lying in state of one of their relatives during or as part of a British state funeral or ceremonial funeral. King Edward VIII; Prince Albert, Duke of York (Future King George VI); Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester; and Prince George, Duke of Kent, took guard