Princes in the Tower Princes in the Tower "The Princes in the Tower" is an expression frequently used to refer to Edward V, King of England and Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York. The two brothers were the only sons of Edward IV of England and Elizabeth Woodville surviving at the time of their father's death in 1483. When they were 12 and 9 years old, respectively, they were lodged in the Tower of London by the man appointed to look after them, their uncle, the Lord Protector: Richard, Duke of Gloucester. This was supposedly in preparation for Edward's forthcoming coronation as king. However,
Expropriation of the Princes in the Weimar Republic saying that the Social Democrats were now secretly supporting the "shameless robbery" by the princes. That assertion referred to the SPD's willingness to continue seeking a legislative resolution to the dispute in the Reichstag. For two reasons, the SPD expected considerable opportunities for influencing a legislative solution at the national level, even if such a law needed a two-thirds majority. First, they interpreted the referendum as strong support for social democratic positions. Second, Wilhelm Marx's (third) government was flirting with the idea of including the SPD in the government, in other words with the formation of a grand coalition, which