Princes in the Tower becoming king, Henry married the princes' eldest sister, Elizabeth of York, to reinforce his claim to the throne. Not wanting the legitimacy of his wife or her claim as heiress of Edward IV called into question, prior to the marriage he had repealed the "Titulus Regius" which had previously declared the princes (and Elizabeth) illegitimate. Markham suggests the princes were executed under Henry's orders between 16 June and 16 July 1486, claiming that it was only after this date that orders went out to circulate the story that Richard had killed the princes, and that the princes' mother, Elizabeth Woodville,
Vigil of the Princes 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 on 27 January 1936 at the lying-in-state of their father, George V. (A fifth son, Prince John, predeceased his father in 1919). The vigil took place after Westminster Hall was