Latest news with #Langley
Kuwait Times
11 hours ago
- General
- Kuwait Times
UK ‘princes in the tower' murder probe clears Richard III
It is one of history's most intriguing 'murders' -- the mysterious disappearance over five centuries ago of two young princes from the Tower of London. Nearly 200 years after they disappeared, two small skeletons were found in a wooden box at the historic tower and reburied at Westminster Abbey. The remains were believed, but never proved, to be those of the two brothers -- heir to the throne Edward, 12, and Richard, nine, the sons of King Edward IV of England, who were reputedly murdered at the behest of their uncle, Richard Duke of Gloucester. William Shakespeare later immortalized him in Richard III as a scheming hunchback who did away with his royal nephews so he could take the crown himself, sealing his reputation as a child killer. Now British author Philippa Langley, who helped unearth Richard's body from a central England carpark in 2012, has claimed that the princes -- far from being killed -- actually survived. The elder prince, Edward, was heir to the throne at the time of his disappearance and would have ruled as King Edward V of England. Langley decided to delve into the mystery after coming to believe that the conventional narrative in which Richard had the young princes killed smacked of 'history being written by the victors'. She was finally spurred into action after reading an article about Richard's reburial at Leicester Cathedral in 2015 which questioned whether the nation should honor a 'child killer'. 'I think I'd always realized that the story sort of developed during the reign of the Tudors,' she said, adding that it was then 'repeated and repeated over time' until it became 'truth and fact'. An undated handout picture released on February 4, 2013 from the University of Leicester shows the skeleton of king Richard III found at the Grey Friars Church excavation site in Leicester. --AFP photos An Uber boat passes The Tower of London on The River Thames under a cloudy sky in London. Tudor mud The last English king to die in battle, Richard ruled from 1483 until his brutal death at the Battle of Bosworth near Leicester in 1485, aged 32. Bosworth was the last major conflict in the Wars of the Roses and changed the course of English history because the Tudor dynasty of Henry VII captured the crown from Richard's Plantagenets. Langley attributes the accepted story that Richard had the boys murdered to King Henry VII, a 'very, very intelligent individual, but suspicious and highly paranoid'. 'He had a massive spy network working for him. And he was able to completely control the narrative,' she said, adding that Richard ended up 'covered in Tudor mud'. Taking a cold case review approach to the historical 'whodunnit', Langley says she assembled a group of investigative specialists, including police and lawyers, to advise her. 'They said: 'Look, if you haven't got any confirmed, identified bodies, then it has to be a missing persons investigation and you have to follow that methodology'. 'They said: 'You have to actively look for evidence'. That's when it really started to get interesting.' Langley put out an appeal for volunteers to scour archives, only to be inundated with offers of help from people ranging from ordinary citizens to medieval historians. The result was the decade-long Missing Princes Project which she says unearthed a significant amount of information pointing to the survival of both young princes. Survival theory Langley now believes that it is up to Richard's detractors to disprove the survival thesis, which she outlines in the new book 'The Princes in the Tower: Solving History's Greatest Cold Case'. 'The onus is now on them to find the evidence that the boys died. 'They cannot say Richard III murdered the princes in the tower any more because we found numerous proofs of life everywhere,' she said. Key to Langley's conviction that both boys survived are documents discovered supporting a rebellion by 'Edward IV's son'. During the rebellion in 1487, Lambert Simnel, a pretender to the throne who came forward after Richard's death, was crowned in Dublin. According to fresh references found by the project, the boy was 'called' or said to be 'a son of King Edward', which she believes points to Simnel being the elder prince, son of Edward IV. The reaction to Langley's research has been mixed. Michael Dobson, director and a professor of Shakespeare studies at the University of Birmingham's Shakespeare Institute, expressed scepticism. 'Given the ways of dynastic monarchy, I think Richard would have been taking a very big risk in leaving those princes alive,' he said. 'The chances of their having accidentally gone missing while incarcerated on his orders in the Tower of London seem pretty remote.' — AFP
South China Morning Post
16 hours ago
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Why the CIA hires showbiz people, both for missions and inspiring next generation of spies
At CIA headquarters in Langley, in the US state of Virginia, weapons-trained officers, computer engineers, virologists, nuclear scientists and a wide range of other experts toil away in the complex world of spycraft. But you will also find storytellers, make-up artists, theatre majors, ballerinas – people who probably never thought their skills would match the needs of a spy agency. The CIA thought otherwise. Though it is rarely highlighted, a revolving door of talent exists between America's premier intelligence agency and its entertainment industry, with inspiration and influence often working both ways. Not only does the agency target professionals at the intersection of arts and technology for recruitment, it cooperates with entertainment giants to inspire the next generation of creative spies, CIA officers said. This month, the agency is assisting a New York Times bestselling author on a young adult book examining the foundations of the CIA laid during World War II. Scenes from a major upcoming film production were just shot at its headquarters, a logistical feat at an intelligence campus tucked away in the suburbs behind rings of security perimeters, where officers roam, cracking down on Bluetooth signals. Another popular streaming TV series will be back at Langley to film this autumn.
CTV News
a day ago
- CTV News
Rescued bear cubs get second chance at life
Two orphaned, bear cub siblings were reunited at a wildlife care facility in Langley after being rescued when their mom was shot and killed in Maple Ridge.
CTV News
a day ago
- CTV News
Orphaned bear cubs rescued after mother killed in Maple Ridge, B.C.
Orphaned bear cubs are seen inside a tube in their habitat at Critter Care Wildlife Society in Langley. (Critter Care) Two orphaned bear cubs are getting a second chance after their mom was shot and killed in Maple Ridge last month. The cubs, only about six months old, are now being cared for at Critter Care Wildlife Society in Langley, where they were recently reunited. 'Brother and sister, they hadn't seen each other for a long time. It was very, very sweet,' said Luke Williams, a supervisor at Critter Care. The cubs became orphaned June 12 after the mama bear attacked a 73-year-old woman as she stepped onto her back deck at night, likely startling the bear. The bear was later shot by police. The cubs took off, and rescue groups spent weeks trying to find them. 'They didn't really stand a chance being left out in the open. They were susceptible to predators,' explained Krissy Whitlock, executive director of Maple Ridge Black Bear Society. The society worked with Critter Care and Halo's Pet Rescue to trap the bears. 'We were getting various calls from all over Maple Ridge about people seeing different bear cubs and we had to try and figure out if they were the right ones or not,' Williams said. The male cub was found the first week of July. The other, just on Sunday. 'They were a bit skinny and very hungry,' Whitlock said. 'When we caught the first one, he was just chowing down on the food we had in the trap for him.' Both Whitlock and Williams said the public's help was crucial in finding the cubs. '(A resident) gave us a tip (the cubs) were eating cherries in a cherry tree right by their house,' said Whitlock. The bears were later found in a ravine area near a residential street in Maple Ridge. 'We're just very grateful to the people of Maple Ridge for helping us get these bears into care,' Williams said. 'It's just a nice thing they're not out there by themselves now.' The cubs joined four other cubs also being cared for at Critter Care. 'They are still on milk feeds. We have to go in more than we would like to,' Williams said, explaining that the bears should have as little contact with humans as possible. He said the bears are doing well. 'They're growing at a rate I can not believe,' Williams said, explaining that the male is now about 35 pounds, or just over 11 kilograms. His sister is about 21 pounds or 9.5 kilograms. Meanwhile, the public is being asked to be proactive in avoiding bear encounters. 'We're just hoping that we can get the message out there for everybody to please keep their trash away and close their garages when they're not using them,' said Whitlock. 'We are continuing to try and educate people in the community to follow the trash bylaws and we're encouraging the City of Maple Ridge to actually proceed with fines and educate people,' she added. Critter Care expects the cubs to be released back into the wild next June, as far away from people as possible. Their time in care is expected to cost the facility about $4,000 each.
NZ Herald
2 days ago
- General
- NZ Herald
New book questions Richard III's role in princes' disappearance, claims survival
The elder prince, Edward, was heir to the throne at the time of his disappearance and would have ruled as King Edward V of England. Langley decided to delve into the mystery after coming to believe that the conventional narrative in which Richard had the young princes killed smacked of 'history being written by the victors'. She was finally spurred into action after reading an article about Richard's reburial at Leicester Cathedral in 2015 which questioned whether the nation should honour a 'child killer'. 'I think I'd always realised that the story sort of developed during the reign of the Tudors,' she said, adding that it was then 'repeated and repeated over time' until it became 'truth and fact'. The last English king to die in battle, Richard ruled from 1483 until his brutal death at the Battle of Bosworth near Leicester in 1485, aged 32. Bosworth was the last major conflict in the Wars of the Roses and changed the course of English history because the Tudor dynasty of Henry VII captured the crown from Richard's Plantagenets. Langley attributes the accepted story that Richard had the boys murdered to King Henry VII, a 'very, very intelligent individual, but suspicious and highly paranoid'. 'He had a massive spy network working for him. And he was able to completely control the narrative,' she said, adding that Richard ended up 'covered in Tudor mud'. Taking a cold case review approach to the historical 'whodunnit', Langley says she assembled a group of investigative specialists, including police and lawyers, to advise her. 'They said: 'Look, if you haven't got any confirmed, identified bodies, then it has to be a missing persons investigation and you have to follow that methodology'. 'They said: 'You have to actively look for evidence'. That's when it really started to get interesting.' An undated handout picture released on February 4, 2013 from the University of Leicester shows the skeleton of king Richard III found at the Grey Friars Church excavation site in Leicester. Photo / AFP Langley put out an appeal for volunteers to scour archives, only to be inundated with offers of help from people ranging from ordinary citizens to medieval historians. The result was the decade-long Missing Princes Project which she says unearthed a significant amount of information pointing to the survival of both young princes. Langley now believes that it is up to Richard's detractors to disprove the survival thesis, which she outlines in the new book The Princes in the Tower: Solving History's Greatest Cold Case. 'The onus is now on them to find the evidence that the boys died. 'They cannot say Richard III murdered the princes in the tower any more because we found numerous proofs of life everywhere,' she said. Key to Langley's conviction that both boys survived are documents discovered supporting a rebellion by 'Edward IV's son'. During the rebellion in 1487, Lambert Simnel, a pretender to the throne who came forward after Richard's death, was crowned in Dublin. According to fresh references found by the project, the boy was 'called' or said to be 'a son of King Edward', which she believes points to Simnel being the elder prince, son of Edward IV. The reaction to Langley's research has been mixed. Michael Dobson, director and a professor of Shakespeare studies at the University of Birmingham's Shakespeare Institute, expressed scepticism. 'Given the ways of dynastic monarchy, I think Richard would have been taking a very big risk in leaving those princes alive,' he said. 'The chances of their having accidentally gone missing while incarcerated on his orders in the Tower of London seem pretty remote.' -Agence France-Presse
