Latest news with #RichardIII
Sky News AU
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Sky News AU
The ‘big crime' laid against Richard III debunked by Philippa Langley
British historian and producer Philippa Langley says she has 'completely exposed' Richard III rumours and 'blown it out of the water' through her in-depth research. 'It's changing everything that we know about him,' Ms Langley told Sky News host Caroline Di Russo. 'This was always the big crime laid against Richard by the Tudor chronicles.'
Sky News AU
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Sky News AU
Philippa Langley received ‘ridicule' for discovering Richard III remains in UK carpark
British historian and producer Philippa Langley claims her search for Richard III remains 'began with an intuition'. Ms Langley said her visit to a car park made her feel like she was 'walking on his grave'. 'There was also a letter R painted on the tarmac,' Ms Langley told Sky News host Caroline Di Russo. 'That changed my research focus from his life into his death and his burial. 'It then showed that the northern end of that car park actually seemed to be where the choir of the church was and Richard III's burial. 'I did receive quite a bit of ridicule for it.'
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
At ‘only 94,' ‘Sopranos' star Dominic Chianese eyes second act as troubadour
NEW YORK — Dominic Chianese still has a lot of living to do. And he thinks Tony Soprano may too. The 94-year-old actor best known for playing Uncle Junior on HBO's mob hit 'The Sopranos' is coming to Town Hall on June 30 where he plans to tell stories about his life so far and play folk songs. Chianese told the Daily News from England, where he's spent the past eight years, that he workshopped material in London to suss out whether there's an audience for such a performance. 'I did about seven shows to see if people are interested in stories, and they are,' he said. The Bronx native's show draws from the 25 years of stage work he did before landing a role in 1974's 'The Godfather Part II' and beyond. That included being reunited with 'Godfather' star Al Pacino in 1979 to do Shakespeare's 'Richard III' at the Cort Theatre. While he remembers that experience fondly, Chianese has a clear favorite. ''Requiem for a Heavyweight' with John Lithgow,' he stated convincingly. 'That was my favorite — 1985.' Chianese thanks lots of live theater work for making him a solid actor and said his best performances have happened on stage. But it was his role as crime family boss Corrado Soprano, better known as 'Uncle Junior,' that made him a household name with a few dollars in his bank account. 'I didn't really make any money until 'Sopranos,'' he said. 'It's the best role I ever had and the most financially gratifying role I ever had.' Eighteen years later and 3,400 miles from the gambling dens of New Jersey, he's still known as Uncle June. 'I get recognized all the time,' Chianese said. 'That's gratifying because I like people.' 'The Sopranos' famously concluded with lead character Tony Soprano sitting at a diner where maybe he got whacked. Who knows? The 2013 death of James Gandolfini pretty much put to rest any possibility the beloved gangster series would someday be revived. Like the rest of us, Chianese was stunned when the series' final episode cut to black as a character who may or may not have been a hit man walked toward Tony. 'The way it ended he's still alive,' Chianese said. 'Nobody knows.' Likewise, nobody including Chianese knows how and when his career will end either, but he hopes to wind up in New York City where it all began. 'I'd like to be in Manhattan because there's a lot I'd like to do in my career,' he said. 'I'm only 94.' Being married to an English woman made life overseas alluring to Chianese. He's been bouncing between the U.S. and England for more than 30 years and says it's time to come home where he has family, and hopefully, more career opportunities. Someday performing at Radio City Music Halls tops his bucket list. 'When you go up on 6th Avenue and you see that big place with the Rockettes, that's such a place. That would be nice wouldn't it?' he beamed. Chianese doesn't see becoming a Rockette in his future. But his Town Hall show should give fans a taste of what he wants to do next. It draws from his work in film and television as well as his days as an emcee at Greenwich Village's Gerde's Folk City in the 1960s and '70s. He estimates that he met 600 folk musicians during that period including an already famous Bob Dylan, whom he calls one of his favorite writers. He also had the pleasure of introducing downtown music fans to a local duo named Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, who were fine-tuning a new song called 'The Sound of Silence.' Fans who come to hear Chianese tell stories and play tunes can expect him to perform songs by Dylan, Kris Kristofferson and 'maybe' Leonard Cohen. They'll also hear some Italian classics the Cuban anthem 'Guantanamera' made famous by acts including Pete Seeger, José Feliciano and the Sandpipers. 'That's one of my favorites,' he said. Chianese said music has been an important part of his development as an artist, which he hopes to prove when he hits the stage with a guitar in hand rather than the the mafioso scowl he wore on more than 50 episodes of 'The Sopranos.' 'It's a wonderful career and I want it to keep going,' he said. Chianese said he has friends in New York keeping an eye out for available properties while he tries to figure out what to do with his place in England. He hopes people in his hometown will respond to his June 30 performance — and whatever follows— as well as fans have abroad. It's his feeling New Yorkers may find his stories particularly relatable. 'They should want to know how a Bronx kid made it,' Chianese said.
The Independent
25-05-2025
- The Independent
The Princes in the Tower: Has Richard III historian finally solved the 500-year-old mystery?
A historian claims to have proof that the Princes in the Tower of London were not murdered by their uncle Richard III. Most historians believe Richard killed his nephews in the summer of 1483 after their father, Edward IV, died unexpectedly, despite a lack of hard evidence linking him to the murders. The boys, Edward V and Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, were 12 and nine respectively when their father died. They were taken one by one to the Tower of London in expectation of Edward V's coronation, but never emerged. Philippa Langley, the historian and screenwriter who played a key role in uncovering Richard III's remains in a Leicester car park, has spent the last ten years investigating the case. Ms Langley teamed up with professional cold case investigators, some of whom work with the police on unsolved murder to join her Missing Princes Project. Uncovering a treasure trove of never-before-seen documents and letters she believes she has built a strong enough case for the boys' survival from the Tower of London. The conventional narrative has always been Richard III's loyal servant, Sir James Tyrell, was the boys' killer, after a confession, obtained under torture, before his execution for treason in 1502. Ms Langley argues that for it to have been worthwhile for Richard to kill the princes, he had to display their bodies, 'otherwise he did it for no reason', putting himself in jeopardy. Following the death of King Richard at the battle of Bosworth on 22 August 1485, Henry VII became King but Ms Langley said the Princes rose again and challenged him for the throne. She said: 'But Henry attempted to cast the Yorkist Princes as impostors by giving them false names and reverse-engineering their stories: Edward V became a 10 year-old boy called 'Lambert Simnel', the son of a joiner, tailor, barber, baker, organ-maker or shoemaker, and Richard, Duke of York became 'Perkin Warbeck' the son of a French boatman.' The documents she uncovered include letters supporting a rebellion by 'Edward IV's son' in 1487, the year of Simnel's uprising - which ended in him being crowned in Ireland. They also found fresh references to a boy said to be 'a son of King Edward'. On Richard, three items signed with his seal have emerged in Europe, as well as letters allegedly written by him to James IV of Scotland and even a document from the Pope. A biography of his life as an escaped prince also emerged but the author remains a mystery. Simnel and Warbeck ultimately confessed to being impostors, but Ms Langley and her team of researchers insist these were false confessions extracted by Henry VII to discredit the challengers. Asked by The Times if this amounted to proof, she said: 'Had we supplied this amount of evidence in this book to say Richard III had murdered the Princes in the Tower, would you be asking me that question?' 'I would say that they now have to prove that Richard III murdered the Princes in the Tower.' Officially, the princes' remains were found in 1674, when workmen at the Tower dug up a wooden box containing two skeletons. Four years later, the bones were placed in an urn and interred in Westminster Abbey on the orders of King Charles II. The suspects Richard III The prime suspect, escorted Edward V to the Tower of London where he was last seen. Motive – insecure hold on the Monarchy due to the way he obtained the crown, faced rebellions from the Yorkists loyal to Edward IV prior to Parliament conforming his title to the throne in January 1484. Evidence – circumstantial. Ms Langley argues that it would have better served Richard III to display the dead bodies in public to prevent pretenders to the throne coming forward. Henry VII (Henry Tudor) Richard III's rival who defeated his forces at the Battle of Bosworth. Motive – executed rival claimants to the throne following his coronation. Evidence – Henry Tudor was out of the country at the time of the princes' disappearance and so could only have murdered them post-accession. Historians have called the theory the only plausible alternative to Richard III's being the killer. Henry Stafford 2nd Duke of Buckingham, kingmaker and breaker: played a major role in the rise and fall of Richard III. Motive – held a claim to the throne through the House of Beaufort family. Evidence – a manuscript found in the early 1980s in the College of Arms collection states that the princes were murdered 'be [by] the vise' of the Duke of Buckingham. There is some argument over whether 'vise' means 'advice' or 'devise'. Sir James Tyrell English knight, loyal servant to Richard III. Motive – following the orders of his King. Evidence – said to have confessed under torture to the murder of the princes before his execution for treason in 1502, according to Sir Thomas More's The History of King Richard III. The original document containing his confession was never produced. Shakespeare portrayed Tyrell as the murderer in his play Richard III.
The Independent
23-05-2025
- The Independent
The Princes in the Tower: Has Richard III historian solved 500 year old murder mystery?
A historian claims to have proof that the Princes in the Tower of London were not murdered by their uncle Richard III. Most historians believe Richard killed his nephews in the summer of 1483 after their father, Edward IV, died unexpectedly, despite a lack of hard evidence linking him to the murders. The boys, Edward V and Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, were 12 and nine respectively when their father died. They were taken one by one to the Tower of London in expectation of Edward V's coronation, but never emerged. Philippa Langley, the historian and screenwriter who played a key role in uncovering Richard III's remains in a Leicester car park, has spent the last ten years investigating the case. Ms Langley teamed up with professional cold case investigators, some of whom work with the police on unsolved murder to join her Missing Princes Project. Uncovering a treasure trove of never-before-seen documents and letters she believes she has built a strong enough case for the boys' survival from the Tower of London. The conventional narrative has always been Richard III's loyal servant, Sir James Tyrell, was the boys' killer, after a confession, obtained under torture, before his execution for treason in 1502. Ms Langley argues that for it to have been worthwhile for Richard to kill the princes, he had to display their bodies, 'otherwise he did it for no reason', putting himself in jeopardy. Following the death of King Richard at the battle of Bosworth on 22 August 1485, Henry VII became King but Ms Langley said the Princes rose again and challenged him for the throne. She said: 'But Henry attempted to cast the Yorkist Princes as impostors by giving them false names and reverse-engineering their stories: Edward V became a 10 year-old boy called 'Lambert Simnel', the son of a joiner, tailor, barber, baker, organ-maker or shoemaker, and Richard, Duke of York became 'Perkin Warbeck' the son of a French boatman.' The documents she uncovered include letters supporting a rebellion by 'Edward IV's son' in 1487, the year of Simnel's uprising - which ended in him being crowned in Ireland. They also found fresh references to a boy said to be 'a son of King Edward'. On Richard, three items signed with his seal have emerged in Europe, as well as letters allegedly written by him to James IV of Scotland and even a document from the Pope. A biography of his life as an escaped prince also emerged but the author remains a mystery. Simnel and Warbeck ultimately confessed to being impostors, but Ms Langley and her team of researchers insist these were false confessions extracted by Henry VII to discredit the challengers. Asked by The Times if this amounted to proof, she said: 'Had we supplied this amount of evidence in this book to say Richard III had murdered the Princes in the Tower, would you be asking me that question?' 'I would say that they now have to prove that Richard III murdered the Princes in the Tower.' Officially, the princes' remains were found in 1674, when workmen at the Tower dug up a wooden box containing two skeletons. Four years later, the bones were placed in an urn and interred in Westminster Abbey on the orders of King Charles II. The suspects Richard III The prime suspect, escorted Edward V to the Tower of London where he was last seen. Motive – insecure hold on the Monarchy due to the way he obtained the crown, faced rebellions from the Yorkists loyal to Edward IV prior to Parliament conforming his title to the throne in January 1484. Evidence – circumstantial. Ms Langley argues that it would have better served Richard III to display the dead bodies in public to prevent pretenders to the throne coming forward. Henry VII (Henry Tudor) Richard III's rival who defeated his forces at the Battle of Bosworth. Motive – executed rival claimants to the throne following his coronation. Evidence – Henry Tudor was out of the country at the time of the princes' disappearance and so could only have murdered them post-accession. Historians have called the theory the only plausible alternative to Richard III's being the killer. Henry Stafford 2nd Duke of Buckingham, kingmaker and breaker: played a major role in the rise and fall of Richard III. Motive – held a claim to the throne through the House of Beaufort family. Evidence – a manuscript found in the early 1980s in the College of Arms collection states that the princes were murdered 'be [by] the vise' of the Duke of Buckingham. There is some argument over whether 'vise' means 'advice' or 'devise'. Sir James Tyrell English knight, loyal servant to Richard III. Motive – following the orders of his King. Evidence – said to have confessed under torture to the murder of the princes before his execution for treason in 1502, according to Sir Thomas More's The History of King Richard III. The original document containing his confession was never produced. Shakespeare portrayed Tyrell as the murderer in his play Richard III.
