TWO ROYAL MYSTERIES - ONE FASCINATING FAMILY

 August 2nd 2026,  is the 926th anniversary of the death of King William II, the son of and successor to William the Conqueror...

The younger William, who was nicknamed Rufus on account of his red beard and ruddy complexion, was killed by an arrow whilst hunting in the New Forest yet few mourned his death. "In these days all justice was in abeyance and all injustice arose … and [he was] odious to God," wrote the anonymous compiler of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. 

For centuries, historians have debated whether or not William II's killing was accidental or part of a wider conspiracy to replace the degenerate Rufus with his brother, Henry I. But what connects the suspicious shooting of England's second Norman king with the Wars of the Roses, Richard III and the equally mysterious fate of the Princes in the Tower? The answer is the Tyrell family.

The man accused of shooting the wayward arrow that killed Rufus was Sir Walter Tyrell (also spelt Tirel or Tyrrell) and the man who allegedly recruited the assassins who murdered the Princes in the Tower was his descendant, Sir James Tyrell. Though Sir Walter always protested his innocence and the evidence against Sir James is scant to say the least, it is a remarkable coincidence that one family supposedly produced two of the most famous regicides in English medieval history.

For anyone interested in exploring this connection further my forthcoming book "The Boar and the Peacock" traces the Tyrell family saga from Sir Walter's arrival in England with William the Conqueror to Sir James' fateful involvement with Richard III and Henry VII. The Bar and the  Peacock is currently avasilable to pre-order from the publishers, Amberley Publishing and all good online or high street bookshops:

https://www.amberley-books.com/the-boar-and-the-peacock.html