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KS3 History: The Princes in the Tower – Solving a Medieval Mystery

KS3 History: The Princes in the Tower – Solving a Medieval Mystery

Subject: History

Age range: 11-14

Resource type: Lesson (complete)

Last updated

29 June 2026

pptx, 9.25 MB
pptx, 9.25 MB
PNG, 456.4 KB
PNG, 456.4 KB
PNG, 360.26 KB
PNG, 360.26 KB

What really happened to the Princes in the Tower?

In this exciting historical enquiry, students take on the role of detectives to investigate one of the most famous unsolved mysteries in English history. Through evidence analysis, source evaluation and critical thinking, they must decide who was responsible for the disappearance of the young princes and whether the mystery can ever truly be solved.

The lesson begins by establishing the context of the Wars of the Roses, helping students understand the complex struggle for the English throne following the death of Edward IV. Students explore the line of succession and discover why the young princes, Edward V and Richard of Shrewsbury, found themselves at the centre of a political storm.

Students are then introduced to the key suspects in this gripping murder-mystery investigation and begin examining a range of historical sources and evidence. As they evaluate competing theories, they build their own conclusions about what may have happened to the princes and who stood to gain from their disappearance.

The enquiry culminates in a structured extended writing task, supported by key vocabulary, writing prompts and scaffolds where needed, enabling students to construct a well-reasoned historical argument using evidence.

To bring the mystery right up to date, the lesson also explores recently uncovered evidence presented by historian Tim Thornton, allowing students to consider how new discoveries can reshape our understanding of the past.

This lesson includes:
Fun, engaging and challenging activities throughout
Historical detective work and mystery-solving tasks
Source analysis and evidence evaluation activities
Storytelling approach to hook and engage learners
Structured extended writing task with support materials
Family Fortunes-style plenary to consolidate learning
Printable worksheets and classroom resources
Differentiated tasks to support all learners
Suggested teaching strategies and lesson guidance
Fully editable PowerPoint lesson

Thank you for downloading this resource. If it has helped save you time or engaged your students, please consider leaving a review. Your feedback is greatly appreciated.

Get this resource as part of a bundle and save up to 29%

A bundle is a package of resources grouped together to teach a particular topic, or a series of lessons, in one place.

Bundle

KS3 History Skills Complete Bundle

These lessons are designed to enable students to think like real historians and prepare for assessment and exam techniques! They build up mastery in the essential historical skills of inference, the use of sources, chronology, analysis, cause and consequence, enquiry, interpretation and significance. Baseline Assessment ÌÇÐÄVlogt: This can be used to assess what students know and which historical skills have they acquired from primary school. What is History: This is an ideal lesson to introduce the subject by focusing on the skills required by historians to investigate the past, including chronology and time. Inference: Students will learn how to ‘read between the lines’ of evidence and developing the critical skills of drawing conclusions from clues in both written and visual sources. This lesson will also build their analytical thinking, essential for understanding past perspectives and motivations. Cause and Consequence: Students examine how and why events occurred and the impact they had. This will encourage deeper thinking about the causes and effects of decisions and actions throughout history. Interpretation: Through guided tasks, learners examine different views about the past and develop their own, supporting them with evidence. This will help them build evaluative skills and support extended argument writing. Significance: Students are challenged to assess what makes an event, individual or development important, helping them in their future studies to make value judgments supported by historical criteria. Change and continuity: This lesson will help students understand the significance of change and continuity in history by exploring the evolution of medical treatment over time. Beginning with key definitions and historical context, it encourages critical thinking about why and how methods of treatment have developed from medieval practices to modern healthcare. The lesson supports AO1 and AO2 skills and supports thematic understanding. Historical investigations: The Princes in the Tower lesson will encourage students to evaluate conflicting sources, question reliability and come up with their own evidence-based conclusions about this unsolved historical mystery. These skills are not only vital for exam success, but are also transferable across subjects and essential for developing critical and reflective thinkers. These lessons are perfect for KS3 and can be used as standalone skills lessons, revision tools or embedded into wider schemes of work. The lessons are broken down into the following: L1 Baseline Assessment ÌÇÐÄVlogt L2 What is History? L3 Historical Sources L4 Cause and consequence L5 Historical significance (X Factor) L6 Historical Inferences L7 Historical interpretations L8 Change & Continuity (Free resource) L9 Historical investigation – Princes in the Tower The resources all come in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to edit and change. Any reviews would be gratefully received.

£19.50
Bundle

KS3 History: Medieval Monarchs & Power Complete Scheme of Work

This comprehensive KS3 Medieval bundle of resources has been designed to save hours of planning. It contains 13 fully resourced and enquiry-based lessons covering the struggles between the Church, the nobility, the people and the Crown. Students will investigate dramatic historical events, controversial monarchs and enduring mysteries whilst developing the skills of a historian. Through source analysis, interpretation, debate and extended writing, they will examine how power shifted between kings, nobles, the Church and ordinary people throughout the medieval period. Throughout the unit, students explore key historical questions such as: What made a successful medieval monarch? Why did Henry II come into conflict with the Church? Was Henry II genuinely sorry for the death of Thomas Becket? Why did Richard the Lionheart go on Crusade? How did King John lose the support of his barons? Why was Magna Carta such a significant turning point? What caused the Peasants’ Revolt? Why was Edward II criticised by his nobles? Was Genghis Khan a great leader or a ruthless conqueror? Did Richard III really murder the Princes in the Tower? The lessons place a strong emphasis on developing historical skills alongside substantive knowledge. Students learn how to analyse sources, evaluate interpretations, identify causes and consequences, assess significance, make connections across time periods and construct structured written arguments supported by evidence. By the end of the unit, students will have developed a deeper understanding of medieval power, authority and society, while gaining valuable experience of historical enquiry and interpretation. The lessons are broken down into the following: L1 Medieval Monarchs introduction L2 The murder of Thomas Becket L3 Was King Henry II really sorry? L4 King Richard the Lionheart L5 Crusades L6 King John L7 The Magna Carta L8 The siege of Rochester Castle ***(free resource)*** L9 The Peasants Revolt L10 King Edward II L11 Genghis Khan L12 The Princes in the Tower (Bonus lesson) L13 Richard III - King in the Car Park (skills lesson) These lessons are designed to be fun, challenging, interactive and engaging. All the lessons are differentiated and come with suggested teaching and learning strategies and link to the latest interpretations from the BBC and other sources. The resources come in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.

£28.00

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