Unsolved crime
Sir: I was shocked by the gratuitous statement in one of your book reviews: 'Richard III killed his own nephews' (18 July). Without going so far as to say it has now been proved he did not do so, it certainly is a completely open question, and the balance of probabilities is in favour of murder by an agent of Henry VII, after Richard's death. This is nowadays even reflected in standard school textbooks. There is a substantial literature on the subject, and the MortonThomas More-Shakespeare fictional version has been exposed and discredited. There is a flourishing Richard III Society devoted to rehabilitating the maligned king, of which my wife is a member though not myself. I have been trying for years to persuade her to read the Spectator, and this unfortunate howler has entirely undermined my campaign.
G. F. G. Watson Woodland Rise, Wildernesse, Sevenoaks, Kent
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