Edward V disappeared from public view in the Tower of London in 1483, and neither the date nor the circumstances of his death are securely established. His final known months began with his father's death and his own recognition as king, followed by his uncle Richard's assumption of the protectorship. Edward was lodged in the Tower, where his younger brother Richard later joined him. The brothers were seen less often as the political settlement changed and Richard III took the throne. Later accounts alleged that they were murdered, and Thomas More's narrative supplied the familiar story of smothering that Shakespeare made famous. Those details were written afterward and do not constitute an uncontested eyewitness record. Theories of illness, later survival and different responsibility for a killing have also been proposed, but none provides a universally accepted reconstruction. The presence of a doctor before Edward's disappearance does not establish a specific fatal disease. Nor have the remains traditionally associated with the princes resolved every question of identity and timing. A responsible final-days narrative therefore ends with confinement and disappearance, followed by strong but disputed allegations of murder. It cannot assign verified last words, a precise death date or a certain medical cause to the young king.