Throughout the play of Richard III, Richard has proved to be ruthless in his methods and means of killing nearly everyone that hinders his way to the throne.  He shows now mercy and proves to everyone that he is a forced to be reckoned with.  In Act 4, he is crowned king but has yet to get rid of the next heirs to the throne, Edward the fifth and Richard Duke of York.  Instead he has them locked away in a tower before they are to be crowded keeping anyone from seeing them.  Even when Anne, the Duchess and Queen Elizabeth try to go see them they are told by Brackenbury, “No, madam, no. I may not leave it so./I am bound by oath, and therefore pardon me” (4.1.26-27).  A majority of Act 4 is Richard trying to convince his “followers” to kill the two princes to clear his path to become king.  At first he confronts his go to man Buckingham about it and says, “Ah, Buckingham, now do I play the touch,/ To try if thou be current gold indeed. /Young Edward lives; think now what I would speak” (4.2.9-11).  His is insinuating that he wants the princes dead, but when Buckingham responds it sets Richard off.  Buckingham says, “Give me some little breath, some pause, dear lord,/ Before I positively speak in this./ I will resolve you herein presently” (4.2.25-27).  Just this “breathing space” is too much hesitation for Richard, so he inquires the help of Tyrell to find people to do it.  Tyrell brings him two men named Dighton and Forrest who do kill the princes… or do they???  Tyrell only recollects this to Richard and he states,

“Albeit they were fleshed villains, bloody dogs,/Melted with tenderness and mild compassion,/Wept like two children in their deaths’ sad story./“O thus” quoth Dighton, “lay those gentle babes.”/“Thus, thus,” quoth Forrest, “girdling one another/Within their alabaster innocent arms./Their lips were four red roses on a stalk,/And in their summer beauty kissed each other./A book of prayers on their pillow lay,/Which once,” quoth Forrest, “almost changed my mind,/But O, the devil—”There the villain stopped;/When Dighton thus told on: “We smotherèd/The most replenishèd sweet work of nature/That from the prime creation e’er she framed.”/Hence both are gone with conscience and remorse;/They could not speak; and so I left them both/To bear this tidings to the bloody king”(4.3.6-23).

With this recollection he uses the terms “melted with tenderness” and “mild compassion” to describe how the two men felt when committing this crime.  Yet they are said to be ruthless and kill “villains” and “bloody dogs”.  Therefore it does not seem as if they are capable of killing these two princes.  My hypothesis is that Tyrell did it.  He even said himself that he did see them dead, therefore he was at the scene of the murder (4.3.29).  These two men just do not seem as if they have the ruthlessness and horrors inside them to be able to kill two young boys.  Although their remorse stated afterward when they state, “We smotherèd/ The most replenishèd sweet work of nature/ That from the prime creation e’er she framed.”/Hence both are gone with conscience and remorse;/ They could not speak; and so I left them both/ To bear this tidings to the bloody king” (4.3.17-23).  The men were destroyed by their remorse of their actions, but does that mean they did it or they failed and this is Tyrell’s practice speech on what he is going to tell Richard about the ordeal?