ln a o t i it g i d i D E H N OURTDITIO LEGENDS & LORE ? DISAPPEARANCES ? GHOST SHIPS ? WHODUNNITS FE O M E T C O L E W O ver 500 years ago, two young brothers disappeared, seemingly off the face of the Earth. These weren’t just any boys, however – one was Edward V, king of England, who had recently been declared illegitimate and quickly usurped by his uncle, Richard III. After their strange disappearance, rumours of murder spread through the country, with suspicions falling upon the boys’ uncle as well as other power-hungry figures at the royal court. To this day, debate rages about the curious fate of the Princes in the Tower. From this Medieval murder mystery to the unsettling transmissions from Cold-War-era radio stations, uncover history’s most fascinating and peculiar unanswered questions. Will we ever crack the code of the Voynich Manuscript? Who really was Jack the Ripper? What’s the truth behind the Bermuda Triangle? Read on to see if you can solve history’s greatest mysteries… Future PLC Quay House, The Ambury, Bath, BA1 1UA Editorial Editor Philippa Grafton Designer Katy Stokes Compiled by Aiden Dalby & Newton Ribeiro Senior Art Editor Andy Downes Head of Art & Design Greg Whitaker Editorial Director Jon White Cover images Getty Images, Alamy, Wikimedia Commons; Amelia Earhart, Author Unknown / Simmler Children of King Edward, National Museum in Warsaw. 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This magazine is fully independent and not affiliated in any way with the companies mentioned herein. Future plc is a public Chief executive Zillah Byng-Thorne company quoted on the Non-executive chairman Richard Huntingford London Stock Exchange Chief financial officer Rachel Addison (symbol: FUTR) www.futureplc.com Tel +44 (0)1225 442 244 HISTORY’S GREATEST MYSTERIES CONTENTS 2 6 e g a P In search of the truth behind history’s most perplexing unsolved mysteries WHODUNNITS 72 THE DISAPPEARING SKYJACKER Who is the mysterious DB Cooper and what happened to him? 10 MURDER IN THE TOWER 20 When two princes disappeared, it sparked 80 VANISHED INTO THIN AIR history’s most debated murder mystery From Agatha Christie to Glenn Miller, what happened to these famous faces? 16 WHO KILLED HENRY DARNLEY? The unsolved murder of Mary, Queen of 86 THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE Scots’ husband What is the truth behind the fabled and terrifying Bermuda Triangle? 20 THE MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF LUDWIG II Accident, murder or suicide – what really happened to the mad king of Bavaria? ANCIENT & MYTHICAL 30 JACK THE RIPPER 94 GIZA’S LONG LOST PHAROAH Will we ever know who the infamous The resting place of Khufu of Ancient serial killer of London really was? Egypt continues to elude historians 36 UNSOLVED MURDERS AND MYSTERIOUS DEATHS 100 THE SECRETS OF STONEHENGE Across the centuries, bodies have piled up Solstices, Druids and the dead: why does in mysterious circumstances… Stonehenge exist? 108 UNEARTHING THE MOAI OF EASTER ISLAND DISAPPEARANCES & DISASTERS The iconic stone statues hold the secrets of Easter Island’s cultural history 46 A VANISHED COLONY: THE MYSTERY OF ROANOKE 114 LOST CITIES A 16th-century English colony in America Separating fact from fiction about history’s 113 showed great promise – but disappeared mythical cities 50 TERROR ON THE ICE How an obsession with finding an Arctic CURIOSITIES passage sealed the fate of HMS Erebus 56 MARITIME MYSTERIES 122 CRACKING THE CODES Disappearing boats and abandoned ships Many impenetrable texts have evaded have littered the seas for centuries the understanding of the sharpest minds 62 THE HINDENBURG DISASTER 130 SECRET SIGNALS What caused the fiery final flight of the Hidden in the static of the radio are some world’s most famous airship? mysterious transmissions 66 THE LAST DAYS OF AMELIA EARHART 136 LOST TREASURE Has the mystery of this aviator’s Join the treasure hunters scouring the disappearance finally been solved? world for its legendary lost riches 6 83 86 102 115 94 Page 72 7 16 32 38 30 1 3 8 22 WHODUNNITS WHODUNNITS 12 History’s most notorious unexplained deaths and unsolved murders 10 MURDER IN THE TOWER When two princes disappeared, it sparked history’s most debated murder mystery 16 WHO KILLED HENRY DARNLEY? The unsolved murder of Mary, Queen of Scots’ husband 20 THE MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF LUDWIG II Accident, murder or suicide – what really happened to the mad king of Bavaria? 30 JACK THE RIPPER Will we ever know who the infamous serial killer of London really was? 36 UNSOLVED MURDERS AND MYSTERIOUS DEATHS Across the centuries, bodies have piled up in mysterious circumstances… 18 9 WHODUNNITS 1100