Quote:
Originally Posted by gmw
It seems to me that it doesn't matter which way you cut it, "princes in the tower" is an unsatisfactory description of the situation.
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Half a millennium on, I think it's a reasonable shorthand no matter on which side you are. Everyone knows who are meant.
It reminds me of the universal appellation of "Princess Diana" for "The Princess of Wales"/"Diana, Princess of Wales." "Princess Diana" was never correct, but it would have been absurd to insist on it. I'm a stickler for correct usage of British titles (mostly because they tell me how much an author knows about his subject), but I let that one go. Similarly, "the putative ousted King in the tower and his younger brother" doesn't flow.
