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On this day, during the cold English winter of November 1499, Perkin Warbeck - a pretender of the heir to the throne - met his end. Having been held hostage by the current king, Henry VII, for several months, Warbeck’s execution was held in Tybern, London, where he confessed his crimes and was subsequently hanged {1}.
But what led Perkin Warbeck to this gruesome fate? Who was he? And why did he try so hard to gain the throne by pretending to be someone he wasn’t?
To fully understand Warbeck’s supposed impersonation as the rightful heir to the English throne, we’ll have to explore the context of his claims and a mystery that remains ongoing to this very day… If you’re familiar with The Wars of the Roses and the history of the Plantagenet family, you will likely know the story of the famous Princes in the Tower.
To summarise, King Edward IV ruled England for almost twenty-two years until his death in 1483, whereby it was expected that one of his two young sons and heirs, Edward and Richard (aged 12 and 9), would eventually become king. However, due to their young age, the two boys were moved to the Tower of London for ‘safekeeping’ by their uncle and regent of England, Richard the Duke of Gloucester - soon to become Richard III.
As rumours of the boys’ illegitimacy began to circulate and they were seen in public less and less, unfortunately, within several months both young Edward and Richard disappeared entirely. It remains unclear what happened to the two princes and, whilst it is believed that they may have been murdered in order for Richard, the Duke of Gloucester and Edward IV’s brother, to secure the throne for himself, there was no official proof of this outcome. Even in 2023, we are none the wiser!
Out of Edward IV’s two sons, Perkin Warbeck claimed to be the young Richard (aged 9 at the time of his ‘supposed’ death), under the pretence that his elder brother was murdered, but his life was spared because of his age and innocence.
Whilst Warbeck’s claim seems unlikely to be true, as this may have been a clever ploy for the Yorkists to regain power, we cannot discredit his story entirely, as there remains no concrete evidence of his true identity.
The possible truth:
Looking firstly at Warbeck’s original claims, we must study his life as if he were the lost and forgotten son of Edward IV, the young prince Richard. This is based on the stories that he told others and the life that he lived to gain backing and support.
Richard, having escaped death in the Tower of London, stayed hidden for several years of his life and eventually gained passage to Europe. As he grew and travelled the continent, he began to reveal his true identity, gaining support from several monarchs and people in positions of power, such as Maximilian I, the Holy Roman Emperor, and James IV of Scotland {2}, who acknowledged his claim as the true heir. Richard’s paternal aunt, Margaret of York, who lived in Burgundy at the time, also took him under her wing and supported him, as her nephew, to regain the throne.
At this stage, it is important to be critical about this support for Richard, as these people may have seen Perkin Warbeck’s impersonation as an opportunity to rise against the current English king, Henry VII, by supporting an alternative ruler who they could control.
Meanwhile, in England, those still loyal to the Yorkist line, as well as some of those who were unhappy with Henry’s rule, did declare support for Richard’s claim. Obviously, King Henry was not too pleased about this and, whether he believed these claims or not, he was not willing to allow this rebellion to grow. In a show of strength, the king had many of these ‘conspirators’ sentenced to death {3}.
After many years spent gaining support, in 1495 Richard felt that it was time to attempt to take his rightful place as king of England and left the continent with several of his men to land in Kent, England, on 3 July. However, despite expecting a warm welcome, Richard was met with immediate hostility from the local people who remained loyal to Henry VII. Forced to retreat and flee, Richard sailed first to Ireland and then Scotland.
During his time in Scotland, Richard married Lady Catherine Gordon {5}, daughter of a Scottish nobleman, the 2nd Earl of Huntly. The benefit of this marriage remains unclear, as the supposed king of England would have likely been expected to aim much higher in terms of political gain. However, it is rumoured that the two had been courting for some time.
Richard’s last attempt to return to England was on the 7 September 1497, landing this time in the west - Cornwall. Whilst he did find slightly more support here and was declared as King Richard IV, upon his army’s march towards London he was intercepted by Henry VII’s men and was caught and captured at Beaulieu Abbey, Hampshire, on 4 October 1497 {3}.
After his capture, Richard wrote a confession - likely overseen and influenced by King Henry - whereby he retracted his claim to the throne, stating instead that he had been pretending all along and was, in fact, called Perkin Warbeck and had no relation to prince Richard of York.
It is at this stage that the truth comes into question, as Henry VII may have orchestrated this confession. Whether his captive was truly Richard or not, Henry would have wanted to ensure that his claim to the throne was as secure as possible, with no further challenges from outsiders.
The confession:
In his official interrogation and confession, Henry VII’s prisoner admitted that his true name was Perkin Warbeck, known later as the ‘pretender’. He admitted that his parents were Katherine de Faro and Jehan de Werbecque {1}, not the previous King and Queen of England, Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville, and that he was born in present-day Belgium.
Despite this, Warbeck did keep some similarities to his claims as Richard, mentioning that he did travel through Europe when he was young, learning lots of skills and languages, apparently becoming quite remarkable in both his looks and behaviour. Warbeck claimed that it was this education that helped him pose as the lost York prince, as no ordinary person would find it easy to pretend to be royalty.
Similarly, Warbeck confessed that he did indeed stay with Margaret of York in Burgundy. However, it remains unclear whether she genuinely believed that he was her nephew, or whether she saw an opportunity to regain power in England. Perkin Warbeck claimed that she schooled him in courtly manners and Yorkist history, so he would have been well-versed in his imitation of Richard.
In this confession, Warbeck admitted outright to being an imposter and pretender, which quelled Henry VII’s anxieties and helped to prevent further uprisings to his rule.
Perkin Warbeck’s death:
Oddly, given his supposed crimes, Warbeck was apparently treated kindly by Henry VII following his capture and confession, even being allowed to stay at court and attend royal events. Warbeck’s wife, Lady Catherine, was also permitted to remain at court as a lady-in-waiting to the queen.
As time went on, Perkin Warbeck did continue to be a thorn in the king’s side by attempting to escape on two occasions. Following this, he was kept in the formidable prison - the Tower of London - alongside Edward Plantagenet, the cousin of the would-have-been king Richard IV. Once again, this seems an unusual choice if Warbeck was not Richard…
Unfortunately, the truth was never revealed as Perkin Warbeck was hanged shortly after his second escape attempt. He was buried in London in an unmarked grave.
Will we ever know?
It is unlikely that we will ever know the truth of Perkin Warbeck’s claim to the throne, or his heritage. Unless time travel is invented or a DNA test is sanctioned, this unsolved mystery will forever haunt English history (and historians!).
In my personal view, I believe that there is a small chance that Perkin Warbeck was indeed the lost heir, prince Richard. However, this would be based on a number of factors that we will also likely never know the answer to: for example, Richard III’s real intentions and desire to be king.
Whatever your view may be, today we remember a life lost in pursuit of the English throne.
References:
{1} Alison Weir, Lancaster and York: The Wars of the Roses. 1995.
{2} Linda Porter, Crown of Thistles: The Fatal Inheritance of Mary, Queen of Scots. 2013.
{3} Wikipedia, Perkin Warbeck.
{4} William Hepburn, The Household and Court of James IV of Scotland. 2023.
{5} Norman MacDougall, James IV. 1997.
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