Image: 16th-century Depiction of Perkin Warbeck. (Public Domain)
On this day in history, November 23, 1499, Perkin Warbeck, who attacked England in 1497, declaring he was the lost son of Edward IV, was hanged for his plot to overthrow Henry VII.
Perkin asserted, notably, to be the younger son of the late King Edward IV – Prince Richard was kept in the Tower with his elder brother and inheritor to the throne, Edward (V). Even during King Richard III’s reign, there was dialogue that at least the younger prince had been clandestinely moved to Europe (perhaps to Flanders) as a way for the king to guarantee his nephew’s wellbeing while keeping him away from those who might start a rebellion in his name. The fate of Edward V, however, is much less considered. Some were convinced that he had been killed in the Tower, though others maintain he also had gone abroad – but either way, talk of Edward dispersed much more rapidly than it did about his brother. Perkin Warbeck is just one example of a man maintaining to be the royal Plantagenet brother, but he may be the most noteworthy.
Assumed to be a citizen of Tournai in Belgium, Warbeck traveled to Ireland in 1491 and declared that he was Richard, Duke of York, the second son of Edward IV. Richard and his elder brother were thought to have been killed in the Tower of London by their uncle, King Richard III, in 1483. Warbeck was supported by the enemies of King Henry VII, the first Tudor king of England, and in 1497 he landed at Cornwall and raised an army of 6,000 men. Faced with King Henry’s much larger army, he escaped but was arrested and incarcerated.
On November 23, 1499, Perkin Warbeck was taken from the Tower of London to Tyburn to be hanged. His six-year charade at being Richard, Duke of York, had ended two years before. He died not for being the imposter of a Yorkist prince but because of his plot to overthrow Henry VII. A scheme that also cost the life of the last Plantagenet, Edward, Earl of Warwick.
Warbeck’s run as Duke of York began in 1491 in Cork, where he was initially hailed as the Earl of Warwick. But soon, he assumed Richard of York’s identity, the youngest of the two ‘Princes in the Tower.’ He asserted that he had been allowed to escape after his brother was murdered, a story adequately credible to be accepted by those who wanted to consider it.
Warbeck was not greeted in Ireland like the previous Yorkist pretender, Lambert Simnel, in 1487. Therefore, he began a lengthy journey around the courts of Europe in pursuit of support. He was accepted as Richard of York by Charles VIII of France and Margaret of Burgundy, who received him as her nephew. He appeared at the funeral of Emperor Frederick III in 1493 at the request of Maximilian I.
Warbeck made his first effort to conquer England with the assistance of Margaret of Burgundy. A small force landed near Deal on July 3, 1495, hopeful of obtaining general support. Instead, they were soundly defeated. Warbeck halted the endeavor without ever going ashore and again went to Ireland. With the patronage of the Earl of Desmond, he blockaded Waterford, but when the town struggled, he was again forced to depart, this time for Scotland.
In Scotland, Warbeck was welcomed. He married Lady Catherine Gordon, the king’s cousin, and was given a monthly pension of 112 pounds, indicating that James IV agreed to his claim to the English throne. But the Scottish invasion of England in support of Warbeck in September 1496 was a disaster: Northumberland offered no public support, so the Scots retreated without encountering the English army. The incident acted only as a justification for Henry to increase taxes for defense. Now a humiliation to the Scottish king, Warbeck returned to Ireland.
An uprising in Cornwall against the tax increases in June 1497 persuaded Warbeck to believe he would receive support there. On September 12, he reached Land’s End with merely 120 men in two ships. This final invasion was significantly more triumphant; his force was several thousand strong when extended to Exeter. His followers, however, were weaponless, and when Exeter opposed it, Warbeck was forced to leave. When the King’s army caught the renegades, Warbeck realized victory was impossible and escaped to the coast. He took asylum in Beaulieu Abbey and then relinquished.
In his declaration of guilt to Henry at Taunton on October 5, 1497, Warbeck confessed that he was the son of a middle-class family from Tournai. He said he had traveled to Cork, Ireland, in 1491 as a merchant’s apprentice and was ‘recognized’ as a Yorkist prince. Though several of the leaders of the Cornish rebellion were executed, Warbeck was only detained until he attempted to escape in June 1498. He was then exiled to the Towe.
Early in 1499, yet another Warwick pretender presented himself in opposition to Henry. Though the plot was quickly silenced, it may have induced the King to dispose of Warbeck completely. An undercover agent may have been employed. Warbeck and Warwick were confined in neighboring cells, and one of Perkin’s earlier followers was chosen as a jailer. An informer stated that the plot was to burn down the Tower, flee to Europe, and put Warwick on the throne. The true pretender, the false pretender, and many others, including the jailer, were all found guilty of high treason.
Warbeck was initially treated well by Henry. As soon as he admitted to being a pretender, he was freed from the Tower of London and was given lodging at Henry’s court. He was even allowed to attend royal banquets. He was, however, kept under constant guard and was not allowed conjugal visits with his wife, who was living under the queen’s safety.
After eight months at court, Warbeck attempted to escape. He was rapidly recaptured. He was then incarcerated in the Tower, in solitary confinement, and later alongside Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick; the two sought to escape in 1499. Caught once again, Warbeck was led from the Tower of London to Tyburn, London, on November 23, 1499, where he confessed and was subsequently hanged. Warbeck’s Irish ally John Atwater was also executed at Tyburn the same day. The Earl of Warwick was beheaded on Tower Hill on November 29, 1499.
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