WEBVTT - The Pretender Prince

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of iHeartRadio and Grim

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<v Speaker 1>and Mild from Aaron Mankie. Listener Discretion advised Henry Tudor,

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<v Speaker 1>the newly crowned King Henry the seventh, was in a

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<v Speaker 1>very delicate position.

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<v Speaker 2>King Richard the Third had been killed in battle, the

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<v Speaker 2>Yorks were defeated, and Henry Tudor the Victor had married

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<v Speaker 2>Elizabeth of York to unite the families under the banner

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<v Speaker 2>of the new House of Tudor. He was king after

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<v Speaker 2>the extremely costly and deadly Wars of the Roses. Finally

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<v Speaker 2>it was over, except Henry's claim to the throne wasn't

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<v Speaker 2>all that secure. Historian J. E. Cussen frames it well, writing, quote,

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<v Speaker 2>Henry the Seventh claimed the crown of England by three titles, dissent, alliance,

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<v Speaker 2>and conquest. Let's work backwards on those three, shall we conquest? Well?

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<v Speaker 2>That was inarguable. Henry had defeated Richard the Third at

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<v Speaker 2>the Battle of bosworth Field. But the problem with claiming

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<v Speaker 2>a throne through conquest meant that anyone else could come

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<v Speaker 2>along and beat him, giving them as much of a

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<v Speaker 2>claim as he had. In terms of alliance number two,

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<v Speaker 2>Henry's marriage to Elizabeth of York had been a smart move.

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<v Speaker 2>Elizabeth was the daughter of King Edward the seventh, the

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<v Speaker 2>older sister of the two princes lost in the Tower,

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<v Speaker 2>the princes who were allegedly killed by their uncle, also

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<v Speaker 2>Elizabeth's uncle, Richard the third. But the other title that

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<v Speaker 2>Henry was claiming the crown of England dissent. While that

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<v Speaker 2>was a shaky claim at best, Henry was the illegitimate

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<v Speaker 2>great great grandson of John of Ghent, and it was

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<v Speaker 2>an even weaker claim because it was through the female line.

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<v Speaker 2>But who cares about that? If everyone agreed that he

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<v Speaker 2>was king, he was king, and who was going to

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<v Speaker 2>challenge him? In September fourteen ninety seven, a man was

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<v Speaker 2>leading an army east from Cornwall toward Taunton. He was

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<v Speaker 2>supported by thousands of troops, mainly cornishmen who were upset

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<v Speaker 2>at King Henry the seventh high taxes and poor treatment,

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<v Speaker 2>and they were throwing their lot behind someone else, someone

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<v Speaker 2>with a much much more legitimate claim to the throne.

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<v Speaker 2>If you believed he was who he said he was,

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<v Speaker 2>history would come to call the man who led that

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<v Speaker 2>army Perkin Warbeck. But Warbeck claimed he had another name,

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<v Speaker 2>a secret name. He wasn't just the son of a

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<v Speaker 2>Belgian bureaucrat. That was all a cover story. Really, he

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<v Speaker 2>had once been a prince, the younger son of King

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<v Speaker 2>Edward the Fourth, locked inside the Tower of London while

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<v Speaker 2>his uncle Richard the Third claimed the throne for himself.

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<v Speaker 2>He had seen his older brother Edward killed, but because

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<v Speaker 2>of his youth, the murderers had allowed him to escape. Well,

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<v Speaker 2>he was back and he was here to take the throne.

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<v Speaker 2>Perkin Warbeck was really Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York,

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<v Speaker 2>the younger of the two princes in the tower, and

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<v Speaker 2>he had six thousand men marching behind him, ready to

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<v Speaker 2>help him take what was rightfully his. I'm Danash Schwartz,

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<v Speaker 2>and this is noble blood. The problem with telling the

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<v Speaker 2>story of a man who is known to history as

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<v Speaker 2>a pretender is you'll never know for sure which story

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<v Speaker 2>to tell. There are lies on both sides, and no

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<v Speaker 2>actual proof one way or the other. Let's get that

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<v Speaker 2>out of the way before we go any further. Perkin

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<v Speaker 2>Warbeck claimed to be Richard, Duke of York. At the time.

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<v Speaker 2>Some people believed him in earnest. Some people believed him

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<v Speaker 2>because it was convenient, and some people thought he was

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<v Speaker 2>a phony. Nowadays, plenty of historical fiction has had fun

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<v Speaker 2>exploring the possibility that Warbeck really was the Duke of York,

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<v Speaker 2>and to that, I say, why not. Historical fiction is fun,

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<v Speaker 2>and that certainly is the most fun version of the story.

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<v Speaker 2>But the unfortunate truth is there really is no proof

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<v Speaker 2>that he was the lost Prince. That said, there is

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<v Speaker 2>no concrete proof that he wasn't the lost Prince. So

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<v Speaker 2>you are free to hold on to your favorite story

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<v Speaker 2>if you really want. With this one, most historians do

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<v Speaker 2>agree that the real Duke of York, the younger son

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<v Speaker 2>of King Edward and nephew of Richard the Third, died

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<v Speaker 2>around summer fourteen eighty three, when he was nine or

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<v Speaker 2>ten years old. Perkin Warbeck claimed he didn't. In fourteen

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<v Speaker 2>ninety one, he began to make his claim public in

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<v Speaker 2>the Duchy of Burgundy, saying that he witnessed his older

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<v Speaker 2>brother get murdered. But the assailants, whoever they were Warbeck

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<v Speaker 2>never actually specified, were struck by how young and innocent

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<v Speaker 2>he was. They told him to run away to continental

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<v Speaker 2>Europe and keep the secret of his true identity for

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<v Speaker 2>his own safety. But nearly a decade later he claims

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<v Speaker 2>he had been kept safe by Yorkist sympathizers, and now

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<v Speaker 2>he couldn't hide the truth anymore. He was a young

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<v Speaker 2>man by this point. Almost every source recounts how handsome

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<v Speaker 2>he was, how much he resembled the former King Edward

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<v Speaker 2>the fourth, his supposed father, and how charismatic he was.

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<v Speaker 2>On a brief trip to Ireland, prominent Yorkists declared that

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<v Speaker 2>he was in fact the son of King Edward the fourth.

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<v Speaker 2>Those irishmen began writing letters to French nobles, and so Warbeck,

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<v Speaker 2>with his brand new pedigree, set out for Europe to

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<v Speaker 2>find some international allies. There was something about Warbeck that

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<v Speaker 2>convinced people. He was handsome, yes, but also courtly, well

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<v Speaker 2>acquainted with the habits and the practices of the York family.

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<v Speaker 2>He spoke several languages, He was charming. Surely this couldn't

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<v Speaker 2>be a common nobody. Charles the eighth of France kept

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<v Speaker 2>Perkin in France until Henry, back in England, loudly reminded

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<v Speaker 2>his French counterpart that they had signed a treaty not

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<v Speaker 2>to shelter English rebels. To drive home the point England

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<v Speaker 2>laid siege on a French city, Maxims Million. First, the

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<v Speaker 2>Holy Roman Emperor invited Warbeck to attend the funeral of

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<v Speaker 2>Frederick the Third, his father, the previous Holy Roman Emperor.

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<v Speaker 2>It was there that Warbeck was officially recognized as the

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<v Speaker 2>rightful King of England Richard the fourth. But by far

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<v Speaker 2>Warbeck's greatest ally and supporter would be a woman named

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<v Speaker 2>Margaret of Burgundy. Margaret of Burgundy was the widow of

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<v Speaker 2>the Duke Charles of Burgundy, but she was English born.

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<v Speaker 2>She was the sister of the former York kings, Edward

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<v Speaker 2>the fourth and Richard the Third, which made the two

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<v Speaker 2>princes in the tower her nephews. Even though she hadn't

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<v Speaker 2>actually seen the two princes since they were babies, She

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<v Speaker 2>declared that Perkin Warbeck was legitimate. She was miraculously reunited

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<v Speaker 2>with her nephew, thought dead, the son of her brother.

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<v Speaker 2>It was a from God the Yorks would return to

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<v Speaker 2>the throne of England, and so Margaret began to put

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<v Speaker 2>forth the money for Perkin Warbeck to raise an army.

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<v Speaker 2>It wasn't purely family loyalty on her part, a gesture

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<v Speaker 2>out of love for a nephew thought dead. Warbeck made

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<v Speaker 2>a deal with Margaret that in exchange for the funds

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<v Speaker 2>and aid she was providing when he became king, he

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<v Speaker 2>would restore her trade licenses, pay the remainder of her

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<v Speaker 2>dowry off, and return her manners and castle in England

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<v Speaker 2>that had been forfeited. The stakes were raised now with

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<v Speaker 2>his international allies, and word reached England that this Perkin

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<v Speaker 2>Warbeck fellow might be for real, or at least a

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<v Speaker 2>real threat. Those nobles who had opposed Henry the Seventh

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<v Speaker 2>in the Wars of the Roses now had someone new

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<v Speaker 2>to a rally behind. Henry tried to eliminate the domestic treason,

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<v Speaker 2>gathering up a group of conspirators and sentencing them to death.

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<v Speaker 2>A few were pardoned, but some were beheaded. Henry the

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<v Speaker 2>Seventh would not be taking treason lightly, not after he

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<v Speaker 2>had already dealt with a pretender to the throne so recently.

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<v Speaker 2>Perkin Warbeck wasn't the first young man to appear claiming

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<v Speaker 2>to be a long lost member of the York family.

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<v Speaker 2>In fourteen eighty seven, three years before Perkin Warbeck began

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<v Speaker 2>claiming to be a lost prince, there was a young

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<v Speaker 2>boy named Lambert Simnel who challenged Henry the seventh for

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<v Speaker 2>the rightful claim to the throne. According to the story,

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<v Speaker 2>there was an Oxford trained priest named Richard Simmons who

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<v Speaker 2>found a young, humble boy with an incredible resemblance to

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<v Speaker 2>the York family. The cynical explanation here is that Symmonds

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<v Speaker 2>knew that there were many in England who were not

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<v Speaker 2>happy with Henry the Seventh's victory, and the York loyalists

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<v Speaker 2>needed a rightful heir to rally behind. Simmonds didn't claim

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<v Speaker 2>that Lambert Symnole was one of the two princes who

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<v Speaker 2>disappeared in the tower. Instead, they said that he was

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<v Speaker 2>Edward Plantagenet, their cousin. Apologies for the family tree here.

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<v Speaker 2>I know the Wars of the Roses is famously complicated,

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<v Speaker 2>but it's not super important. So if I lose you here,

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<v Speaker 2>don't worry about it. But Richard the Third and Edward

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<v Speaker 2>the Fourth had another brother, George Plantagenet, who actually sided

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<v Speaker 2>against them in the Wars of the Roses, siding with

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<v Speaker 2>his father in law. Then, when Edward the Fourth won

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<v Speaker 2>and became king, he had his brother executed for treason.

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<v Speaker 2>According to the legend drowned in a butt of malmsey wine.

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<v Speaker 2>But this trader brother George, had had a son, Edward Plantagenet.

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<v Speaker 2>But you know, years forward, when Richard the third was

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<v Speaker 2>claiming that he was the rightful king, this young boy

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<v Speaker 2>Edward got passed over because of his father's treason, which

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<v Speaker 2>invalidated his claim. When Henry the seventh defeated Richard the

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<v Speaker 2>third and he became king, he put little ten year

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<v Speaker 2>old Edward in the Tower of London for safekeeping because

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<v Speaker 2>he realized sure his dad was a trader, which made

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<v Speaker 2>his claim a little nebulous, but he still was a threat,

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<v Speaker 2>especially considering how nebulous Henry the Seventh's own claim was. Anyway,

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<v Speaker 2>there was a rumor going around that Edward Plantagenet, the

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<v Speaker 2>young boy, escaped from the tower, and the Yorkists were

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<v Speaker 2>eager for an excuse to try to overthrow Henry Tudor,

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<v Speaker 2>and they declared that this boy, Lambert Symnel, was him

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<v Speaker 2>Edward Plantagenet, and he was the rightful king. Of course,

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<v Speaker 2>as soon as Henry heard about that, he gets the

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<v Speaker 2>real Edward out of the tower, who never escaped, and

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<v Speaker 2>paraded him through the streets. But that did nothing to

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<v Speaker 2>stop the rebellion because one news travels slowly in the

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<v Speaker 2>fifteenth century. Two they just claimed that Henry got a

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<v Speaker 2>random impostor, and three the Yorkists didn't really care if

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<v Speaker 2>Lambert Symnole was real or not. They just wanted to

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<v Speaker 2>challenge Henry the Seventh, and they did. Symnel's army of

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<v Speaker 2>Flemish and Irish soldiers challenged the Tudor army at the

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<v Speaker 2>Battle of stoke Field, and they were defeated, but not

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<v Speaker 2>without arousing fight. Some historians actually claim it's this battle

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<v Speaker 2>that is the end of the Wars of the Roses Simmons.

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<v Speaker 2>The mastermind behind this whole scheme was a priest, so

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<v Speaker 2>he got jailed for life instead of execution, and Lambert Simnel,

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<v Speaker 2>who was really just a kid who had been used

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<v Speaker 2>as a pawn, is actually pardoned by King Henry. But

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<v Speaker 2>back to Perkin Warbeck, funded by Margaret of Burgundy, his

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<v Speaker 2>maybe aunt and maybe someone who just wants to take

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<v Speaker 2>Henry the Seventh down, Warbeck arrives on the southeast coast

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<v Speaker 2>of England at deal. The King's army is there in

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<v Speaker 2>full force, and Perkin doesn't even get off his boat

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<v Speaker 2>before he realizes he made a terrible mistake and should

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<v Speaker 2>try to take England through Scotland. King James the fourth

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<v Speaker 2>of Scotland is more than happy to have him. It's

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<v Speaker 2>while he's in Scotland that Perkin Warbeck marries the daughter

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<v Speaker 2>of a minor Scottish noble, a woman named Lady Catherine.

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<v Speaker 2>It seems it was a love match, but some take

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<v Speaker 2>the arrangement as proof that no one actually thought that

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<v Speaker 2>Warbeck was a lost prince, or he wouldn't have had

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<v Speaker 2>such a lowly marriage. I mean, it was a fine marriage,

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<v Speaker 2>but not the type of match one would have made

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<v Speaker 2>if you were actually the son of a king, and

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<v Speaker 2>the rightful King of England. Warbeck stayed in Scotland for

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<v Speaker 2>two years, and he was actually an incredibly valuable political pawn,

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<v Speaker 2>if nothing else. The ambassador from France actually offered the

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<v Speaker 2>King of Scotland money to send warback back to France,

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<v Speaker 2>but James the fourth was ready to fight against England

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<v Speaker 2>and he wanted Perkin Warbeck by his side to help

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<v Speaker 2>rally Yorkist support. Unfortunately, they didn't get far. About four

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<v Speaker 2>miles into England, the support that they had hoped would

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<v Speaker 2>rally for Perkin Warbeck in Northumberland didn't, and when the

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<v Speaker 2>English armies started coming up from Newcastle, Perkin and the

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<v Speaker 2>King of Scotland realized that they were cooked. James of

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<v Speaker 2>Scotland recognized that he had bet on the wrong horse,

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<v Speaker 2>and so while he frantically tried to make a peace

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<v Speaker 2>treaty with England, he ditched Warbeck as fast as he could.

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<v Speaker 2>James got Warbeck passage to Waterford after Warbeck was forced

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<v Speaker 2>to pawn a horse for cash. The name of the ship,

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<v Speaker 2>fittingly enough for one claiming a birthright that may not

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<v Speaker 2>have been his, was the Cuckoo. Cuckoo chicks are notorious

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<v Speaker 2>for hiding themselves in another family's nest, and so nursing

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<v Speaker 2>the defeat from his attack with Scotland, and nursing the

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<v Speaker 2>speed with which James wanted to get rid of him,

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<v Speaker 2>Perkin Warbeck rode away on the Cuckoo. Warbeck was practically

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<v Speaker 2>chased by English loyal ships to Ireland. There's a possibly

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<v Speaker 2>apocryphal story where a Spanish ship allied with England shouted

0:17:20.000 --> 0:17:23.080
<v Speaker 2>to the captain of the Cuckoo telling them to surrender

0:17:23.160 --> 0:17:27.840
<v Speaker 2>Perkin Warbeck for a reward of one thousand marks. I've

0:17:27.880 --> 0:17:32.040
<v Speaker 2>never heard of that man, the captain shouted back. Meanwhile,

0:17:32.119 --> 0:17:37.120
<v Speaker 2>Perkin Warbeck was crouched inside a vat of wine. Warbeck's

0:17:37.200 --> 0:17:42.159
<v Speaker 2>support and his numbers were dwindled, but he hadn't lost faith.

0:17:42.920 --> 0:17:48.000
<v Speaker 2>He hadn't given up. His last rebellion would be his largest.

0:17:48.600 --> 0:17:54.639
<v Speaker 2>Perkin Warbeck would finally make his stand. There had already

0:17:54.680 --> 0:17:58.479
<v Speaker 2>been a rebellion in Cornwall just a few months before

0:17:58.480 --> 0:18:03.639
<v Speaker 2>Perkin Warbeck arrived. It had been unsuccessful, but Warbeck was

0:18:03.760 --> 0:18:07.480
<v Speaker 2>hoping to capitalize on the Cornish discontent with the king.

0:18:08.119 --> 0:18:11.000
<v Speaker 2>In front of a crowd of cornishmen and women, he

0:18:11.200 --> 0:18:14.280
<v Speaker 2>promised that he would put an end to the outrageous

0:18:14.359 --> 0:18:17.520
<v Speaker 2>taxes that King Henry the seventh had levied in order

0:18:17.560 --> 0:18:22.200
<v Speaker 2>to fund his war against Scotland, ironically, a war which

0:18:22.400 --> 0:18:26.760
<v Speaker 2>just weeks before, Warbeck himself had been fighting alongside of

0:18:27.000 --> 0:18:31.000
<v Speaker 2>on the side of Scotland. His words were effective, and

0:18:31.160 --> 0:18:34.720
<v Speaker 2>atop of crag on what is now Bodmin Moore, Perkin

0:18:34.920 --> 0:18:40.960
<v Speaker 2>Warbeck was crowned King Richard the Fourth. Six thousand men

0:18:41.040 --> 0:18:45.200
<v Speaker 2>were behind him. All of the failed uprisings against Henry

0:18:45.240 --> 0:18:49.200
<v Speaker 2>Tudor had led to this moment, The moment that all

0:18:49.320 --> 0:18:52.840
<v Speaker 2>of the Yorkist sympathizers and all of the people who

0:18:52.920 --> 0:18:59.840
<v Speaker 2>hated Henry had found their champion. Unfortunately for everyone, Perkin

0:18:59.840 --> 0:19:04.320
<v Speaker 2>Warbeck wasn't quite as brave as his men might have hoped.

0:19:05.040 --> 0:19:08.160
<v Speaker 2>Almost as soon as he got word that the King's

0:19:08.280 --> 0:19:11.640
<v Speaker 2>scouts were nearby and that the King would be fighting

0:19:11.760 --> 0:19:16.960
<v Speaker 2>with the full force of his army, Warbeck panicked and ran.

0:19:18.280 --> 0:19:21.160
<v Speaker 2>In the middle of the night. He gathered sixty horsemen

0:19:21.480 --> 0:19:25.520
<v Speaker 2>and fled from battle. He raced to Bailieu Abbey to

0:19:25.600 --> 0:19:30.320
<v Speaker 2>try to get sanctuary, but they were soon surrounded. Perkin

0:19:30.359 --> 0:19:34.600
<v Speaker 2>Warbeck was captured and his six year run as the

0:19:34.640 --> 0:19:40.320
<v Speaker 2>missing Prince was over. While London's citizens shout and hooted

0:19:40.400 --> 0:19:44.240
<v Speaker 2>at him in the street, Warbeck was led on horseback

0:19:44.320 --> 0:19:48.120
<v Speaker 2>to the Tower of London, where he was imprisoned for

0:19:48.160 --> 0:19:52.320
<v Speaker 2>the first or, if you believe he was actually Richard

0:19:52.359 --> 0:19:58.960
<v Speaker 2>of Shrewsbury, the second time. During interrogation, Perkin Warbeck gave

0:19:59.119 --> 0:20:04.320
<v Speaker 2>his true life story, a full confession, or I suppose,

0:20:04.359 --> 0:20:08.439
<v Speaker 2>depending on your perspective, an invented story to appease the

0:20:08.480 --> 0:20:13.720
<v Speaker 2>tutors given under duress. Warbeck was born to a comptroller

0:20:13.880 --> 0:20:16.720
<v Speaker 2>in Belgium and He learned Dutch when he was ten

0:20:16.880 --> 0:20:20.880
<v Speaker 2>and got a job with a local cloth merchant in Antwerp.

0:20:21.440 --> 0:20:24.840
<v Speaker 2>He learned English when a Breton merchant brought him to

0:20:25.000 --> 0:20:28.399
<v Speaker 2>Ireland when he was about seventeen, and it was there

0:20:28.440 --> 0:20:32.159
<v Speaker 2>that he first got the idea or inspiration that he

0:20:32.160 --> 0:20:37.439
<v Speaker 2>would impersonate a Prince Cork, Ireland was filled with Yorkists,

0:20:37.760 --> 0:20:41.520
<v Speaker 2>and when they saw Perkin Warbeck, a handsome young boy

0:20:41.640 --> 0:20:46.440
<v Speaker 2>wearing the fine silk clothes of his merchant master, probably

0:20:46.560 --> 0:20:51.119
<v Speaker 2>just advertising his master's skill, they declared that he must

0:20:51.400 --> 0:20:56.679
<v Speaker 2>be the missing Prince. That's when Perkin Warbeck says he

0:20:56.760 --> 0:21:01.760
<v Speaker 2>began making the claim in earnest, which became easier when

0:21:01.800 --> 0:21:05.120
<v Speaker 2>he made his way to Burgundy and made the acquaintance

0:21:05.320 --> 0:21:09.000
<v Speaker 2>of Margaret of York. He also met a man named

0:21:09.240 --> 0:21:13.520
<v Speaker 2>Edward Brampton, who had been King Edward the Fourth's godson.

0:21:14.359 --> 0:21:19.119
<v Speaker 2>It's plausible that the two of them, Margaret and Edward Brampton,

0:21:19.640 --> 0:21:23.720
<v Speaker 2>could have taught Warbeck the details of Richard of Shrewsbury's

0:21:24.000 --> 0:21:29.439
<v Speaker 2>childhood and details of the York family dynamics. This is

0:21:29.480 --> 0:21:32.720
<v Speaker 2>the scene in the movie version where they're teaching him

0:21:33.080 --> 0:21:37.400
<v Speaker 2>how to be a prince and comport himself with courtly

0:21:37.520 --> 0:21:42.639
<v Speaker 2>manners for someone who had just marched with an army

0:21:42.760 --> 0:21:46.160
<v Speaker 2>to try to usurp the King of England. As soon

0:21:46.200 --> 0:21:49.320
<v Speaker 2>as Warback confessed that he was an impostor all along,

0:21:49.840 --> 0:21:55.040
<v Speaker 2>Henry the seventh treated him with almost shocking grace. Warbeck

0:21:55.160 --> 0:21:57.720
<v Speaker 2>is brought to court, and even though he is kept

0:21:57.840 --> 0:22:02.400
<v Speaker 2>under guard, he's brought along to royal banquets. It seemed

0:22:02.520 --> 0:22:06.680
<v Speaker 2>that Henry was trying to keep his enemies close, and

0:22:06.800 --> 0:22:11.160
<v Speaker 2>as long as Warbeck was continuing to openly and loudly

0:22:11.200 --> 0:22:15.919
<v Speaker 2>declare that he was an impostor, then he Henry was

0:22:16.000 --> 0:22:20.879
<v Speaker 2>content to keep Warbick around as something of a peculiarity.

0:22:21.760 --> 0:22:26.280
<v Speaker 2>But then Warbeck tried to escape again, and when Henry

0:22:26.320 --> 0:22:31.520
<v Speaker 2>recaptured him, he's less merciful. The King put Warbeck in

0:22:31.720 --> 0:22:36.119
<v Speaker 2>stocks on a scaffold in front of Westminster Hall and

0:22:36.320 --> 0:22:40.320
<v Speaker 2>forced him to loudly declare his confession that he was

0:22:40.359 --> 0:22:44.480
<v Speaker 2>an impostor in front of a crowd of people. He

0:22:44.520 --> 0:22:47.800
<v Speaker 2>would be in the stocks for five or six hours.

0:22:48.480 --> 0:22:52.439
<v Speaker 2>Henry made sure that the whole story was written down,

0:22:52.640 --> 0:22:56.080
<v Speaker 2>and that it was printed and spread widely so that

0:22:56.280 --> 0:23:00.480
<v Speaker 2>everyone would know exactly who Perkin Warback said he was.

0:23:00.960 --> 0:23:04.640
<v Speaker 2>He confessed there would be no more descent in Perkin

0:23:04.800 --> 0:23:10.080
<v Speaker 2>Warbeck's name. In fact, the name Perkin Warbeck would become

0:23:10.359 --> 0:23:14.919
<v Speaker 2>so synonymous with pretender to the Throne that one hundred

0:23:14.920 --> 0:23:20.760
<v Speaker 2>and fifty years after Warbeck's death, anti Jacobite propaganda would

0:23:20.800 --> 0:23:24.879
<v Speaker 2>refer to the Bonnie Prince Charlie, a claimant to the throne,

0:23:25.000 --> 0:23:32.680
<v Speaker 2>also called the young pretender as Perkin. After Warbeck's public

0:23:33.040 --> 0:23:36.879
<v Speaker 2>metaphorical flogging, he was sent back to the Tower of

0:23:36.960 --> 0:23:45.080
<v Speaker 2>London to chambers alongside Edward Plantagenet, the real Edward Plantagenet,

0:23:45.600 --> 0:23:48.880
<v Speaker 2>the one that Lambert Seminal that young boy a long

0:23:48.920 --> 0:23:55.040
<v Speaker 2>time ago, had impersonated. Warbeck may have been a cowardly soldier,

0:23:55.320 --> 0:23:58.320
<v Speaker 2>but when it came to his freedom, he was willing

0:23:58.480 --> 0:24:02.439
<v Speaker 2>to risk it all. We don't know the exact details

0:24:02.480 --> 0:24:06.240
<v Speaker 2>of how involved he was, who spoke to who about what,

0:24:06.880 --> 0:24:12.000
<v Speaker 2>but together Perkin Warbeck was planning an escape with Edward

0:24:12.040 --> 0:24:17.399
<v Speaker 2>Plantagenet to put Edward Plantagenet on the throne. The plan

0:24:17.760 --> 0:24:20.400
<v Speaker 2>was a little silly. The idea was that they would

0:24:20.440 --> 0:24:24.040
<v Speaker 2>blow up the Tower of London, and they never made

0:24:24.080 --> 0:24:27.920
<v Speaker 2>it out and At this point, the king had no

0:24:28.240 --> 0:24:33.040
<v Speaker 2>mercy left and no patience for anyone who might be

0:24:33.200 --> 0:24:37.760
<v Speaker 2>a threat to his throne. Both men were hanged in

0:24:37.920 --> 0:24:43.560
<v Speaker 2>fourteen ninety nine Edward Plantagenet, who had been a genuine royal,

0:24:44.040 --> 0:24:49.040
<v Speaker 2>the nephew of two Kings of England, and Perkin Warbeck.

0:24:50.040 --> 0:24:53.800
<v Speaker 2>Perkin Warbeck, once celebrated as the son of a king,

0:24:54.280 --> 0:24:59.439
<v Speaker 2>once called a king himself, was buried in an unmarked grave.

0:25:00.520 --> 0:25:06.320
<v Speaker 2>Some maintained that Warbeck actually was Richard, Duke of York.

0:25:07.080 --> 0:25:10.960
<v Speaker 2>Another theory that some positive was that Warbeck was one

0:25:11.000 --> 0:25:15.400
<v Speaker 2>of King Edward the Fourth's illegitimate children from a period

0:25:15.480 --> 0:25:19.119
<v Speaker 2>of debauchery in the Low Countries. This is one of

0:25:19.160 --> 0:25:23.919
<v Speaker 2>those historical situations that will never have a real resolution

0:25:24.280 --> 0:25:28.840
<v Speaker 2>one way or another. You can't prove a negative. A

0:25:28.960 --> 0:25:32.080
<v Speaker 2>king is a king because he says he is, and

0:25:32.160 --> 0:25:35.960
<v Speaker 2>when he has the strongest army behind him, people have

0:25:36.040 --> 0:25:41.520
<v Speaker 2>to believe him. Perkin Warbeck was temporarily a king, and

0:25:41.600 --> 0:25:46.520
<v Speaker 2>it led him to the end of a news. Warbeck's wife, Catherine,

0:25:46.600 --> 0:25:50.840
<v Speaker 2>the Scottish noble, would fare much better. She would live

0:25:50.960 --> 0:25:54.959
<v Speaker 2>another thirty eight years and would remain a prominent member

0:25:55.040 --> 0:25:57.719
<v Speaker 2>of the tutor court for the rest of her life,

0:25:58.680 --> 0:26:02.240
<v Speaker 2>and another slight happy note to end the story on.

0:26:02.960 --> 0:26:06.960
<v Speaker 2>Do you recall that other impostor, the child Lambert Symneal,

0:26:07.200 --> 0:26:10.320
<v Speaker 2>who had been so young when Irish forces rose up

0:26:10.359 --> 0:26:14.720
<v Speaker 2>behind him and declared that he was Edward Plantagenet. After

0:26:14.880 --> 0:26:18.760
<v Speaker 2>King Henry the seventh pardoned him, his life actually wouldn't

0:26:18.760 --> 0:26:22.320
<v Speaker 2>be that bad. He went on to become a scullion

0:26:22.400 --> 0:26:35.639
<v Speaker 2>in the Palace and eventually the Royal Falconer. That's the

0:26:35.680 --> 0:26:39.560
<v Speaker 2>story of Perkin Warbeck. But keep listening after a brief

0:26:39.600 --> 0:26:43.320
<v Speaker 2>sponsor break to hear a little bit about how Warbeck's

0:26:43.400 --> 0:26:55.159
<v Speaker 2>execution connects with one of our favorite tutor queens. It

0:26:55.320 --> 0:26:59.160
<v Speaker 2>must have been a genuine relief for Henry the Seventh

0:26:59.440 --> 0:27:03.120
<v Speaker 2>to have a reason to hang both Perkin Warbeck and

0:27:03.400 --> 0:27:07.399
<v Speaker 2>the real Edward Plantagenet. Henry was trying to marry his

0:27:07.640 --> 0:27:12.600
<v Speaker 2>eldest son, Arthur, to a Spanish princess, Catherine of Aragon,

0:27:12.720 --> 0:27:15.960
<v Speaker 2>and in order for her parents to agree to the match,

0:27:16.320 --> 0:27:19.800
<v Speaker 2>they wanted to be certain that he wouldn't be usurped,

0:27:20.119 --> 0:27:23.959
<v Speaker 2>so Henry had to convince Spain that he was the

0:27:24.080 --> 0:27:28.840
<v Speaker 2>legitimate King of England Beyond all doubt and beyond all threats.

0:27:29.680 --> 0:27:36.240
<v Speaker 2>Eliminating those threats through execution was a helpful step. Catherine

0:27:36.280 --> 0:27:41.000
<v Speaker 2>of Aragon knew that the hanging was distantly a result

0:27:41.080 --> 0:27:44.320
<v Speaker 2>of pressure that her parents were putting on England on

0:27:44.440 --> 0:27:49.240
<v Speaker 2>her behalf, and she felt incredibly guilty about it. A

0:27:49.320 --> 0:27:52.880
<v Speaker 2>Lady in Waiting, Jane Dormer, would write in her memoir

0:27:53.280 --> 0:27:57.000
<v Speaker 2>that Catherine would feel responsible for the death of the

0:27:57.080 --> 0:28:03.439
<v Speaker 2>innocent Edward Plantagenet, and Catherine would experience tragedies later in

0:28:03.520 --> 0:28:06.200
<v Speaker 2>her life. There would be the young death of her

0:28:06.320 --> 0:28:10.400
<v Speaker 2>husband Arthur, the sort of no man's land that Henry

0:28:10.440 --> 0:28:13.200
<v Speaker 2>the seventh kept her in after the death of her husband,

0:28:13.520 --> 0:28:17.640
<v Speaker 2>her inability to bear male children for Arthur's brother, her

0:28:17.720 --> 0:28:22.560
<v Speaker 2>next husband, King Henry, Henry the Eighth's affair with Anne Boleyn,

0:28:22.960 --> 0:28:29.000
<v Speaker 2>Catherine's banishment, plenty of tragedies, and Catherine, at least according

0:28:29.080 --> 0:28:32.000
<v Speaker 2>to this Lady in Waiting, would think that it was

0:28:32.119 --> 0:29:01.720
<v Speaker 2>punishment for that death that she inadvertently caused. Noble Blood

0:29:01.840 --> 0:29:04.920
<v Speaker 2>is a production of iHeart Radio and Grim and Mild

0:29:04.960 --> 0:29:09.120
<v Speaker 2>from Aaron Manke. Noble Blood is hosted by me Danashwartz.

0:29:09.560 --> 0:29:13.560
<v Speaker 2>Additional writing and researching done by Hannah Johnston, hannah's Wick,

0:29:13.920 --> 0:29:17.840
<v Speaker 2>Mira Hayward, Courtney Sender, and Lori Goodman. The show is

0:29:17.880 --> 0:29:22.520
<v Speaker 2>produced by rima Il Kayali, with supervising producer Josh Thain

0:29:22.800 --> 0:29:27.200
<v Speaker 2>and executive producers Aaron Manke, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick.

0:29:27.560 --> 0:29:33.080
<v Speaker 2>For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,

0:29:33.200 --> 0:29:41.880
<v Speaker 2>or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.