༄ 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗘𝗱𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗜𝗩

OTD in 1473 - Birth of Richard, Duke of York, son of #EdwardIV (left pic) & Elizabeth Woodville; the younger of the #PrincesintheTower. According to the traditional narrative Richard was murdered on the orders of his uncle #RichardIII. But could he have survived & been the man we’re told was an imposter - Perkin Warbeck (right pic)? At various points contemporary European rulers - Isabella & Ferdinand; James IV, Maximilian & Margaret of York - all believed Warbeck was indeed Richard, Duke of York/ Richard of England & not the son of a boatman of Tournai as #HenryVII claimed. Henry’s own behaviour towards Warbeck was also odd if he truly believed him to be a low ranking imposter. Following his capture & ‘confession’ at Taunton, Warbeck lived at court in close proximity to Henry, & Warbeck’s wife Catherine Gordon lived under the protection of Queen Elizabeth. Although the couple weren’t allowed to sleep together for fear of prolonging a rival claim. This bizarre state of quasi ‘familial’ harmony was only broken, when Warbeck tried to escape & he was sent to the Tower in June 1498. Even then Henry seemed remarkably reluctant to execute Warbeck. He was essentially forced into doing so in November 1499, because Isabella & Ferdinand refused to send their daughter Catherine of Aragon to England to marry Henry’s heir Prince Arthur unless both Edward, Earl of Warwick & Warbeck (who they viewed as the main rival claimants to the Tudors) were executed first, to neutralise the threat they posed. But why was Henry reluctant? Wouldn’t he have thought a low ranking imposter, who led repeated uprisings against him, threatening his life, crown & family merited death? Killing a beloved brother of his wife though would have posed a deeper moral dilemma. The testimony of Richard of England/ Perkin Warbeck describes being sent away from the Tower & overseas by the loyal Ricardian, John Howard, Duke of Norfolk. This could explain Norfolk’s movements in East Anglia in August 1483, which I’ve covered in a previous post. See link below for more.