Perkin Warbeck (c.1474 – November 23 1499) was a pretender to the English throne during the reign of King Henry VII of England. He was an impostor, pretending to be Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York, the younger son of King Edward IV of England, but was in fact a Fleming born in Tournai around 1474. The real Richard of Shrewsbury was almost certainly dead by this time, most likely murdered in the Tower of London.

Warbeck was first noted as claiming the English throne at the court of Burgundy in 1490. In 1491, he landed in Ireland in the hope of gaining support for his claim as had Lambert Simnel had four years previously. However, little was found and he was forced to return to the European mainland. There his fortunes improved. He was first received by Charles VIII of France and was officially recognised as Richard of Shrewsbury by Margaret of Burgundy, who was Edward IV's sister and the widow of Charles I, Duke of Burgundy. It is not known whether or not she knew he was a fraud. Warbeck was also welcomed by various other monarchs and received an official invitation to the funeral of Mary of Burgundy, Charles and Margaret of Burgundy's daughter and wife of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor.

On July 3, 1495, funded by Margaret of Burgundy, Perkin attempted a landing in England. His forces, however, were small and once again he was forced to retreat almost immediately, this time to Ireland. There he found support from the Earl of Desmond and laid siege to Waterford, but, meeting resistance, he fled to Scotland. There he was well received by James IV of Scotland, who permitted him to marry his cousin, Lady Catherine Gordon.

In September 1496, Scotland launched an attack on England, but quickly retreated when support from Northumberland failed to materialise. Now wishing to be rid of Perkin, James IV expelled him and Perkin returned to Waterford in shame. Once again he attempted to lay siege to the city, but this time his effort lasted only eleven days before he was forced to flee Ireland, chased by four English ships. According to some sources, by this time he was left with only one hundred and twenty men on two ships.

In 1497, he landed in Cornwall, hoping to capitalise on the Cornish people's resentment in the aftermath of their rebellion only three months earlier. As the rebels had been defeated, however, Perkin found little support for a renewed rising against King Henry. Leaving Cornwall for London, he mounted a feeble military challenge to Henry but fled Henry's army a few days before battle would have been joined. He was captured and imprisoned in the Tower of London alongside the genuine claimant Edward, Earl of Warwick, with whom he tried to escape in 1499. Captured once again, he was hanged as a traitor at Tyburn.

Perkin reportedly resembled Edward IV in appearance, which has led to speculation that he might have been Edward's illegitimate son.

References

• Ann Wroe, Perkin: A Story of Deception, Vintage: 2004 (ISBN 009944996X).

See also

• List of topics related to Cornwall

1474 births | 1499 deaths | British executions | People executed by hanging | People executed for treason | House of York | Impostor pretenders

Perkin Warbeck | Perkin Warbeck | Perkin Warbeck