Henry VII might have defeated Richard III for the crown of England but he did not rest easy on the throne. Several pretenders claimed the crown during his reign sometimes by claiming to be Richard Duke of York, one of the Princes in the Tower. In her book, Alison Weir contends that Henry could have easily disproved these claims by parading the Princes through London. Instead, he spent considerable effort to investigate the claims. Weir cites this as evidence that Henry didn't know the fate of the Princes (although he suspected they were dead.)
Weir's chapter, "Pretenders" focuses on two.
Lamber Simnel claimed to be Edward, Earl of Warwick, heir to George Duke of Clarence--Edward VI's brother. Henry disproved this by the aforementioned parading the real Warwick through London but not before Simnel became a figurehead in a Yorkist rebellion. I doubt the rebels sincerely believed he was Warwick; Simnel had earlier claimed to be York. Henry was lenient with Simnel and sent him to work in his kitchens.
Another more serious pretender was Perkin Warbeck. Warbeck too first claimed to be Warwick before switching to York. He apparently was more convincing as the Duke of York than Simnel had been. Rebellion in his name failed as well. Ultimately, he as imprisoned and put to death with poor Warwick.
It's fascinating to think about--was there a market in teaching people to impersonate royals? Was it just the rumors about Princes and towers that got it going? How long did it take? Weir notes that no pretender claimed to be Edward V--he was too well known.
One theory that I saw in The White Princess miniseries is that Edward IV's Queen Elizabeth Wydville spirited her younger son to Europe for safekeeping and that Warbeck really is Richard Duke of York. His sister Elizabeth in now Henry's Queen. She believes his claim, but what will happen to her husband and children if she declares the truth?
This could have been avoided if they had just crowned Elizabeth.
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