Threats to the throne

1. Threats to the throne RJT

2. Who are the main rivals? • Earl of Warwick • Edward IV’s nephew (son of Duke of Clarence) • Imprisoned; executed 1499 after implication in a plot • Elizabeth Woodville • Wife of Edward IV, Henry’s mother-in-law • Sent to a nunnery, her lands confiscated • The Poles • Edward IV’s nephews (sons of Duchess of Suffolk) • William in prison; Edmund and Richard are in exile abroad • John de la Pole – Earl of Lincoln – is still in England and is perhaps the most dangerous of all! • *Margaret of Burgundy* • Edward IV’s sister [pictured] • Married to the Holy Roman Emperor, Maximilian • The most embittered and dangerous of all! • Described by Edward Hall (Tudor Chronicler) as “The Diabolical Duchess”!

3. HVII’s Approach • Henry VII’s position in 1485 was precarious. • He had won the throne by battle, and although he quickly cements his position with a marriage to Elizabeth of York, he is still young (29), inexperienced and faces threats from other members of her family • Domestically, Henry plays a cautious game; he chooses not to execute these rivals [why?] and instead either has them imprisoned (e.g. Earl of Warwick) or keeps a close eye on them (e.g. Earl of Lincoln) • Internationally, though, it is much harder to control the threats to his throne

4. The Yorkist Tactic:Support for the Pretenders 1. Lambert Simnel (1486-87)

5. Who did he pretend to be? Who was he in fact? • Pretended to be – Earl of Warwick (even though he is actually in the Tower!) • Actually – the son of a joiner from Oxford who had been cultivated by a Yorkist priest, Richard Symonds

6. Who supported him, and why? • England - Yorkists: • (a) Earl of Lincoln: A Yorkist himself (a.k.a. John de la Pole) and therefore eager to destabilise the Tudors – probably aims to take the throne himself, no intention of making Warbeck King. • (b) Elizabeth Woodville: HVII’s mother in law [pictured], who had her estates seized by Henry, later confined to a nunnery • Abroad - Habsburg Burgundians: • (a) Margaret of Burgundy was EIV’s sister and therefore a Yorkist. • (b) Emperor Maximilian: Margaret’s husband. Wants to take over Brittany, resents Henry’s close relationship to it (he stayed there safely during his exile). • Abroad - Ireland: • A Yorkist stronghold – EIV’s father had been Lord Lieutenant there, big estates and influence. Irish Lords eager to destabilise England to secure independence.

7. Outline of events • May 1487: Margaret of Burgundy sends 2,000 mercenaries (led by Martin Schwarz) to Ireland, where the Earl of Kildare crowns Simnel with a coronet from a nearby statue of the Virgin Mary • Henry offers the rebels – being led by Lincoln - a pardon, which they refuse; he also displays the real Earl of Warwick, who is ignored. • June 1487:Battle of Stoke. Lincoln killed; Simnel captured and put to work as a turnspit in the King’s kitchens! • 28 other rebels have their lands attainted [seized]. • Elizabeth publicly crowned Queen to unite the people. • 1488: Treaty of friendship signed with Maximilian

8. Positive assessment • Stoke was the last battle of the Wars of the Roses – Henry was decisive and brave • Woodvilles were destroyed as a political force after Stoke – Henry had the excuse to seize their lands • Simnel was utterly humiliated rather than turned into a martyr – masterful handing

9. Negative points • Rebellion failed mainly because people were tired of wars, not because they positively supported Henry • Indeed, the outcome was far from certain – • (a) Henry shows his insecurity by offering to pardon the rebels if they abandoned their plans, • (b) Two wings of his army refused to get involved at the Battle of Stoke until they were sure that he would win • (c) Lincoln was killed against orders – probably so that his backers would never be betrayed to Henry!

10. The Yorkist Tactic:Support for the Pretenders 2. Perkin Warbeck 1492-99

11. Who did he pretend to be? Who actually was he? • Persuaded by Margaret of Burgundy to impersonate Richard of York, Edward IV’s younger son [pictured] • Actually a charismatic cloth merchant with a shady background, real name Peter Orlock! • His supporters view him as a great way of overthrowing Henry VII • They probably then planned to discard Warbeck and make the Earl of Warwick King

12. Who supported him, and why? • Much wider base of support than Simnel • In England, Sir William Stanley is secretly supporting the plot… • Margaret of Burgundy and Maximilian [pictured] obviously support him • So too do the Kings of France and Scotland and the Netherlands, who are taken in by the deception • Isabella of Spain regards his claim as “a jest” but nevertheless refuses to allow her daughter Isabella to marry Prince Arthur until the threat is dealt with

13. Outline of events • 1492 – Warbeck recognised as “Richard IV” in France. HVII signs Treaty of Etaples with Charles VIII, which forces Warbeck to seek a new refuge • 1493 – Warbeck recognised in the Netherlands. HVII imposes trade sanctions • 1494 – Warbeck recognised by Emperor Maximillian • 1495 - Warbeck recognised by James IV of Scotland; Henry’s spies reveal Sir William Stanley as a traitor and he is executed • 1496 - Warbeck launches an invasion from Scotland - fails when northern nobles and commons remained loyal to HVII • 1497 – James IV bought off by the Truce of Ayton. Warbeck and followers turn up in Cornwall, amidst a tax rebellion, but gets little support and eventually surrenders to Henry’s troops. He is forced to publicly admit his deception (speech – p23 Rogers), and is then put into the stocks before being thrown in prison • 1498: Warbeck escapes from prison and is recaptured; Henry plants a spy into the Tower (Robert Cleymond) who persuades both Warwick and Warbeck to join him in an escape plan • 1499: Henry promptly has both arrested and executed

14. Assessment • HVII clearly stronger than in 1486-7 – he acts decisively and withstands a pretender who had considerable foreign help, even when it coincided with a tax rebellion at home • Domestically, Warwick has finally been eliminated, as has Sir William Stanley • Internationally, Henry has forged relations with France, Ireland and Scotland in the heat of the crisis • However, Henry could not rest even now. He lost two sons and his wife between 1502-04, and this gave fresh impetus to the Yorkists, who now put their hope on Edmund de la Pole, in exile in Burgundy. • Henry has 54 men attainted for their implication in the plot – a measure of his fear – and only manages to get Pole into the Tower in 1506 (Philip of Burgundy was blackmailed into surrendering him after being shipwrecked in England)

15. Conclusion: When did Henry feel secure on his throne? • Never! • Only by 1506 had all serious threats to his throne been eliminated • Even after then the security of his dynasty rested on the survival of his only remaining son, Prince Henry!

16. Questions • In what ways were these rebellions similar, and in what ways were they different? (TIP: think in terms of causes, course, consequence) • Henry’s method of dealing with Simnel and Warbeck has been described as masterly. Why do you think this is? • Why was Henry nevertheless unable to ever feel secure on his throne?