Perkin Warbeck: The Pretender Who Nearly Toppled the Tudors

In the 1490s a teenage Flemish merchant's assistant claimed to be Richard, Duke of York, one of the vanished Princes in the Tower, and mounted a years-long challenge to King Henry VII of England.This episode follows Perkin Warbeck from Cork, Ireland to the royal courts of France, Burgundy, and Scotland, through his failed invasions and ultimately to his capture, forced confession, and execution.Why the mystery of the Princes in the Tower left Henry VII so vulnerableMargaret of York's public endorsement and financial backing of the pretenderThe failed 1495 landing at Deal and the later Cornish tax rebellionSir William Stanley's shocking betrayal and executionWarbeck's confession, capture, and 1499 hanging at Tyburn