Editing Perkin Warbeck (section)

==Claim to the English throne==

Warbeck first claimed the English throne at the court of [[Duchy of Burgundy|Burgundy]] in 1490, where [[jeton]] coins were minted for him. Warbeck explained his (i.e. Richard of Shrewsbury's) mysterious disappearance by claiming that his brother Edward V had been murdered, but he had been spared by his brother's (unidentified) murderers because of his age and "innocence". However, he had been made to swear an oath not to reveal his true identity for "a certain number of years".<ref name="ali">Weir, Alison, pp. 238–240</ref> He claimed that from 1483 to 1490, he had lived on the continent of Europe under the protection of Yorkist loyalists, but when his main guardian, Sir [[Edward Brampton]], returned to England, he was left free. He then declared his true identity.<ref name="ali"/>

In 1491, Warbeck landed in [[Ireland]] in the hope of gaining support for his claim as [[Lambert Simnel]] had four years previously. His cause was promoted by [[John Atwater]], a former [[Mayor of Cork]] and ardent Yorkist, who may have been instrumental in helping him assume the identity of Richard. However, little support materialized for an active rebellion, and Warbeck was forced to return to mainland Europe. There his fortunes improved. He was first received by [[Charles VIII of France]], but in 1492 he was expelled under the terms of the [[Treaty of Etaples]], by which Charles had agreed not to shelter rebels against Henry VII. After an English expedition [[Siege of Boulogne (1492)|laid siege to Boulogne]], Charles VIII agreed to withdraw all backing from Warbeck. In the Duchy of Burgundy, however, Warbeck was publicly recognised as Richard of Shrewsbury by [[Margaret of York]], widow of [[Charles the Bold]], sister of Edward IV, and thus the aunt of the Princes in the Tower. Whether Margaret—who left England to marry before either of her nephews were born—truly believed that the pretender was her nephew Richard, or whether she considered him a fraud but supported him anyway, is unknown, but she tutored him in the ways of the Yorkist court.

Henry complained to [[Philip I of Castile|Philip of Austria, Duke of Burgundy]], about the harbouring of the pretender. When Henry was ignored, he imposed a trade embargo on Burgundy, cutting off important Burgundian trade connections with England. The pretender was also welcomed by various other monarchs and was known in international diplomacy as the [[Duke of York]]. At the invitation of Duke Philip's father, Emperor [[Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor|Maximilian I]], in 1493, Perkin attended the funeral of Maximilian's father [[Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick III]] and was recognised as King Richard IV of England.<ref>Wroe, Ann, pp. 148–151.</ref>