The Dublin King: The True Story of Edward Earl of Warwick, Lambert Simnel and the 'Princes in the Tower'

by John Ashdown-Hill

Overview

Was Lambert Simnel an impostor or a Yorkist prince? And can DNA evidence offer a clue to his legitimacy and finally solve this 500-year-old mystery? 
 
A year after Richard III’s death, a boy claiming to be a Yorkist prince appeared as if from nowhere. He said he was Richard III’s heir and the rightful King of England. In 1487, in a unique ceremony, this boy was crowned in Dublin Cathedral, despite the Tudor government insisting that his real name was Lambert Simnel and that he was a mere pretender to the throne. Now, in The Dublin King, author and historian John Ashdown-Hill questions that official view. Using new discoveries, little-known evidence and insight, he seeks the truth behind the 500-year-old story of the boy-king crowned in Dublin. He also presents a link between Lambert Simnel’s story and that of George, Duke of Clarence, the brother of Richard III. On the way, the book sheds new light on the fate of the Princes in the Tower, before raising the possibility of using DNA to clarify the identity of key characters in the story and their relationships.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780750960342
Publisher:	The History Press
Publication date:	05/01/2015
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

John Ashdown-Hill is a freelance historian with a PhD in history. He regularly gives talks, and has achieved an excellent reputation in late medieval history. A documentary, based upon Ashdown-Hill’s DNA research and his book The Last Days of Richard III, was screened earlier this year, and Ashdown-Hill has been heavily involved in the DNA testing of Richard III’s remains. Ashdown-Hill has had numerous historical research articles published and has written Eleanor, the Secret Queen, Richard III’s ‘Beloved Cousyn’, The Last Days of Richard III and Royal Marriage Secrets, and the forthcoming The Third Plantagenet.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements 7

Introduction 8

The Historical Background 15

Part 1 Possible Childhoods of the Dublin King

1 Richard, Duke of York 22

2 Edward V - and the Wider Problems of the Fate of the 'Princes' 41

3 Edward, Earl of Warwick-Authorised Version 56

4 Edward, Earl of Warwick - Alternative Version 69

5 Lambert Simnel 76

Part 2 Supporters and Enemies

6 Lincoln, Lovell and Yorkists in England 86

7 The 'Diabolical! Duches' 94

8 The Earl of Kildare and the Irish Contingent 98

9 Henry VII and John Morton 102

Part 3 1486-1487

10 Evidence from England 110

11 Burgundian Preparations 121

12 The Reign of the Dublin King 132

13 The Battle of Stoke Field 144

Part 4 The Aftermath

14 Lambert Simnel, Scullion and Falconer 154

15 'Richard of England' 161

16 'A Newe Maumet' 165

17 Catherine of Aragon and the Spanish Interest 170

18 The Third 'Prince in the Tower' 174

Conclusions 180

Appendix 1 Timeline 185

Appendix 2 Contemporary and Near-Contemporary Records of the Dublin King's Identity 187

Appendix 3 Frequency of the Occurrence of the Surname Simnel in the UK circa 1500-2000 189

Notes 195

Bibliography 214

Index 220