Execution of Edward, Earl of Warwick

8-)Hello, I enjoyed the article.  It's not an easy thing to have been a monarch at the end of the Wars of the Roses.  I think Henry Tudor had a hand time, he won his throne in Battle, probably against the odds, then had to fight again, both by sending Oxford to defeat an army of well over 25,000 at Stoke Field, and by fraughting the designs of Yorkist pretenders.  When Lambert Simnel was crowned, pretending to be Edward vi or Edward of Warwick, although some Irish sources called him Richard, he was treated extremely humanely.  When Henry came to the throne, he treated Richard's heirs, and nephews with caution but tolerance.  Henry spent the first 15 years of his reign dogged by one plot or another.  Once the pretender Perkin Warbeck came along, he was dangerous.  He tried to invade three times, led the Cornish rebellion, the Roy family were in danger in London, and with support from abroad he was a real threat.  Henry was in trouble.  Once Warbeck was captured, that was far from the end of the matter.  Henry Tudor had to prove who he was.  Warbeck was placed in the same rooms with Edward of Warwick whom Henry now began to be worried about.  Once another person claimed to be Warwick, his life was in the balance.  Now the pair tried to escape, proof Hall claimed that the Earl was easily influenced.  Hall also stated that Warwick was under educated as he could not tell the difference between a chicken and a capon.  This is mistakenly used to show that he was mentally retarded. But Hall was writing several years later, and no contemporary evidence supports his theory.  A lack of education does not equal retardation.  Once Warbeck was seen as causing Warwick to rebel, once in became clear that other people were prepared to go on claiming to be him and the younger Prince, Henry knew his throne was not safe.  He knew that the young man was a target, the risk of his being used in a successful plot was all too clear.  Henry Tudor could not leave the person with the next strongest claim to the throne alive.  Warbeck and Warwick were tried sepetately.  Warwick it seems was affected by his long time in isolation, he needed to be helped to understand the court and the charges. He was somewhat baffled.  His execution followed a few days later, and drew a lot of sympathy.  It was a ruthless act, possibly in parallel to that of Lady Jane Grey.  However, Henry did not have any choice. The pretender crisis could only be ended through the executions of these two young men, one that was a fraud but dangerous, who had plagued Henry for several years, the other a potential replacement for ambitions Yorkist gentry.  He was also negotiating the marriage of Prince Arthur and Catherine of Aragorn.  This was a match that the new super power, Spain, and the new Tudor Dynasty both needed for mutual strength and international recognition.  If Henry's claim was undermined, his authority challenged or throne insecure, Spain's interest would end.  In 1499 Henry had to secure the throne and country once and for all.  Sadly generous mercy to pretenders and other claimants, even if they were in the Tower, was not a viable option.  Henry could not afford mercy any more, and took the two ruthless decisions that would ensure he could pass down the crown to his son in peace.  We cannot judge by modern assessments, neither can we put ourselves in the shoes of a 15th century King.  Henry's decision to execute Warwick at this time may seem ruthless and without mercy, but Henry saw him as a potential danger and it was the only thing he could do for safety.