By Bola, Annabelle, Mohammed, Naomi& Bradley Lambert Simnel By Bola, Annabelle, Mohammed, Naomi& Bradley

Why did Lambert Simnel impersonate Earl of Warwick? Henry VII had a weak claim to the throne- clam was through Owen Tudor a chamber servant. Edward, Earl of Warwick was the leading Yorkist claimant to the throne, being the son of George, Duke of Clarence. Therefore Lambert Simnel a 10 year old boy ( who was trained to impersonate the Earl of Warwick a Yorkist claimant) took the opportunity to challenge the king with the hope gaining support, because many Yorkist supporters lost their land after the defeat of Richard III. Edward was reported to be in the tower, however rumours had begun by Richard Simon, Simnel’s personal tutor, that Edward had actually escaped from the tower and Simnel was Edward. They were roughly the same age and there was striking resemblance so it wasn’t completely unbelievable. It was reported that Simnel was only a figurehead for a rebellion already being planned by the Yorkists. Lambert Simnel was trained from the age of 10 to impersonate Edward, Earl of Warwick, so that he could gain support from the Yorkists.

What happened? The rumours started by Simon of Edward Earl of Warwick escape from the tower was backed by The Earl of Kildare, who headed the Irish government and were willing to crown Lambert Simnel in Dublin Cathedral Church as King Edward VI. This rumour was later backed by the Earl of Lincoln(the former successor to Richard III that had fled to burgundy), who claimed that he had helped with the escape of the Earl of Warwick from the tower and backed by Viscount Lovell(previously supported a failed uprising in 1486) who had 2,000 Flemish soldiers under the command of Martin Schwartz. Henry VII informed of this movement and started mobilising troops.

The Battle of Stoke Field Simnel’s army mainly Irish and Flemish landed on piel island, Lancashire on the 5th of June 1487. They were joined by English supporters- Sir Thomas Boughton only local noble to back Simnel. Clashed with King Henry VII army on 16th of June. Simnel's forces were defeated. Lincoln, Thomas FitzGerald and Sir Thomas Broughton were killed. Lovell went missing; there were rumours that he had escaped and hidden to avoid retribution. Simons avoided execution due to his priestly status, but was imprisoned for life. Kildare, who had remained in Ireland, was pardoned. King Henry pardoned young Simnel & gave him a job in the royal kitchen as a spit-turner. When he grew older, he became a falconer. Died some time between 1525 and 1535. He seems to have married and had children- Richard Simnel.

But What happened to the real Earl of Warwick? The real Edward, Earl of Warwick was arrested and imprisoned by Henry after the Battle of Bosworth. Most Yorkists believed that he had been murdered in the tower, like his two cousins before him. In fact, he was alive and Henry had paraded him through the streets of London in an attempt to prove that Simnel was an impostor.