Perkin warbeck dna

15th-century pretender to the English throne

This article is about the historical figure. For the 17th-century play by John Ford, see Perkin Warbeck (play).

Perkin Warbeck (c.&#; – 23 November ) was a pretender to the English throne claiming to be Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, who was the second son of Edward IV and one of the so-called "Princes in the Tower".

Richard, were he alive, would have been the rightful claimant to the throne, assuming that his elder brother Edward V was dead and that he was legitimate—a point that had been previously contested by his uncle, King Richard III.

Due to the uncertainty as to whether Richard had died (either of some natural cause or having been murdered in the Tower of London) or whether he had somehow survived, Warbeck's claim gained some support. Followers may have truly believed Warbeck was Richard or may have supported him simply because of their desire to overthrow the reigning king, Henry VII, and reclaim the