Henry VII faced many threats during his reign, most of them early on. The three main threats came from Lambert Simnel, Perkin Warbeck, and the de la Pole family; especially Edmund de la Pole. The threats from the pretenders were certainly very serious, yet it was reflected in Henry's approach to the crisis. The severity of the threats to Henry VII will be carefully assessed. The first notable threat to Henry was Lovell's conspiracy. Although a complete farce and fiasco, Lovell's conspiracy laid the foundation for future rebellions and pretenders. The conspiracy was planned in 1486 by Francis, Viscount Lovell and two important and powerful landowners from Worcestershire; Thomas and Humphrey Stafford. The motives for this planned attack are unclear, however we know that Lovell was an important member of Richard III's family and was a close friend, and so we assume that he wanted to reinstate a Yorkist king on the throne because he considered the Yorkists to be legitimate. pretenders to the throne. The plan was to capture the king as he traveled north through the Midlands, kidnap him and kill him. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Unfortunately for Lovell and the Stafford brothers, the plan backfired terribly. The Stafford brothers were captured and Humphrey was executed. However, all was not lost, as Lovell fled to the court of Margaret or Burgundy, who, over the years of Henry's reign, proved extremely useful to the Yorkists, providing them with safe haven, money and support for decades. In terms of how serious this threat was to Henry VII, this conspiracy was not very serious at all. It was very poorly planned, poorly executed and there is no evidence of support either from abroad or from England. Towards the end of the same year; In 1486, a pretender called Lambert Simnel emerged as a claimant to the throne. The plot was primarily led by John de la Pole, Earl of Lincoln, using Lambert Simnel as cover, who would be abandoned once the plot was successful and they overthrew Henry. The relationship began when Lambert Simnel was cast as the Duke of Clarence's son; Earl of Warwick by an Oxford priest and noted Yorkist; Richard Symonds. The conspirators moved to Ireland, where they gained Irish support for Simnel, probably because Richard, Duke of York, was Lieutenant of Ireland before Henry's reign. The best known was the Earl of Kildare. After gaining Irish support from several aristocracies, they moved to the Low Countries, where once again Margaret of Burgundy, who was the sister of Edward IV, aided the Yorkists in their attempt to overthrow Henry by welcoming Simnel into her court and further instructing him in his "part". At the same time, the Earl of Lincoln also joined Simnel in Burgundy. Already, this seemed like a serious threat to Henry, with strong foreign support, mainly from Ireland and long-term English and French enemy; Burgundy. In May 1487 Lincoln and Lovell returned to Ireland and Simnel was crowned King Edward VI (although Edward was known to be held in the Tower of London). Margaret had provided them with 2,000 German mercenaries, another sign that this was a very serious threat to Henry, one he may not have faced. The plot progressed rapidly and shortly after the coronation Lincoln and Lovell led their strong and numerous forces across the Irish Sea. Their army had doubled in size thanks to Irish support and so 4,000 men faced Henry's men at the Battle of Stoke in Nottinghamshire on the 14th.June. Lincoln enjoyed enormous foreign support and the support of Ireland and Burgundy, but he also hoped to gain further support from the north of England, which had remained largely loyal to Richard III. However, the response they received was disappointing and the rebels, with 8,000 men, faced Henry's 12,000 in a field near East Stoke. As it turned out, Henry won the Battle of Stoke; the Earl of Lincoln was killed in battle, and Viscount Lovell died shortly afterwards. Lambert Simnel, around whom the plot seemed to revolve, was kept at Henry's court and led a comfortable life in kitchens and later as the king's falconer. Ultimately, Henry spent months traveling through areas he thought did not support him, obtained loyalty oaths, and punished transgressors. The Earl of Kildare was spared. Compared to Lovell's conspiracy, Lambert Simnel's plot was very serious for Henry's monarchy; we can even say that he came very close to losing his life. The plan was very well planned; it is evident that the Yorks have learned from their mistakes from the Lovell conspiracy. Along with support from Ireland, Lincoln proved to have great support from abroad with the support of Margaret of Burgundy, who helped Simnel greatly. Margaret proved to be a force to be reckoned with, as she gave the rebels military support and money. I believe this threat was very serious to Henry VII as it went all the way to a battle that Henry could have so easily lost and was much more serious than Lovell's conspiracy. However, as Henry won the battle and defeated the rebels, he not only proved to everyone that he was a great leader and fighter, but also that he would be ruthless in dealing with rebellions, pretenders, and traitors. The final, and arguably most serious threat comes from the pretender 'Perkin Warbeck'. Perkin Warbeck was the son of a Tournai customs officer born in 1475 who came to impersonate the younger son of Edward IV, one of the 'Princes of the Tower'. It is said that, taken in Ireland, he impersonated Richard, having gained great interest from the Yorkists. However, Warbeck failed to gain the support of the Irish lords, most notably the Earl of Kildare refused to help him (he had pleaded his loyalty to Henry after his involvement in the Lambert Simnel affair). After vain attempts to receive Irish support proved unsuccessful, Warbeck traveled to France in 1492 and King Charles VIII welcomed him as prince. Using Warbeck as a bargaining tool, Charles signed the Treaty of Etaples in 1492, meaning that Henry accepted French control of Brittany and Charles expelled Warbeck from France, as the treaty stipulated that neither could shelter rebels. Warbeck turned to Margaret of Burgundy, who once again became involved in plots against Henry and she taught him the ways of the Yorkists. This already proves to be a very serious threat from the Yorkists as Warbeck once again has Burgundian support and foreign support increases further when Emperor Maximilian welcomes Warbeck into his court and recognizes him as King Richard IV of England, and offers him all the encouragement. needed, short of money or military assistance. Further evidence that this was a very serious and potentially harmful Yorkist threat to Henry is when Henry feels he must act in England, as he is unable to reach Warbeck and thus discovers conspirators within his own government. The most famous is Sir William Stanley, who had helped Henry greatly at the Battle of Bosworth, and was executed. Henry had sent a message to other potential conspirators that they would not tolerate and that they would be dealt with severely. Warbeck attempted to land at Deal, Kent, but.