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

by John Ashdown-Hill

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.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Ireland

321 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 15, 2015

About the author

Louis John Frederick Ashdown-Hill MBE FSA (5 April 1949 – 18 May 2018), commonly known as John Ashdown-Hill, was an independent historian and author of books on late medieval English history with a focus on the House of York and Richard III of England. Ashdown-Hill died 18 May 2018 of motor neurone disease.

Reviews

[MeriBeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Ashdown-Hill's latest book, The Dublin King: The True Story of Edward Earl of Warwick, Lambert Simnel and the 'Princes in the Tower', has both good and bad points to it. On the whole it is a well-written book presenting an interesting theory as to what really happened in 1483 to Edward V and Richard of York, commonly known as the Princes in the Tower; however, a detailed reading of the bibliography at the end of the text all but screams the flaws of the book to the academic reader. It is very clear from the almost conversational style, repetitive nature of some parts of the text, and the very casual language that this book was written for the layman who is now reading up on the Plantagenets and the Wars of the Roses since the discovery of the remains of Richard III.

The theory is, as I said, rather interesting. However, much of the support for this theory is references to secondary or tertiary sources, many of them the author's own previously published works. Add into that the large number of references to Wikipedia and you get a very frustrated reader. Thus, while I'm intrigued by Mr. Ashdown-Hill's theory on the actual fates of Richard of York, Edward V and Edward, Earl of Warwick, I think I'm going to have to wait for someone to expand this idea with more in-depth research before I can really accept all the "it can be inferred" or "we can assume" thoughts that I read as actual facts or history.

Still, for a book written for the average reading public who have little knowledge nor want to really delve deeply into the conspiracy theories surrounding the three boys who all eventually, presumably, died in the Tower, this is likely a very enjoyable book.

[Linda Humberstone · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting book that brings new light not only on the subject of the Princes in the Tower but also that of Edward Earl of Warwick who was imprisoned by Henry 7th. The mystery focuses on whether he was at an early age spirited out of the country by his father the Duke of Clarence and later crowned in Dublin as Edward 6th. This then made the imprisoned child a substitute who unfortunately was later executed. If only there is some written evidence somewhere from Margaret of Mechelen that verifies her belief that the child in Dublin was her nephew. There are many intrigues concerning the politics of Yorkists and Lancastrians at that time, together with biased and unbiased reports mentioning the subject but nothing concrete that explains exactly what happened, only possibilities. At school age I always thought that Lambert Simnel was a peculiar name and therefore he could not be a pretender! If only it was was that simple! As for Perkin Warbeck claiming to be Richard of England, he does actually resemble Edward 4th, who, if true, would have been his father. John Ashdown-Hill has completed much research for his book which gives one food for thought but whether it is enough to form a definite conclusion is still debateable.

[Éowyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was pleased to learn recently that John Ashdown-Hill is due to be honoured by the Queen - I can't think of anyone who has contributed so much to our understanding of late medieval history or is capable or writing in such a clear and rational style.

This book deals with what is known of The Dublin King - probably what most of us might think of from our school history as 'Lambert Simnel'. There are no easy or clear answers here, but anyone with even a rudimentary understanding must wonder why a genuine Yorkist claimant (The Earl of Lincoln) would support such an obvious pretender as the 'Lambert Simnel' is always shown to be. Ashdown-Hill sifts through contemporary sources to give some thought provoking theories on what was really going on. so much is difficult to prove, which is a little frustrating, but it has been a worthwhile exercise to draw together all the known facts here. There are quite a number of references to his own other works, but then no one else has gone quite as far as he in studies of this period, so in many ways it is inevitable. He has such an accessible style that his books are definetly worth reading.

[Tomi · Rating 2 out of 5]

This isn't the "true story" of anything - it's all just conjecture! The author uses "we may assume" or "it seems" over and over and proves nothing. It would have also been easier to read if he had translated (? Summarized?) things written in Medieval English...or at least modernized the spelling. I'm not even sure whose story he was telling.
At least, when somebody writes 21st century history, there will be enough different names to know who's who...

[Randy Ladenheim-Gil · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for books about the Princes in the Tower, as has been apparent for some time here, and I fell for this one, though Ashdown-Hill is NOT a reliable narrator. His insistence on calling them the "princes" makes that obvious. However, here and there are some interesting bits and pieces to think about. I recommend buying this one as a cheap Kindle if possible. It isn't a keeper to proudly display on the book shelf. (More like a Philippa Gregory to read on the sly as far as I'm concerned!)

[Joanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was well researched and written with an easy flow. It was exceptionally informative, and perhaps more than anything, Author Ashdown-Hill does a tremendous job of illustrating why the tale of Lambert Simnel, the titular "Dublin King," in many ways deserves a similar amount of attention as that of the other famous pretender, Perkin Warbeck.

While I can't say that Ashdown-Hill fully convinced me that the Dublin King only ever claimed to be Edward VI, the arguments he puts for that are strong. Furthermore, the amount of background information he is able to provide and from which he builds his arguments strongly suggest the boy known to history as Lambert Simnel may very well have been the Earl of Warwick - and though Ashdown-Hill himself would disagree, many of the arguments he lays out could also help support the argument by some historians that the pretender claimed to be and may have been Edward V. At the very least, particularly when you look at the actions of Lincoln and to a lesser extent, Margaret of Burgundy, there is much evidence to suggest that this was either someone with a legitimate claim to the throne or capable of making others truly believe he had a legitimate claim as opposed to a simple imposter.

For those that love this period of English history, with all of its mystery and intrigue, I would highly recommend this book. He brings plenty of detail to the table without being dry or boring, and his arguments provide ample food for thought.

[ConstantReader · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book revolves around the fact that in 1487 a young boy was crowned king of England in Dublin Cathedral. The official historical account tells us that this boy's name was Lambert Simnel but John Ashdown-Hill avoids using that name because virtually nothing is known about this "Lambert Simnel" and at least one contemporary source named him "John".

In this book, the author tries to answer the question of who was the boy crowned in Dublin? Was his real name Lambert Simnel? Or was he, perhaps, the son of George Duke of Clarence, smuggled out of England and brought up in Ireland? (It's not as unbelievable as it may sound; one of the charges against Clarence in 1478 was that he tried to smuggle his son out of England).

Or was he, perhaps, one of the Princes in the Tower whose fate remains unknown to this day?

This book is an intriguing read and made me rethink what I think I know about Lambert Simnel and the conspiracy that unfolded in 1487.

Well worth your time.

[Pippa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating book exploring the possible identities of Lambert Simnel. Although some theories felt a little far fetched it is a balanced book presenting a number of possibilities and leaving the reader to decide their version of events.

[Fran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating read about the Lambert Simnel affair at the start of the Tudor period. Ashdown-Hill was very good at presenting a believable alternate history and making one see outside Anglocentric view of history, which is often the most heavily biased and distorted of all.

[Kieran O'connell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic book