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, inThe 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.
John Ashdown-Hillis a freelance historian with a PhD in history. He regularly gives talks, and has achieved an excellent reputation in late medieval history. A documentary, based upon Ashdown-Hill’s DNA research and his bookThe Last Days of Richard III, was screened earlier this year, and Ashdown-Hill has been heavily involved in the DNA testing of Richard III’s remains. Ashdown-Hill has had numerous historical research articles published and has writtenEleanor, the Secret Queen,Richard III’s ‘Beloved Cousyn’,The Last Days of Richard IIIandRoyal Marriage Secrets, and the forthcomingThe Third Plantagenet.
![The Dublin King: The True Story of Edward Earl of Warwick, Lambert Simnel and the 'Princes in the Tower' [Hardcover]](/itemImage/2/4/4/7/2_6894048.jpg "The Dublin King: The True Story of Edward Earl of Warwick, Lambert Simnel and the 'Princes in the Tower' [Hardcover]")