Warbeck wrote also to Queen Isabella of Spain, who was known to have once desired an alliance with the House of York. Isabella, however, was not favourably inclined towards Perkin’s advances, probably because she suspected that he was no more a Plantagenet than Henry. ‘As for the affair of him who calls himself the duke, we hold it for a jest,’ she later wrote.

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By this time, King Henry had already been denouncing the pretender as a ‘feigned boy’ from Tournay, in Flanders. The King did not say on what evidence he based his identification, giving rise to speculation that it was a mere invention to discredit Warbeck’s claim. Henry’s silence on the matter, however, may indicate that the information came from his spies on the Continent, whose continued usefulness required that they be unidentified.

Maximilian’s enthusiastic support of Perkin more than made up for both Henry’s accusations and Isabella’s amusement. By 1494, the Emperor was publicly declaring Warbeck to be King of England and sending him armed men with which to enforce his claim. His sponsors, eager to see a return on the investment they had made in Perkin’s future, hurried him back to England in June, 1495.

Precedents in British history seemed to offer Warbeck and his small army fair hope of success. In 1399, Henry Bolingbrooke had sailed to England with only ten ships and about 300 men-at-arms. By convincing the population of the righteousness of his cause and drawing them to his side, he was able to usurp the throne. Henry VII had duplicated Bolingbrooke’s feat in 1485 by defeating Richard’s larger army at Bosworth after winning the support of some key noblemen.

Warbeck was not so fortunate, however. When 300 of his own men-at-arms landed near Deal, in Kent, the local militia attacked with such vigour that they routed the invaders without the least help from the King’s royal troops. Warbeck, with the remainder of his supporters, sailed on to Ireland, where he received further aid.

Taking refuge next in Scotland, Warbeck received such an enthusiastic reception by King James IV that he was married to the King’s cousin, Catherine Gordon. Theorists have cited this marriage as proof that James, at least, had no doubts as to the truth of Warbeck’s claim. It is uncertain, however, whether offering a cousin in marriage to a pretentious merchant would have been a prohibitive price to pay in return for a substantial political gain. James’s own subsequent marriage to Henry VII’s eldest daughter demonstrates his willingness to take advantage of fortuitous opportunities.

In September, Warbeck again tested the English waters by marching across the border in the company of a Scottish army of about 1,400 troops. After a few days of pillaging, Warbeck and his allies turned around and returned to Scotland. James, it was said, ‘twitted him with the fact that though he called England his country, not a single Englishman would join him in it’.

Not long after the disappointing foray into England, Henry and James signed a truce and, with the prospects of further Scottish support dim, Warbeck changed bases again, though whether he left Scotland willingly or was sent away by a wary King James is uncertain.

On 7th September, 1497, he landed in Cornwall, which had recently been the scene of a rebellion over Henry’s tax policies. Here Warbeck finally found some token support among the citizens of England. Arriving with only about 100 men, his ranks quickly swelled to as many as 8,000, but most of this ‘army’ was unarmed and seemingly just a rabble enjoying the excitement of being roused.

With his newfound support, Warbeck unsuccessfully assaulted Exeter; then, when news arrived that royal forces were on the way, he fled to Beaulieu Abbey, where he momentarily claimed sanctuary before eventually giving himself up–some versions of the story claiming that he willingly put himself at Henry’s mercy, while others record that Henry enticed him from Beaulieu with false promises of a pardon. Legally, Henry would have required neither a capitulation nor deceit to arrest Warbeck, because the Church did not extend sanctuary to persons accused of treason.

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