Victims of Henry VIII: Edmund de la Pole
Edmund de la Pole – 1513:
Born in 1478 to John de la Pole and Elizabeth Plantagenet, Edmund was nephew to Edward IV and future Richard III.
After the execution of Edward Plantagenent, Earl of Warwick in 1499, Edmund de la Pole was the next York (Plantagenet) claimant to the throne.
Edmund’s brother the Earl of Lincoln was killed in the attempted Simnel rebellion which shed a bad light on his entire family. Plus, when John de la Pole died Edmund had requested he receive the dukedom of Suffolk, which Henry VIII denied.
Outwardly, de la Pole appeared loyal, however, he was upset when Henry refused him the dukedom after his father’s death
In 1501, Suffolk, along with his brother Richard, fled to the court of the Holy Roman Emperor, Maximilian. Supporters of the York family gathered around the Earl of Suffolk in Flanders in the knowledge that they were safe under the protection of Maximilian. Henry had no choice but to act decisively. Not only was there an obvious threat to him developing in Flanders, he had lost his eldest son, Arthur, to illness. Prince Henry was also a far from a strong boy then and his third son, Edmund, was already dead. Henry had to demonstrate that he was a strong and well-established king.
Suffolk’s relations who had remained in England were all arrested and imprisoned. In January 1504, 51 men were attained – the largest number in one single action in Henry’s reign. Sir James Tyrell, a former Constable of the Tower, was executed. He had been Governor of Guisnes when Suffolk had fled there and this was enough to seal his fate.- http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/tudor-england/other-threats-to-henry-vii/
Maximilian agreed to a treaty in 1502 to not back Edmund de la Pole should he make an attempt for the English throne. Then in 1506, when Philip of Burgundy “Philip the Handsome” was blown of course and expectantly became a guest, along with his wife Juana of Castile, of King Henry VII he was at the mercy of the desperate English king. Since Philip and his wife needed to set sail back to Castile they were at Henry VII’s mercy. Henry convinced Philip to hand over Edmund de la Pole so long as he only imprisoned him and did not harm him.
Unfortunately his son, Henry VIII did not follow through on the instructions of the two deceased rulers and executed de la Pole on the 30th of April 1513.
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Sources:
http://history.howstuffworks.com/historical-figures/10-henry-viii-executions2.htm
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