How accurate is it to say that the Yorkists remained a serious threat to Henrys security throughout his reign (1485 1509)?That Henry VIs reign was dogged by rebellion and civil strife is certain, but whether the Yorkists in particular remained a serious threat throughout it, is debatable. It is clear that Simnel rebellion brought Henry perilously close to losing the crown. That a mere pupil, pretending to be the Earl of Warwick could gain enough support to mount a powerful invasion indicates that Yorkist resentment to Henry was still strong. In Ireland in particular there was definitely more of a threat to Henrys security than in England; in 1486 Simnel, landed in Ireland and was crowned by the Earl of Kildare, Lord Deputy, and other prominent leaders. This already alarming situation for Henry was exacerbated by the foreign backing Simnel was receiving, and the serious military threat he would pose on invading England. In addition to sympathetic Yorkist funding him, Simnel was also joined by John de la Pole, the earl of Lincoln, and Lord Lovell; and Margaret, Dowager Duchess of Burgundy had sent 2000 German mercenaries, under the experienced commander Martin Schwarz. Subsequently there was a huge threat to Henrys security and even his own life, when in 1487 Simnels army, led by Lincoln invaded. It consisted of 8000 troops, against Henrys 12,000; armies so evenly matched, that the closeness of the battle is comparable to that of Bosworth. Henry did win the battle of Stoke, but it could easily have gone the other way, and the fact that he was fighting an army composed of his own nobles on English soil, demonstrates just how fragile Henrys hold on the realm was. Therefore it is clear that in 1487 at least, the Yorkists had posed a very serious threat to Henrys security, whereby even a ridiculous Yorkist scheme as Simnels, came extremely close to usurping Henry. The next relatively serious Yorkist threat came from another pretender, Perkin Warbeck, whom in 1491 claimed to be Richard, Duke of York, the younger of the princes in the tower; and although he was to prove a persistent danger to Henrys security, he was never as serious a threat as Simnel had been. Warbecks claim came two years after the Northern rebellion in 1489; not a Yorkist rebellion, but nonetheless demonstrative of the kings control of the kingdom being far from secure. Warbeck himself, had made his claim to the throne in Ireland, where he didnt gain all that much support; however, when he was invited to the royal court of Charles VIII of France, he was joined by 100 Yorkist nobles; the threat to Henrys security was growing. Following the Etaples truce between Charles and Henry, Warbeck fled to Flanders, where Margaret of Burgundy, publicly acknowledged him to be her nephew. Maximilian, the newly elected Holy Roman Emperor also pledged his support to Warbeck, in 1494. This foreign backing was turning a mild threat into something more sinister for Henry to deal with; Margarets support attracted dissident Yorkists to the cause, and encouraged Yorkists in England to rebel. In addition to stirring up this sort of trouble in England, Margaret and Maximilian financed Warbecks invasion of England in 1495. This in itself was a relatively serious threat to Henrys security, but fortunately for the King, the landing was a fiasco with not enough local support gained. However, the threat continued, as Warbeck then landed in Ireland where he laid siege to Waterford for 11 days without success. These incursions both failed, but they inevitably compromised the Kings security; it was no good thing to have a pretender sailing about the kingdom, trying to usurp the crown. The fact that the Northern rebellion, though not A Yorkist uprising, had occurred just two years before Warbeck claimed the throne, meant that the Kings grip on his realm was already insecure; therefore, to be succeeded by 8 years of Yorkist danger from Warbeck, made the threat all the more serious to Henrys security, for a significant part of his reign. Having mentioned that the Warbeck threat lasted 8 years, one could say that the threat culminated in Scotland, whereby Warbeck gained the support of James IV, who used the pretender as a useful weapon against Henry. James backed Warbeck by giving him an annual pension of 12,000 per annum, and his cousin Lady Catherine Gordon, in marriage, as well as promising to invade England when the time was right. These events were a serious threat to Henrys security, because they jeopardised his marriage alliance with Spain, and by implication his legitimacy and place on the throne. Security was threatened when Warbeck invaded Northern England with Scottish troops in 1496.The actual invasion being a failure, with Warbeck forced to retreat back to Scotland, it cannot exactly be called a serious threat, but it did damage Henrys security. Warbeck in a last-ditch effort also joined the Cornish rebellion a year later, but it had been defeated when he arrived there, so again, security was not all that threatened by a Yorkist in this case either. Warbeck did however rally some loyal noblemen, with whom he marched on Exeter; and although this was a more serious problem, like all his previous attacks, it was put down, defeated by a royal army; and Warbeck was subsequently imprisoned. To sum up then, it would be wrong to say that Warbeck ever posed a serious threat to Henrys security, however the fact that it there were 8 years of minor incursions was still relatively significant; Warbeck was essentially keeping the Yorkist cause alive, but little more. One should mention though, that through Warbeck, Sir Robert Clifford and Lord Stanley were implicated in a plot, seriously unnerving the King if he couldnt rely on loyalty from his closest family and nobles, it didnt bode well for security. However both men were executed, and Warbecks incursions never succeeded, so the threat to security cant have been all that serious at least not as much as Simnels rising. In reality, the only reason Warbeck could mount invasions in the first place was through foreign backing; the people in England were tired of war, and would not support him, so internal security wasnt so much the threat as external forces backing Yorkist dissenters; and this ultimately did threaten Henrys security throughout his reign, though in the case of Warbecks claim not too badly. On the other hand, to say that the Yorkists remained a serious threat to Henrys security throughout out his reign is somewhat of an overstatement. Perhaps this is best exemplified by the threat from the Earl of Warwick, and Edmund de la Pole, the Earl of Suffolk, who both had stronger claims to the throne than Henry. The Earl of Warwick had a stronger claim to the throne through his father George Duke of Clarence; he therefore could potentially become a leader and rallying point for the remaining Yorkists. However, he was almost always incarcerated in the Tower, and in reality didnt create much of a threat to Henrys security; and any threat there was, ended with his life when the king executed him along with Warbeck. Similarly to Warwick, there was also Edmund de la Pole, with a claim to the throne. In 1499 Edmund de la Pole fled to France, was persuaded to return but fled again in 1501 with his brother Richard. The brothers may well have fled because of the Emperor Maximilian offering them safe conduct to his court in Flanders. This could have developed into a serious threat, made worse by the subsequent deaths of Prince Arthur and Queen Margaret in 1502 and 1503, but the Treaty of Windsor negotiated with Maximilians son Philip, meant that Edmund de la Pole was returned. This essentially nipped any threat of invasion in the bud; and indeed the threat had already been stymied by Henry who had had 51 nobles and gentry with links to Edmund de la Pole attainted, and his relations imprisoned. This meant that there was no invasion of the likes of Simnel or Warbeck, nor was there trouble being stirred at home. Richard de la Pole remaining at large on the continent couldnt threaten Henrys security either due to a lack of support. In fact, Henry had also had Sir James Tyrell, constable of the Tower executed; and before his execution, he confessed to murdering the princes in the Tower, thus discouraging the risk of further imposters. Therefore Edmund de la Pole, and the earl of Warwick, both demonstrate that not all Yorkists remained serious threat to Henrys security, nor did all the threats last for the duration of his reign. In conclusion then one would have to surmise that the Yorkists did pose some serious threats to Henrys security, but that these did not last for the duration his reign. Perhaps the reason it may appear that Henrys security was under constant Yorkist attack, is because in between the Yorkist threats, there were other threats to be dealt with, such as the Northern and Cornish rebellions. In regard to Yorkist threats though, it is fair to say that in 1486 Henry faced probably the greatest danger; Lambert Simnel very nearly defeated him in open battle, which would have meant another Yorkist king. The Warbeck threat is harder to classify; it is true that the threat persisted for eight years, and that his armed incursions into Henrys realm did threaten security for a significant amount of time. However, to say that Henry was ever really at risk of losing the crown to such a ridiculous pretender would be an overstatement; all the incursions failed, and the only reason the threat carried on for so long is because of the foreign backing Warbeck received from Margaret, Charles VIII and James IV. In other words, Warbeck was a threat to Henrys security, but not a serious one. Lastly, Edmund de la Pole was arguably one of the weakest threats to henrys security throughout his reign there was. Edmund de la Pole had the potential to mount a Yorkist invasion against Henry, with Maximillians backing, but Henry himself neutralised any such future problems through the Treaty of Windsor with Maximillians son Philip; thus incarcerated in the Tower, Edmund de la Pole couldnt bring any serious challenge to the throne or serious threat to Henrys security. To sum up then, whilst the Yorkists remained a threat to Henrys security throughout his reign, the threat was only serious at certain points; the battle of Stoke in particular.