He was the golden boy of the Elizabethan court—handsome, headstrong, and dangerously entitled. Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, rose fast on charm and royal favor, but fell harder than anyone before him. In this episode, we unravel the dramatic downfall of Queen Elizabeth’s last great favorite: from battlefield glory to courtroom disgrace, from private whispers to public rebellion. Was it ambition, arrogance, or love that led him to the scaffold? You decide.

Treason. Torture. Execution. In this dark journey through Tudor England, we uncover the brutal machinery behind royal justice. From the rack to the axe, from Tower Green to Tyburn Tree—this episode explores how the Crown used pain as power, and fear as law.

You’ll hear the stories of Anne Askew, Lady Jane Grey, Thomas Cranmer, and others who met their fate beneath the sword or in the flames. We’ll walk the blood-soaked paths of the Tower of London, Smithfield, and Oxford—and reveal how some voices, silenced in life, refused to be forgotten.

This is not just history—it’s a warning. Heads Will Roll… and not always the ones you expect.

🎧 The Lion and the Rose Keep your sword sharp—and your history sharper.

🎭 Was he England’s lost prince or the greatest con artist of the Tudor era?

In this episode of The Lion & The Rose, we unravel the unbelievable story of Perkin Warbeck—a Flemish merchant’s son who convinced kings, nobles, and even entire armies that he was Richard of York, the missing Prince in the Tower.

Backed by Margaret of York, the Duchess of Burgundy, and supported by France, Scotland, and the Holy Roman Empire, Warbeck was treated like a true king. He led invasions, raised armies, and was even proclaimed King Richard IV.

But then… it all came crashing down.

Join me as we break down: ⚔️ Warbeck’s mysterious origins—was he really a fraud? ⚔️ How he nearly took down Henry VII’s Tudor dynasty ⚔️ The failed invasions that led to his ultimate downfall ⚔️ The role of Margaret of York in shaping his royal lie ⚔️ And the final twist—did Warbeck actually believe his own deception?

Was he a master conman, a Yorkist puppet, or did he truly believe he was Richard of York?

The Tower of London—a fortress, a palace, and one of history’s most feared prisons. Few who entered ever left, but in 1597,Father John Gerard pulled off one of the mostdaring escapes in history.

A Jesuit priest imprisoned for his faith, Gerard enduredbrutal torture at the hands of Elizabeth I’s interrogators. But even as his hands were mangled and his body broken, Gerard plotted his way to freedom. With the help of an underground network, awell-placed bribe, and arope stretched across the Tower’s moat, Gerard risked everything in adeath-defying escape that left the authorities baffled.

How did he outwit the Tower’s guards? What drove Elizabethan England’sobsession with crushing Catholic priests? And how did Gerard make sure his allies inside the Towerdidn’t pay the price for his escape?

This is more than just a story of survival—it’s a masterclass in courage, strategy, and resilience.

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