Bizarre, International, Politics, Society

French City Demands England’s Coronation Jewels To Compensate For The Beheading of Edward Plantagenet in 1499

The French city of Angers in Loire Valley has made an interesting demand for restitution. Angers has demanded that England turn over the Royal Jewels for the murder of Edward Plantagenet in the Tower of London in 1499. The town values the termination of the Plantagenet line of kings at billions of dollars, but the city will accept the Crown Jewels in exchange for ending its string of 14 English kings, including Richard the Lionheart and Henry V.

Edward Plantagenet was the 17th Earl of Warwick and the son of George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence. Clarence was executed for treason (as portrayed in Richard III by Shakespeare). At ten, Edward had a claim to the thrown following the death of King Richard’s son in 1484. Notably, Edward is believed to have been “retarded” or “simpleminded” according to historians. He was kept a prisoner in the Tower of London by Henry VII as a threat to his legitimacy as King and, in 1499, he was executed under the claim of an conspiracy to escape. He was beheaded — thereby ending the line of the House of Plantagenet.

Obviously, there is no legal basis for this claim and appears an effort by Angers to attract tourists. It should not have to. It is a lovely town that I visited previously in France.

None of the characters of this period were particularly redeeming. However, in litigation like life, the advice of Queen Margaret in Richard III remains the same: “Think that thy babes were sweeter than they were,
And he that slew them fouler than he is.”

Source: Daily Mail

15 thoughts on “French City Demands England’s Coronation Jewels To Compensate For The Beheading of Edward Plantagenet in 1499”

  1. bettykath,

    I don’t smoke weed. It makes me drowsy. Don’t know why. Alcohol is my drug of choice. And it’s legal.

  2. They do have a lot of good wine. So much so that a few years ago they were turning some of it into ethanol to try to drive up the market price. California can beat them. As long as there isn’t a drought.
    ———————————–
    NYS has some excellent wines. It’s a shame that I can’t predict if it will keep me awake or put me to sleep.

  3. If I were going to France I might stop in. Of course, traveling to France would involve an interaction with TSA so I’ll be staying closer to home. I’ll bet some of the Olympic visitors just might take a quick jaunt across the channel to check it out.
    ==================
    I won’t go to France. From what I understand, there’s too much dog poop on the streets.

    They do have a lot of good wine. So much so that a few years ago they were turning some of it into ethanol to try to drive up the market price. California can beat them. As long as there isn’t a drought.

  5. Raff,

    That was when I did my best planning and thinking…… I think…… Some of it was fuzzy……

  7. re: tourism. Publicity. International publicity. I had never heard of Angers before. Now I know it was a city that provided lots of kings. It has many beautiful churches and an old castle. If I were going to France I might stop in. Of course, traveling to France would involve an interaction with TSA so I’ll be staying closer to home. I’ll bet some of the Olympic visitors just might take a quick jaunt across the channel to check it out.

  11. Anonymously Yours 1, July 17, 2012 at 10:20 am

    Dredd,

    Is there a SOL for murder?
    ===========================
    This would possibly be an international court venue, so I am not sure, but:

    Article 29 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court states that genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes “shall not be subject to any statute of limitations”…

    (Wikipedia, Statute of Limitations). Murder of the common sort is not listed.

    But since the law of that time was “the king can do no wrong” we know the case could not take place in England, after all removing his head was only done because he conspired to escape.

    On the other hand, if it were handled by diplomats there would probably be a settlement without the admission of guilt.

    The claim is more of a civil type case because “money” is being demanded, and that is more likely to run afoul of a SOL isn’t it?

  14. And the coronation jewels are totally unrelated to Edward. Just a nice city trying to get some press tied to the Queen’s jubilee to boost their tourism.

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