It appears the Brits have a susceptibility to being bamboozled by fraudsters, as looking at their history, this is not the first time by far: Famous British Fantasists and Hoaxers George Psalmanazar (c. 1679–1763): A historic fraudster who claimed to be from Taiwan (then Formosa). He invented a complete fictional alphabet, grammar system, and bizarre cultural traditions—including eating raw snake meat—before eventually confessing to the deception. [1, 2] Princess Caraboo / Mary Willcocks (1791–1864): An Englishwoman who arrived in Bristol in 1817 wearing exotic clothes and speaking an entirely unintelligible language. She convinced locals she was a royalty from a fictional island in the Indian Ocean before her true identity as a cobbler's daughter was exposed. [1, 2] Perkin Warbeck (c. 1474–1499): A major political impostor during the reign of Henry VII who claimed to be Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York—one of the missing "Princes in the Tower." He gathered international backing and led an armed rebellion before being captured and executed. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] Lambert Simnel (c. 1477–c. 1534): Another Tudor-era pretender who initially masqueraded as Edward Plantagenet, Earl of Warwick, to challenge King Henry VII. After his forces lost the Battle of Stoke, he was famously pardoned and demoted to working in the royal kitchens. [1] The Tichborne Claimant / Arthur Orton (1834–1898): An Australian-born butcher who convinced Victorian high society that he was Sir Roger Tichborne, a wealthy heir lost at sea years prior. His massive civil court case gripped the nation before evidence proved he was an imposter and he was jailed for perjury.
