The wine-barrel execution is a legendSourced
Was the king's brother drowned in wine?
The execution is real; the method is lore.
George, Duke of Clarence, was convicted of treason and privately executed in London's Tower in 1478. The famous story that he was drowned in a barrel of sweet malmsey wine is a tradition later dramatized by Shakespeare, not a confirmed account of the method.
A real death gained
a memorable legend.
Summary / translation: Unbubly · CC BY-SA 4.0
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Fall of George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence · Wikimedia contributors
Fall of George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence ↗
Adapted, summarized and translated from the source. Adapted text is also available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Reviewed: 2026-10-01