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Edward IV ( April 28, 1442 - April 9, 1483) was King of England 1461- 1483, with a break of a few months in the period 1470- 1471.
Edward was born on April 28, 1442, at Rouen in France, the eldest son of Richard, Duke of York (a leading claimant to the throne of England) and Cecily Neville. York's challenge to the ruling family marked the beginning of the conflict known as the Wars of the Roses. When Richard was killed in 1460, at the Battle of Wakefield, pressing his claim against the Lancastrian king, Henry VI of EnglandThis article is about the English king. For Shakespeare's plays about his life, see Henry VI, part 1, Henry VI, part 2, and Henry VI, part 3. Henry VI ( December 6, 1421 May 21/ 22 May, 1471) was King of England from 1422 to 1461 (though with a Regent unt, Edward became his heir.
With the support of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of WarwickRichard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick ( 1428— April 14, 1471), was an Earl of Warwick. Better known as "Warwick the Kingmaker," Neville was the richest man in England outside the royal family, and he used his wealth and power to help depose the " Lancastr ("The Kingmaker"), Edward, already showing great promise as a leader of men, defeated the LancastriansThe House of Lancaster is a dynasty of English kings. It was one of the opposing factions involved in the Wars of the Roses, an intermittent civil war which affected England and Wales during the 15th century. The House is named Lancaster, because its memb in a succession of battles. While Henry and his militant queen, Margaret of AnjouMargaret of Anjou ( March 23, 1429 August 25, 1482) was the Queen consort of Henry VI of England from 1445 to 1471, and a major proponent in the Wars of the Roses. Margaret was born in the province of Lorraine in France, the daughter of Rene I of Naples,, were campaigning in the north, Warwick gained control of the capital and had Edward declared king in LondonLondon is the capital of the United Kingdom and of England, and with over seven million inhabitants in the Greater London area, is the second-most populous conurbation in Europe (after Moscow). From being Londinium the capital of the Roman province of Bri in 1461. Edward strengthened his claim with a decisive victory at the Battle of Towton in the same year, in the course of which the Lancastrian army was virtually wiped out.
Edward was tall, strong, handsome, and popular (and his grandson Henry VIII of England was much like him in these qualities). Warwick, believing that he could continue to rule through him, pressed him to enter into a marital alliance with a major European power. Edward, who had appeared to go along with the wishes of his mentor, then alienated Warwick by secretly marrying a widow, Elizabeth Woodville (having previously married the widow Lady Eleanor Talbot even more secretly). With Elizabeth had a large group of relatively poor but very ambitious relations, who soon became powerful at Warwick's expense. The Earl changed sides and led an army against Edward.
The main part of the king's army (without Edward actually being with them) was defeated at the Battle of Edgecote Moor, and Edward was subsequently captured at Olney. Warwick attempted to rule in Edward's name, but the nobility, many of whom owed their preferments to the king, were restive. Warwick was forced to release Edward. Neither Warwick nor the king were powerful enough to subdue the other, until after a failed rebellion in 1470 Warwick was forced to flee to France. There he joined forces with the Lancastrians, invaded again, and this time Edward was forced to flee when he learned Warwick's brother, the Marquess of Montagu, had also switched to the Lancastrian side, making his military position untenable.
Henry VI was briefly restored to the throne, and Edward took refuge in Burgundy, where he raised an army to win back his kingdom. Philippe de Commines spent time with Edward while he was the guest of Louis de Bruges, sieur de la Gruthuyse, in 1470-1471. Later Commines said of King Edward:
Returning to England, he defeated Warwick at the Battle of Barnet. With Warwick dead, he eliminated the remaining Lancastrian resistance at the Battle of Tewkesbury in 1471, in the course of which the Lancastrian heir, Edward, Prince of Wales, was killed. Edward's two younger brothers, George, Duke of Clarence, and Richard, Duke of Gloucester (later King Richard III of England), who were married to Warwick's two daughters, were at loggerheads for much of the rest of his reign. Clarence was eventually imprisoned and executed in the Tower of London.
Commines explained that it was how much Edward owed them that had made Londoners eager to put him back on the throne, along with the fact that he was very popular with the women of that city, and they so nagged their husbands that the menfolk welcomed Edward back just "for the tranquillity of their lives."
Edward died suddenly in 1483 and is buried in Windsor Castle. He was succeeded by his twelve-year-old son, Edward V of England. Although his son was quickly barred from the throne and succeeded by Richard of Gloucester, Edward IV's daughter, Elizabeth of York, later became the queen of Henry VII of England.
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