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Wars of the Roses

The Earl of Warwick rebels

The third phase of the Wars of the Roses centres around the rebellion of Richard Earl of Warwick (the 'Kingmaker') starting in 1469.

Earlier, in 1464, Edward IV secretly married Elizabeth Woodville. For the Earl of Warwick there were two problems with this. The first was that the Woodville familly were Lancastrian supporters and second was that Warwick had contacted King Louis XI of France and had attempted to negotiate a marriage for Edward to a French princess. Warwick was losing control and his power over Edward. His plan involved Edward's brother George, the Duke of Clarence. If George was to marry Warwick's daughter Isabel and become king, Warwick would be back in a position of power. The marriage was arranged and took place in July 1469 in France.

The rebellion against King Edward started in early 1469 with the mysterious Robin of Redesdale in the north of England. King Edward took an army to deal with the rebels but the rebels proved too strong and defeated Edward's men at the Battle of Edgecote Moor on July 26th 1469. Shortly afterwards Edward was captured and several of the Woodville family were executed including Earl Rivers, Queen Elizabeth's father and also one of her brothers. This rebellion, orchestrated by Warwick, soon failed as Warwick did not have the support of Parliament and had to accept Edward as King. But Warwick tried again in 1470 with another revolt against the King using Sir Robert Welles. Sir Robert was captured and confessed that Warwick was behind the plot against the King. With their treachery uncovered, Warwick and the Duke of Clarence fled to France.

Warwick joins the Lancastrians - Henry VI is King again

In France Queen Margaret and the Earl of Warwick were persuaded by the Louis XI, the French King, to put their previous differences aside and combine their resources to remove Edward IV from the English throne. They met at Anger Cathedral in July 22, 1470. Warwick promised to restore King Henry VI as the English King and as a act of faith both sides agreed that Warwick's youngest daughter Anne Neville would marry Queen Margaret's son Edward, the Prince of Wales. Equipped with over fifty ships and an army provided by King Louis, Warwick invaded England in September of 1470. King Edward was in the north at the time of the invasion and an act of treachery by John Neville, Warwick's brother, led to him fleeing the country. John Neville (Lord Montagu) had accepted Edward as King but when his title had been given to the Percies he turned against the King. Montagu had a larger army than Edward and Edward was given little option other than escaping with his life. Edward sailed with his brother Richard to the court of the Duke of Burgundy. King Henry was freed from the Tower of London and restored to the throne of England.

Birth of an heir

When King Edward fled the country he did so quickly that he left Queen Elizabeth who was pregnant and his children behind. Elizabeth was in fear of her life and managed to reach the safety of Westminster Abbey and sanctuary from the Lancastrians enemies. It was here at the Abbey that she gave birth to a son. The boy was called Edward after his father. Meanwhile the marriage of Anne Neville and Queen Margaret's son, Edward, took place.

The Battles of 1471

Edward returns from exile and the Battle of Barnet

King Louis declared war on the Duke Burgundy when he learnt that he was harbouring King Edward. In response, the Duke agreed to give Edward ships and men to return to England and take back the English throne. Edward landed back in England in March 1471. Because of bad weather his ships landed several miles apart on the north east of England but within days his army had regrouped and began to gain support. Edward's army was given a boost in numbers when his brother George, Duke of Clarence, abandoned Warwick's side and gave his support to Edward. By April Edward reached London where the citizens opened the gates to his army. King Henry was arrested and places back in the Tower of London.

The Earl of Warwick had left Coventry to confront Edward. The armies met at Barnet just north of London in thick fog. The two battle lines overlapped and Warwick's Lancastrian men commanded by the Earl of Oxford were able to get around the Yorkists commanded by Lord Hastings. Hastings' men fled back to London with Oxford's men in hot pursuit. On the other side of the battle the Yorkists, led by Richard, were outflanking the Lancastrians and took the advantage pushing their enemy back. When Oxford's men returned to the battle they were mistakenly fired upon by their fellow Lancastrians and fled. By early evening Lord Montagu and the Earl of Warwick were dead. The Lancastrians were defeated.

The Battle of Tewkesbury - Death of Henry VI

Queen Margaret, the wife of Henry VI, and her son Edward the prince of Wales landed at Weymouth on the very same day as the Battle of Barnet. Their intention was to assist the Earl of Warwick, but she arrived too late. Determined to avenge the Barnet defeat, the Queen and her army marched north towards Wales and men she could count on to join her army. Edward had thought of this and to cut the Queen off from Wales, had taken control of the bridges across the River Severn.

The Yorkists led by Edward and Richard met the Lancastrians at Tewkesbury. Richard was able to outflank the Lancastrians led by Edmund Beaufort, the self-proclaimed Duke of Somerset. Once Somerset's men had been dealt with, Richard attacked the rear of the Lancastrian line which broke apart and fled. Many of the Lancastrian leaders were caught and killed including Edward the Prince of Wales. Margaret of Anjou was also captured.

King Edward returned to London and that night Henry VI was murdered in the Tower of London.

A period of calm

With the deaths of the Earl of Warwick, King Henry VI and his son Edward Prince of Wales the Lancastrian fight was over. Anne Neville, the widow of Prince Edward, married Richard, Duke of Gloucester, King Edward's brother. King Edward turned his attention to France and a plan to remove King Louis.

Battles of the War of the Roses

Battles of the War of the Roses

Episode Events
Episode Events

1461

An embassy of several Lancastrians, including the Duke of Somerset, travelled to France and the court of Charles VII to ask for men and a loan of money to continue the fight against the Yorkists. But the death of Charles on the 22nd put an end to their plans. Their situation became serious when they were arrested. The new French King, Louis XI, at this stage of the Wars of the Roses was a Yorkist supporter. ¹
Pembroke Castle was captured by William Herbert. The young Henry Tudor was found in the castle where he had been hiding. ¹
By October the Lancastrians were losing control of the castles that they held in Wales.
William Herbert was given the castle at Pembroke in recognition of his assistance to Edward IV. Herbert was made the guardian of the future Henry VII who was living at the castle.

1462

Carreg Cennen Castle was captured from the Lancastrians by the Yorkists. To prevent it from being used as a castle again 500 men were employed to take it apart. The castle has remained a ruin ever since. ¹
A Lancastrian plot to kill King Edward IV was uncovered early in the year. Edward was planning to go north to deal with the Scots and the plotters planned to follow him north and kill him. One of the leaders was the 12th Earl of Oxford, John de Vere. Both the Earl and his eldest son where executed for treason. ¹
In an attempt to raise support for the Lancastrian cause, Queen Margaret sailed from Scotland to Brittany. She hoped she could get support from the French King, Louis XI. ¹
Queen Margaret of England and Louis XI of France signed a treaty. Margaret promised that Calais would be returned to the French if he helped her return her husband King Henry VI of England to the throne. ¹
Queen Margaret landed near Bamburgh Castle on the Northumbrian coast with a small army. The main castles in the area, Alnwick, Bamburgh and Dunstanburgh surrendered to the Queen. ¹
Edward acted quickly to Queen Margaret's arrival in the north. He raised a large army that marched towards Northumbria. Queen Margaret did not have the resources and local support required to fight Edward and so she decided to seek refuge in Scotland. A garrison of soldiers were left at the three Northumbrian castles.
The Earl of Warwick was put in charge of capturing the castles from the Lancastrian garrisons. Edward had to stay at Durham to recover from a bout of the measles. The castles were not attacked but cut off from supplies to starve the soldiers out. Just before the new year the Lancastrian soldiers surrendered and the Yorkists took control of Bamburgh and Dunstanburgh Castles. Warwick used the castle at Warkworth as his base while he monitored the sieges at the other castles. The seige of Alnwick Castle continued into January. ¹

1463

The Lancastrians inside Alnwick Castle were short of supplies so an army from Scotland under the control of George Douglas, the 4th Earl of Angus marched down to assist. When the Scottish army arrived at the castle, the Yorkists who were beseiging the castle withdrew allowing many of those inside to escape. Douglas did not attack the Yorkists but turned with the rescued men back to Scotland. The Yorkists returned to the castle and those Lancastrians that had not been able to escape surrendered. ¹
Sir Ralph Percy, the constable in charge of Bamburgh and Dunstanburgh castles, defected and allowed the Lancastrians to take control. Alnwick Castle fell to the Lancastrians shortly afterwards.
Alnwick Castle was captured by the Lancastrians. ¹
Warwick took an army north to deal with the new threat from Queen Margaret. The Lancastrians had laid siege to Norham Castle on the Scottish border. Under the control of the Earl of Warwick, the Yorkists again proved too powerful for the Lancastrians and with her invasion plans in ruin Margaret decided to return to France. She took Prince Edward with her. ¹
Queen Margaret and King Henry VI with Scottish support besieged the castle at Norham. King Edward failed to react to the problem and it was left to the Earls of Warwick and Northumberland to come to the castle's rescue. King Henry, Margaret and the Scots fled.
King Edward IV agreed a peace treaty with France in which both sides promising not to assist each others enemies. This was a disaster for the Lancastrians who had hoped that they could get French assistance against the English king.
Henry Beaufort, Duke of Somerset and Lancastrian supporters rebelled against Edward and used Bamburgh Castle as a base.
Edward IV agreed a truce with Scotland who had lost interest in fighting for the Lancastrians and Queen Margaret. The truce was signed at York and Edward spent Christmas in the city.

1464

The Battle of Hedgeley Moor took place a few miles from Alnwick. Lord Montague was attempting to meet Scottish envoys and escort then back to York for peace talks. The Lancastrians wanted to put an end to these plans and attacked Montague's army. Lancastrians involved in the battle were Somerset, Roos, Hungerford, , Sir Ralph Percy, Sir Richard Tunstall and Sir Thomas Finderne. Percy was killed in the battle. The Yorkist army was too strong for the Lancastrians and won the day. ¹
King Edward IV married Elizabeth Woodville (Wydville) secretly during a hunting trip. The hunting trip that may have been arranged as a cover. Edward is supposed to have had a reputation as a lady's man and had many lovers. To Edward, Elizabeth could have been just another lover, but Elizabeth may have wanted more and persuaded Edward to marry her. The marriage took place in secret and was kept quiet until the spring of 1465. One problem with the marriage was that Elizabeth was the widow of Henry V's brother John, a Lancastrian and her family were Lancastrian supporters. The other problem was that Warwick had contacted the French king Louis XI and had been trying to arrange a marriage for Edward to a French princess. Edward's act upset Warwick's plans.
The Nevilles defeated the last of the Lancastrian forces near Hexham and executed the rebels including Henry Beaufort the Duke of Somerset. In recognition of their contribution to the security of his reign Edward IV gave John Neville, Lord Montague, the title of Earl of Northumberland and George Neville became the Archbishop of York.
William Herbert was given the title of Constable of Harlech Castle by Edward IV and told to capture the castle from the Lancatrians. But the castle was strongly fortified and a lengthy siege began. ¹
After the Lancastrians were defeated at the Battle of Hexham their power in Northumberland was at an end. The Earl of Warwick accepted the surrender of Alnwick Castle on June the 23rd. Dunstanburgh Castle surrendered shortly afterwards. The siege at Bamburgh Castle was brought to an end with the use of cannons, the first castle to fall in such a way. ¹
At the Great Council at Reading Abbey King Edward IV announced his marriage and Elizabeth Woodville was recognised as Queen. ¹

1465

Elizabeth Woodville was finally crowned Queen at Westminster Abbey.
Henry had been helped by Lancastrian supporters in the north but was finally captured at Waddington Hall. He was taken to London and put in the Tower.

1468

Edward arranged for his sister Margaret to marry Charles the Duke of Burgundy. Burgundy had for some time been a supporter of the Yorkists and this marriage strengthened the bond. For Warwick, this was a disaster. Warwick had been attempting to make an alliance with France and that was not about to happen.
King Louis XI of France provided Jasper Tudor, the Earl of Pembroke, with three ships and fifty soldiers to invade Wales. The small invasion force planned to gain support against Edward IV and help the Lancastrian garrison trapped at Harlech Castle. The castle was surrounded by the English so Pembroke attacked and occupied Denbigh gaining many supporters. Lord Herbert was dispatched to deal with the threat and defeated Pembroke who managed to escape.
Warwick was unhappy with the marriage of Edward and Elizabeth Woodville and he began to plan how overthrow the king. Warwick's plans centred around Edward's brother George, the Duke of Clarence. If George was to marry Warwick's daughter Isabel and become king, Warwick would be back in a position of power.

1469

A rebellion began early in the year started by a mysterious person calling himself Robin of Redesdale. The motivation for the uprising against the king was his marriage to Elizabeth Woodville and the influence the Woodvilles were having. The rebels were supported by the Earl of Warwick.
Edward and the Duke of Gloucester took a small army in search of the rebels in the North.
Warwick and the Duke of Clarence travelled to France where Clarence was married to Warwick's fifteen year old daughter Isabel. The ceremony was conducted by Warwick's brother George Neville the Archbishop of York.
Richard Neville, the Earl of Warwick returned from France to England with an army, passing through Canterbury and London. His plan was to take the army north and join up with the Rebels led by Robin of Redesdale.
Edward's army was insufficient to deal with the rebels alone and he had moved them to Nottingham to wait for a larger army to join them led by Sir William Herbert, the Earl of Pembroke. Pembroke's army was attacked and defeated by a combined rebel army led by Robin of Redesdale and the Earl of Warwick who had returned from France. The battle took place at Edgecote near Banbury. Sir William Herbert and his brother Richard were captured and executed.
After the defeat of William Herbert at Edgecote, Edward was left without a strong enough army to deal with the Earl of Warwick. Either Edward's army deserted him, or he dispersed his army on purpose, but the outcome was the same; Edward was captured and taken to Middleham Castle as a prisoner.
While Edward was imprisoned, Warwick captured the Queen's father (Earl Rivers) and one of her brothers and had them executed at Warwick Castle.
With the king in custody there began a series of riots around the country protesting against the Earl of Warwick. Warwick did not have the backing of Parliament and in the end had little choice but to let Edward go free and return to rule the country.

1470

A rebellion had begun in Lincolnshire early in the year and had been mostly been dealt with by Edward, but Sir Robert (Welles ?) had escaped capture and was still on the run. Edward finally caught up with Sir Robert near Stamford in Lincolnshire. In the battle known as Empingham (or Lose-Coat), Sir Robert was captured and confessed that the rebellion had been master-minded by the Earl of Warwick and the Duke of Clarence.
After their treachery had been uncovered, the Earl of Warwick and Duke of Clarence fled to France. Warwick's plan was to get help from the French King. They took a ship with their immediate relatives and followers from either Exeter or Dartmouth. Isabella, Warwick's daughter, gave birth on the ship to a son, but he died shortly afterwards. When they reached Calais, the deputy-governor, John Lord Wenlock, refused them entry to the harbour and fired his guns at them. ¹
Louis XI, the French King devised a plan to remove Edward IV from the English throne. Louis persuaded the Yorkist Earl of Warwick and Margaret of Anjou the exiled wife of Henry VI, a Lancastrian, to combine forces and attempt to over through Edward. Warwick and Margaret met on 22 July at Anger Cathedral to put their differences aside and to agree on a course of action.
The betrothal of Prince Edward and Anne Neville formed part of the agreement between Queen Margaret and the Kingmaker to put King Henry VI back on the English throne. The act taking place at the Cathedral of Angers, ¹
The Earl of Warwick promised to restore Henry VI to the English throne, and he betrothed his youngest daughter Anne to Margaret's son Edward, the Prince of Wales.
With an army and over fifty ships provided by King Louis, the Earl of Warwick set sail from France to England. ¹
The Earl of Warwick landed at Dartmouth in Devon accompanied by the Lancastrian Earl of Oxford and Jasper Tudor, the half-brother of Henry VI. Edward was in the north at the time of Warwick's return and was turned upon by John Neville, Warwick's brother. Although John Neville had accepted Edward as King, Edward had removed John's title of Earl of Northumberland earlier in the year and given it to the Percys. John Neville advanced on Edward's position with a force much larger. ¹
Warwick did not need to fight the King. Edward was outnumbered and was almost captured by John Neville at Doncaster. Along with his brother Richard and a small party of followers, Edward travelled to Lynn in Norfolk where he sailed to Burgundy and refuge. ¹
The Earl of Warwick and Clarence entered London. King Henry VI was released from the Tower of London. Henry was crowned King of England for the second time.
King Edward IV's wife Elizabeth gave birth to her first son. Elizabeth had taken refuge at Westminster Abbey after King Henry VI had been restored to the throne by the Earl of Warwick and King Edward had fled to Burgundy. The baby was named Edward and would be heir to the English throne.
The marriage between Edward of Lancaster, the son of Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou, to Anne Neville, the daughter of Richard Neville the Kingmaker was a marriage to cement the agreement that Richard and Margaret would support each other and try to get Henry VI back on the English throne. The marriage took place in France at the Chateau d'Amboise where Margaret and Edward were exiled.

1471

King Edward IV and Charles of Burgundy met at Aire where an agreement was reached on support for Edward's return to the English throne. ¹
With a small combined force of English and Burgundians, Edward landed on the Yorkshire coast. His fleet had been hit and scattered by a storm off the coast of Norfolk. Luckily for Edward he wasn't attacked even though Lord Montague, the Earl of Northumberland, was close by. As he marched south, Edward gained supporters and his army grew. ¹
George, Duke of Clarence deserted the Earl of Warwick and joined his brothers Edward and Richard. Importantly for the Yorkist cause, he brought with him a sizable army. ¹
The Earl of Warwick was in Coventry and apparently unwilling to confront Edward, so Edward and Richard marched south to London. London was under the control of Warwick's brother, George Neville the Archbishop of York, but the Londoners were Yorkists and they welcomed the return of their true king. Once inside the city Edward had the Archbishop arrested and along with King Henry VI put in the Tower of London.
The Earl of Warwick had left Coventry to confront Edward. The armies met at Barnet just north of London in thick fog. The two battle lines overlapped and Warwick's Lancastrian men commanded by the Earl of Oxford were able to get around the Yorkists commanded by Lord Hastings. Hastings' men fled back to London with Oxford's men in hot pursuit. On the other side of the battle the Yorkists, led by Richard, were outflanking the Lancastrians and took the advantage pushing their enemy back. When Oxford's men returned to the battle they were mistakenly fired upon by their fellow Lancastrians and fled. By early evening Lord Montague and the Earl of Warwick were dead. The Lancastrians were defeated.
Queen Margaret (wife of Henry VI) and her son Edward the prince of Wales landed at Weymouth on the very same day as the battle of Barnet. Their intention was to assist the Earl of Warwick, but she arrived too late. Determined to avenge the Barnet defeat, the Queen and her army marched north towards Wales and men she could count on to join her army. Edward had thought of this and to cut the Queen off from Wales, had taken control of the bridges across the River Severn.
A group of men from Kent attacked London but left the city before the victorious Edward returned after the battle of Tewkesbury.
The Yorkists led by King Edward IV and his brother Richard Duke of Gloucester met the Lancastrians at Tewkesbury. Richard was able to outflank the Lancastrians led by Edmund Beaufort, the self-proclaimed Duke of Somerset. Once Somerset's men had been dealt with, Richard attacked the rear of the Lancastrian line which broke apart and fled. Many of the Lancastrian leaders were caught and killed including Edward the Prince of Wales. Margaret of Anjou, the wife of King Henry VI, was also captured.
Edward, the Earl of March arrived back in London and that night King Henry VI was murdered at the Tower of London.
Along with his uncle Jasper Tudor, Henry flee England after the defeat of the Lancastrians and death of King Henry VI. They went to Brittany where they were given refuge.
Richard (III) was given the task of bringing the north of the country under control. The conflicts between the Lancastrians and Yorkists over the previous few years had left the northern counties without any effective rulers resulting in lawlessness and unopposed Scottish raids. Richard was given the lands that the Earl of Warwick had previously possessed and he made his base at Middleham Castle.

1472

King Richard III married Anne the widow of Edward Prince of Wales who died in 1471 at the Battle of Tewkesbury. Anne was the daughter of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick the 'Kingmaker', and had grown up with Richard III at Middleham Castle when he had been placed their for his education. Marrying Anne gave Richard III rights to the Earl of Warwick's northern estates.

1473

Edward, the son of Richard III and Anne Neville was born at Middleham Castle.

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