Edward IV's 1st regin

• Edward and Warwick were welcomed into London and Edward was proclaimed, but not crowned, King Edward IV on 4th March 1461.
• why did Edward win the crown

  • decisions of Margaret
  • support of Warwick
  • his dad, the Duke of York and his opposition
  • military succession at Towton
  • Edward IV's qualities and skills
  • support from the city of London
  • the Yorkists claim to the throne
  • weaknesses of Henry VI's
• Edwards problems in the early 1450s were made worse by the battles of 1459-61, leaving England very divided.
• Warwick's experience and power was an advantage but made him seem in charge.
• Edward did not control the distant parts of the country, especially the north and Wales, which were controlled by Warwick and the Lancastrians.
• Edward had little positive support among the nobles.
• To some people, Edward was a usurper who had taken the crown by force.
• Henry was still alive, making him an alternative king for Edward's opponents to support.
• Some nobles still had great loyalty to Henry.
• Edward wanted to exert his power and authority to bring good governance to England
• reassertion of royal authority was done through the use of new men such as Lord Hastings who helped govern effectively
• Edward spent his time touring those areas where serious disorder was still being seen
• Edward seemed vulnerable in 1468-69 due to economic problems, people were unhappy due to taxes being collected for war when there wasn't any, he had limited support from the nobles, increased disorder, possibility of French invasion, revival of Lancastrian plots and Henry was still alive
• April 1469- uprising of Robin of Redesdale and Robin Holderness in Yorkshire which were both put down by Lord Montage
• July 1469- arrests in the North. Edward was waiting at Nottingham for reinforcements to deal with the rebels. while Edward was distracted Warwick and Clarence sailed to Calais.
• The Angers Agreement of July 1470 saw the forging of an unlikely alliance between Richard Neville, earl of Warwick and Margaret of Anjou and paved the way for the short-lived 'redemption government' of Henry VI.
• After the great Yorkist victory at Towton in 1461 Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou spent the next few years attempting to hold onto a small Lancastrian enclave in the north of England but after a series of setbacks Queen Margaret and Prince Edward went into exile in France in August 1463.
• Henry VI held on to a small enclave for a little longer but was forced into hiding after his last field army was defeated at Hexham in 15 May 1464.
• The fugitive king was captured in 1465 and was kept a prisoner in the Tower of London.
• During the 1460s Warwick and Edward IV grew apart.
• Warwick expected to be the power behind the throne, but Edward soon proved that he wouldn't accept that.
• Warwick was still richly rewarded by the king, and was the second most important man in the kingdom, but he had to share his power with other councilors, and in particular the Woodville family, relatives of Edward's queen, Elizabeth Woodville.
• The two men also argued over foreign policy, with Warwick supporting a French alliance and Edward favouring an alliance with Burgundy and Brittany against France.
• By 1469 Warwick had decided to use force to take control of Edward's government.
• His first attempt was a temporary success, but his second attempt, early in 1470, failed after his allies were defeated at 'Losecote Field' (12 March 1470).
• Warwick failed to convince Lord Stanley to help him, and then fled south.
• He gained a fleet at Dartmouth, and sailed east along the English Channel.
• An attempt to seize his old flagship at Southampton failed, and much to his shock he was refused access to his stronghold at Calais, where he had been captain since the 1450s.
• After a brief naval campaign in the Channel Warwick was forced to seek refuge in France, arriving at Honfleur in the Seine in May 1470.
• Louis Xl of France decided to arrange for a reconciliation between Warwick and his bitter enemy Margaret of Anjou.
• Louis hoped that a Lancastrian England dominated by Warwick would ally with France, allowing him to concentrate his efforts on gaining control of Brittany and Burgundy.
• Both parties probably saw this agreement as their best chance of success.
• Warwick had been expelled from England and repulsed at Calais, the base he had used with great success in 1459-60.
• Queen Margaret had watched Edward IV establish himself apparently firmly on the throne from her exile in France.
• Her husband was in prison in the Tower and their son Prince Edward was growing up away from his kingdom.
• On 22 July 1470 Warwick and Queen Margaret met at Angers Cathedral.
• Margaret forced Warwick to spent twenty minutes on his knees in front of her before she pardoned him for his past misdeeds.
• The two sides then came to a formal agreement (presumably the details had already been agreed before this public act of political theatre).
• Warwick agreed to invade England and restore Henry VI to power.
• Jasper Tudor would accompany him as the Lancastrian representative.