English King Edward IV
(Originally
Edward of York)
Assembled
by D. A. Sharpe
"Edward of York was born on April 28, 1442, at Rouen in France, the second son
of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York (a leading claimant to the throne of
England) and Cecily Neville. He was the eldest of the four sons who survived to
adulthood. York's challenge to the ruling family marked the beginning of the
conflict known as the Wars
of the Roses. When his father was killed in 1460, at the Battle of
Wakefield, pressing his claim against the Lancastrian king, Henry VI of England,
Edward inherited his claim.
King Edward IV is my 19th cousin, 14
times removed. Our ancestors in
common are Eystein
Glumra Ivarsson and his wife, Aseda Rognvaldsdatter. They are ninth century Vikings of Norway. Edward IV is the 1st cousin 7x removed of Edward Carlton, the husband of Ellen Newton, the stepdaughter
of Danette Abney (born about 172), my 6th great grand uncle. Edward IV has a descendents record that goes down 17 generations to Elizabeth II,
the current Queen of England (an 84 page report). She
not only is the eldest monarch of England ever to live, but she also is the
longest reigning monarch of England.
"With the support of Richard
Neville, 16th Earl of
Warwick ("The Kingmaker"), Edward, already showing great promise
as a leader of men, defeated the Lancastrians in a succession of battles. While
Henry and his militant queen, Margaret of Anjou,
were campaigning in the north, Warwick gained control of the capital and had
Edward declared king in London in 1461. Edward strengthened his claim with a
decisive victory at the Battle
of Towton in the same year, the Lancastrian army was virtually destroyed.
"Edward was tall, strong,
handsome, affable (even with subjects), generous, and popular. Warwick,
believing that he could continue to rule through him, pressed him to agree to 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 (possibly, as speculated by contemporary rumor, having previously
married another widow, Lady Eleanor Talbot,
even more secretly). Elizabeth had a large group of relatively poor, but very
ambitious, followers and until the Battle of Towton, Lancastrian relations.
While it is true that these relations did dominate the marriage market and were
given numerous titles, they were given little land which was the true source of
power and thus were not a threat to Warwick's own power. However, Warwick
resented the influence they had over the King and was angry at the emergence of
a rival group for the KingÕs favor, so with the aid of Edward's disaffected
younger brother George,
Duke of Clarence, the Earl led an army against Edward.
"The main part of the king's
army (without Edward) was defeated at the Battle of Edgecote
Moor, and Edward was subsequently captured at Olney. Warwick's forces did
capture Edward's father-in-law Richard Wydeville and brother-in-law John
Wydeville after the battle at Chepstow and had them beheaded at Kenilworth on
August 12, 1469 on false charges.
"Warwick then attempted to rule
in Edward's name, but the nobility, many of whom owed their preferments to the
king, were restive. With the emergence of a rebellion, Warwick was forced to
release Edward. Edward did not seek to destroy either Warwick or Clarence,
instead seeking reconciliation with them. However, shortly afterwards Warwick
and Clarence rebelled again. After a failed rebellion in 1470, Warwick and
Clarence were forced to flee to France. There, they made an alliance with the
wife of Henry VI, Margaret of Anjou, and he agreed to restore Henry VI in
return for French support in an invasion which took place in 1470. This time,
Edward was forced to flee when he learned Warwick's brother, John
Neville, 1st Marquess of Montagu, had also switched to the Lancastrian
side, making his military position untenable.
"Henry VI was briefly restored
to the throne in an act known as the Readeption (regaining; recovery of
something lost) of Henry VI, and Edward took refuge in Burgundy. The
rulers of Burgundy were his brother-in-law Charles, Duke of Burgundy and his
sister Margaret of York. Besides Charles being initially unwilling to help
Edward, the French declared war on Burgundy and so Charles decided to give his
aid to Edward, and from there he raised an army to win back his kingdom.
"When he returned to England
with a relatively small force he avoided capture by potentially hostile forces
by stating his claim, just as Henry Bolingbroke had done seventy years earlier,
that he merely desired to reclaim his dukedom. The city of York however closed
its gates to him, but as he marched southwards he began to gather support, and
Clarence (who had realized that his fortunes would be better off as brother to
a king than under Henry VI) reunited with him. Edward defeated Warwick at the Battle of Barnet.
With Warwick dead, he eliminated the remaining Lancastrian resistance at the Battle of Tewkesbury
in 1471. The Lancastrian heir, Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales, was
killed either on the battlefield or shortly afterwards, and a few days later,
on the night that Edward re-entered London, Henry VI, who was being held prisoner,
was murdered to completely remove the Lancastrian opposition.
"Edward's two younger brothers,
George, Duke of Clarence, and Richard, Duke of Gloucester (later King Richard III
of England) were married to Isabella Neville and Anne Neville. They were both
daughters of Warwick by Anne Beauchamp and rival heirs to the considerable
inheritance of their still-living mother. Clarence and Gloucester were at
logger heads for much of the rest of his reign. Clarence was eventually found
guilty of plotting against Edward and was imprisoned in the Tower of London. He
was "privately executed" (later tradition states he drowned in a vat
of Malmsey wine) on February 18, 1478.
"Edward did not face any
further rebellions after his restoration, as the Lancastrian line had virtually
been extinguished, and the only rival left was Henry Tudor, who was living in
exile. Edward declared war on France in 1475, and came to terms with the Treaty of Picquigny,
which provided him with an immediate payment of 75,000 crowns and a yearly
pension thereafter of 50,000 crowns. Edward backed an attempt by Alexander
Stewart, 1st Duke of Albany, brother of the Scottish king James III to take the
throne in 1482, and even when Gloucester invaded, he was able to capture
Edinburgh and James III, Albany reneged on his agreement with Edward, and
Gloucester decided to withdraw from his position of strength in Edinburgh. However,
Gloucester did acquire the recovery of Berwick-upon-Tweed.
"Edward fell ill at Easter
1483, but lingered on long enough to add some codicils to his will, the most
important being his naming of his brother, Gloucester, as Protector after his
death. He died on 9 April1483 and is buried in St George's Chapel, Windsor
Castle. He was succeeded by his twelve-year-old son, Edward V of England."
Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_IV_of_England
"Windsor Castle England
has changed hands numerous times over the years, but it was King Edward IV in
the 15th century who transformed Windsor Castle from a fortress to a true royal
residence. The impressive Lady Chapel was added to the castle, and marked the
beginning of a new era of construction and purpose for Windsor Castle."
Source:http://www.destination360.com/europe/uk/windsor-castle.php
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Aurora, TX 76078-3712
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