Edward IV (Brother)

by Sandra Pendlington

Edward IV was Richard III’s eldest brother. Born in the French city of Rouen in 1442 he was the eldest surviving son of Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York and Cecily Neville. Edward was directly descended from King Edward III through both parents. His descent from Edward III’s 2nd son meant that the Yorkist line, not the Lancastrian line, was the true line of descent.

As a child he was given the title Earl of March. Instead of being educated in a noble household with other boys from about the age of 11, he and his younger brother Edmund had a separate household at Ludlow Castle in Shropshire. Here they would have been tutored in knightly pursuits.

From 1455 civil war broke out (usually called the Wars of the Roses). Edward’s father was in conflict with the reigning Lancastrian King Henry VI and particularly the Queen consort, Margaret of Anjou. Edward’s first experience of this was at Ludlow in 1459 when he was 17 years old. As the Lancastrian army approached the town, Edward and his Neville uncle, the Earl of Salisbury, and cousin, Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, fled to Calais while Edmund and his father fled to Ireland. The following year, Edward and the Nevilles returned and entered London. In July they defeated the Lancastrians at the Battle of Northampton and captured the King. They then ruled in the King’s name.

Edward’s father returned to England in October 1460 and claimed the throne of England by right of his descent from Edward III. This was not accepted by parliament who agreed instead that Henry VI would remain as king but when he died the throne would pass to Edward’s father and his heirs. This had two consequences. Edward would become king when his father died and the son of Henry VI would not inherit his father’s throne. Henry’s queen, Margaret of Anjou would not accept that her son would be denied the throne and gathered troops in the north to challenge the Yorkists. Two months later, Edward’s father and his younger brother Edmund were killed at the Battle of Wakefield. Edward, who was gathering troops in the Welsh Marches, was now the leader of the Yorkists. In February 1461, Edward defeated a Lancastrian army at Mortimer’s Cross.

King of England 1461-1470

Edward and his Yorkist army entered London and in March 1461 it was agreed that Edward should be king. This acceptance of Edward as king after the rejection of his father’s claim shows how much things had changed. This was partly due to Edward himself who was seen as someone who could unify the country. Edward looked and behaved very differently from Henry VI, the last Lancastrian king, who suffered from a serious mental illness that left him unable to function. Edward had presence – over 6 foot tall, blond, handsome and with a genial personality he was popular and generally well regarded by the people.

Edward’s first task was to deal with a second Lancastrian army. On 29th March he confronted the larger Lancastrian army at Towton near York and won a decisive victory. Edward returned to London and was crowned at Westminster Abbey on 28th June, The decisiveness of the victory forced most Lancastrians to accept Edward as king. However, some did not and, led by Margaret of Anjou with Scottish help, they remained a problem for several years. This was particularly so in the North of England, where the Lancastrian following was strongest. Edward’s Neville supporters in the north fought and won several battles.

In addition to his military effort in the North, Edward also adopted a conciliatory approach, which we would call ‘soft power’ today, winning over opponents by giving them positions at court on a simple assurance of ‘good behaviour’.

Edward's marriage and its consequences

As king it was important that Edward should marry. In Europe tension was growing between France and Burgundy, who were both keen to enlist Edward’s support. The Earl of Warwick favoured an alliance with the French and in 1464, while ambassadors were negotiating a marriage with a French princess, the startling news came that Edward had secretly married Lady Elizabeth Grey; the daughter of Sir Richard Woodville and the widow of Sir John Grey, who were both Lancastrian knights. The marriage had taken place in May 1464 and was not made public until September. Not only had Edward married beneath himself but an important diplomatic and dynastic opportunity had been lost.

When the marriage was announced, there was both surprise and criticism. The usual explanation for his behaviour is that Elizabeth was very beautiful, and the king was attracted to her. Edward was king of England and used to having his own way but Elizabeth refused to have sex unless he married her.

His marriage laid Edward open to accusations of misjudgement. As well as the important political implications of the marriage, the new queen’s large family gained prestige and power by marrying into the nobility. This encroachment by the Woodvilles into the royal circle, caused resentment for the rest of Edward’s reign. It was also a turning point in Edward’s relationship with the Earl of Warwick, who began an alliance with Edward’s brother, George, Duke of Clarence, who was also disenchanted with the Woodvilles.

Edward loses his throne 1469-1471

In 1469 civil war broke out again. Warwick and Clarence issued a statement listing a number of complaints about Edward’s mismanagement of the government and the Woodvilles’ role in it and to strengthen the alliance, Warwick’s daughter married Clarence in July.

Edward’s supporters were defeated by the rebels at the Battle of Edgcote in late July. Edward was captured by one of the Nevilles and imprisoned. He escaped to York and then to London and in the spring of 1470 Warwick and Clarence attempted another failed rebellion and then fled to France. Warwick then negotiated with Margaret of Anjou to return Henry VI to the throne. In late 1470 Warwick’s younger daughter Anne Neville was married to the Lancastrian heir to the throne, Edward, Prince of Wales, son of Henry VI. This annoyed Clarence, who was expecting to be king, and began communications with his brother Edward.

The Lancastrian army, backed by France and reinforced by committed Lancastrians such as Jasper Tudor, invaded England. Edward was forced to flee to Burgundy with a few followers. His youngest brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who had remained loyal to Edward and was in charge of Carlisle Castle and the north west of England, joined him.

Warwick entered London and Henry VI was restored to the throne. With Burgundian support, Edward and Richard returned to England in March 1471, raising an army as they went, they were joined by Clarence and his men. They reached Barnet north of London in May and were met by Warwick’s forces. The three Yorkist brothers defeated Warwick’s forces and Warwick was killed. Margaret of Anjou and her son Edward landed on the south coast, rallying considerable support. Hearing of Warwick’s defeat at Barnet she tried to get to Wales, but Edward and his army intercepted her army at Tewkesbury on 4th May. The Yorkists were victorious and Edward, Prince of Wales was killed. Henry VI was in the Tower of London and shortly after the battle Henry was declared dead, almost certainly on Edward’s orders.

Tewkesbury was Edward’s final battle. Edward’s reputation as a military leader is high. He led his men well on the battlefield and employed good strategies, seizing the initiative over his opponents. From his first battle at Northampton to his last at Tewkesbury he remained undefeated.

Edward IV's second reign 1471-1483

Edward had gained the throne by battle in both 1461 and 1471, but the deaths of the Lancastrian king and his heir meant that the second reign was very different from the first. Apart from a few hard-line Lancastrians such as the Tudors, the nobility accepted him as king. This did not mean that Edward changed the policies he had used in his first reign, He continued to empower trusted men who acted on his behalf – both nobility and local gentry, His youngest brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester, was the foremost among these. He was Edward’s representative in the north where the Nevilles had held power in the first reign.

Edward changed the landscape of who owned what. At the time this was accepted as an appropriate way for Edward to maintain control of the nobility, but subsequent commentators have criticised Edward for building too much power by giving grants of land and manipulating land ownership. An example of this was the transfer of Clarence’s estate in the north midlands to William Hastings. It demonstrates Edward’s mastery of his kingdom and shows how much the relationship between Edward and his brother had deteriorated. In 1477 Clarence was once more accused of plotting against the king. Whether this loss of power had driven Clarence to treason or whether the charges were made up is not known. The outcome was Clarence’s death in the Tower of London in February 1478.

Edward changed the financial arrangements to increase his funds. He set up trading ventures that proved profitable. Generally his methods were approved but one in particular was very unpopular. He introduced ‘benevolences’ – asking the rich to send him a charitable donation, which was very difficult to refuse. Medieval kings needed funds from parliament to go to war. Edward’s new financial policies were so effective that he was able to fund a war against the Scots without resorting to parliament.

Edward’s foreign policy was less successful. In 1475 Edward invaded France expecting his Burgundian allies to support him, but this support failed to materialise. The French king then offered Edward a large sum of money, and an annual pension. Edward accepted and it was seen by some commentors as a bribe and dishonourable, The agreement included the marriage of Edward’s oldest daughter to the heir to the French throne. The previous year a truce with Scotland was signed, although the border between the two countries was never entirely at peace. The treaty was underpinned by another marriage agreement between the heir to the Scottish throne and Edward’s daughter Cecily with Edward agreeing to pay an annual dowry.

By 1480 the truce with Scotland had begun to break down. Edward had justified suspicions that the marriage would not be honoured and there was an increase in border raiding. Edward stopped the dowry payments and a major border raid into Northumberland led by the Scottish border lord, the Earl of Angus led to the outbreak of hotilities.

Also in 1480, Edward signed a new treaty with Burgundy. That upset the French king, who stopped the pension payment. At war with Scotland, anxious not to lose his pension and ill equipped to invade France, Edward responded by talking to the French and things settled down for a while.

In 1482 and still at war with the Scots, Edward signed a treaty with Alexander, Duke of Albany, the brother of the Scottish king. The aim was to put Albany on the throne as Edward’s puppet. The English army was led by Gloucester, not Edward, successfully invaded south east Scotland, and reached Edinburgh. Albany gave up his claim to the throne, the Scots agreed to repay Cecily’s dowry, and Berwick-upon-Tweed was returned to England.

Edward’s dealings with Burgundy and France failed. The Burgundians asked for Edward’s help against France which Edward refused because he was committed against Scotland. This led to France and Burgundy signing a peace treaty and Edward lost his alliance with Burgundy and his pension from France and his daughter would not be the future queen of France.

The Death of Edward IV

Because he did not lead the invasion of Scotland in the summer of 1482, some commentators believe that Edward’s health was failing but there is no actual evidence of this. In January 1483 Edward was well enough to attend the parliament.

Edward was at Westminster for Easter – Easter Sunday fell on 30th March. Most accounts say that he fell ill over the Easter period. According to Molinet, three days before on Maunday Thursday, Edward gave out Maundy Alms and was ‘overcome by heat’. He chilled himself and died three days later’. That would place the death as Easter Sunday but it is probable that it was a few days later.

Edward was known for his heavy consumption of food and drink and he had put on weight. He was only 43 years old and there was no sign of an identifiable disease. There are theories about the cause of the illness, varying from over-indulgence, a chill caught while boating on the river (Mancini) or apoplexy (Commines). Poison has also been suggested (Collins). His death took the court by surprise and there is no known reason for the sudden, short illness that led to it. It is possible that the overindulgence could have resulted in a stroke or heart attack.

On 9th April, an announcement was made in London that the King had died, and it is generally assumed that this was the date of death. However, there is evidence that Edward may have died a few days earlier. The York records for 7th April 1483 say that the previous day the mayor had received a message from the Dean of York Minster saying that the King had died. The Dean desired the mayor and the councillors to be at the Minster for a Mass. If this record is correct Edward IV must have died no later than 4th April for the news to reach York by the 6th April. The Queen Consort and her family may have decided to delay the announcement, and also delay informing the new Lord Protector Richard, Duke of Gloucester, so they could maintain control over the new King during his minority. There is at least one other example of announcement of the death of a King being delayed for political reasons. In 1553, Edward VI died on 6th July but the announcement of his death and the succession of Jane Grey, was delayed until 10th July.

Edward IV was buried on 20th April 1483 in St George’s Chapel in Windsor.