BIRTH OF KING EDWARD IV OF ENGLAND Part I
Edward IV was the closest thing to a medieval superhero you can get.
Tall, blonde, and handsome, he was a fierce warrior who took England’s throne for himself…twice.
He died as the King of England, but his greed, arrogance, and lack of foresight saw everything he ever accomplished collapse ~ almost the moment he gave his last breath.
Though he ended up as King of England, Edward was actually born across the Channel in Rouen, Normandy.
Born on 28th April 1442, Edward was the eldest son of Richard-the Duke of York, and Cecily Neville.
The couple went on to have many more children, all of whom would become major players in the looming Wars of the Roses…..
In England, 22-year-old King Henry VI held the throne.
The thing was, Henry was feeble, indecisive, and prone to crippling fits of madness.
Henry was clearly unstable, and it wasn’t long before he started losing English territory left, right and centre.
“The Divine Right of Kings” was one thing, but Henry was starting to be an embarrassment.
Some people started to whisper that maybe England should have a new king.
Maybe someone like…Edward’s father, Richard of York.
Richard Duke of York was strong, decisive, and a direct descendant of King Edward III.
Pretty soon, his intentions for the throne were clear.
Richard was the governor of all English lands in France.
However, soon after Edward’s birth, King Henry unceremoniously dumped Richard of York.
Henry replaced him with Richard’s biggest rival – the Duke of Somerset.
It was bad enough that King Henry replaced Richard of York as governor, but to add insult to injury, Somerset did a terrible job.
Seeing that England was vulnerable with a king like Henry, France went on the offensive, slowly taking back territory on the mainland.
In 1453, they went for the jugular and reclaimed Gascony, a territory that the English had controlled for over three centuries.
It was a terrible loss for England, but an amazing opportunity for Edward and his family.
When Henry VI learned that he’d lost Gascony, his mind simply…broke.
He fell into a catatonic stupor and remained like that for more than a year.
For the Yorks, this was the final straw.
Though only 12 years old, Edward rode right beside his father as they entered London to attend the Great Council.
Pretty soon, Richard Duke of York’s intentions for the throne were clear.
By the end of the Great Council, Richard effectively had control of the English government.
Edward was still a boy, but he was about to grow up very fast.
King Henry VI eventually woke up from his stupor, and he found a very different kingdom waiting for him.
The nobles had split down the middle:
The Lancastrians, who supported Henry, and the Yorks, who supported Richard.
Though not yet in open conflict, it was in this viper’s den that young Edward cut his teeth.
He was a force to be reckoned with, before he was even 17 years old.
It was a good thing too; the Wars of the Roses were about to start in earnest, and the Yorks were going to need all the help they could get…..
In 1460, the Yorkists took London.
Not long after, Edward was one of three commanders behind a decisive Yorkist victory at Northampton.
What made it so decisive?
They managed to capture King Henry VI.
Just like that, the House of York had won! Right?
Well…not exactly.
Unfortunately, Edward and his family were about to learn just how hard it was to take a crown off a king’s head.
After Edward captured the king, his father marched into the Palace of Westminster and declared himself the King of England in front of the kingdom’s assembled lords.
He got crickets in response.
York realized that taking England wasn’t going to be quite so simple.
Eventually, the two sides reached a compromise: Henry VI would remain king, but Richard of York was to be his successor.
Though the Yorks made their deal in London, Lancastrian nobles in the countryside weren’t so easily convinced.
Rebellions flared up all across the country, and Richard of York had to act fast.
He sent his eldest son Edward to Wales to suppress a revolt there while he took another son, Edmund, to the North to do the same.
Edward didn’t realize it yet, but he’d never see his father again.
The Battle of Wakefield was an utter catastrophe for the Yorkist cause.
Not only did they lose, but both Richard of York and his son Edmund lost their lives in the fray.
Suddenly, the House of York’s hopes rested squarely on 18-year-old Edward’s shoulders.
Thankfully, he had the perfect shoulders for the job.
Richard Duke of York would never see his hopes for England through, but at least his son Edward, would be able to live out his father’s dream.
Edward IV was what all nobles wished they could be.
At 6’4″, he towered over his contemporaries, especially while clad in his gleaming armor.
Edward was likable, handsome, and bursting with energy.
Edward ensured he always wore the finest clothes, but he didn’t do all of this out of simple vanity.
No, he had a much deeper purpose.
As a tall, handsome, fashionable warrior, Edward could not have been more different from the feeble, absent-minded Henry.
Who would you rather have as your king: the Adonis or the wimp?
But dressing the part was just half the battle for Edward.
The other half of the battle?
To go to Battle….
Edward had amassed enough power to proclaim himself king in March of 1461, but he still had those pesky Lancastrians to deal with.
On March 29th, in the middle of a raging snowstorm, Edward led his men against the Lancastrians.
Ironically, the Duke of Somerset ~ the son of the man who usurped Richard of York’s governorship all those years ago ~ led the enemy forces.
The snow ran red with blood at the Battle of Towton, perhaps the most brutal battle to ever take place on English soil up to that point.
Edward would cement his claim as king that day, though it would come at a terrible cost.
Estimates range from 9,000 casualties to 20,000. In the centuries since, most of the graves from the site had been emptied or moved, so it has been difficult to say for sure what happened that day.
But, since 1996, archaeologists have uncovered the remains of up to 50 men who fought in the battle, and their bones tell a chilling tale.
The researchers who examined the skeletons from Towton came to a grim conclusion: The battle was even more horrific than we’d realised.
Though some of the injuries were clearly made during battle, many of the bones showed signs of extensive post-mortem mutilation.
This was clearly no honorable victory, so it’s little surprise that the defeated Lancastrians bore a grudge against their new Yorkist king.
Edward returned triumphant to London for his official coronation as King Edward IV of England.
He had achieved what his father never could, but he couldn’t get comfortable yet.
Henry VI remained at large.
Even worse, Henry’s wife, Margaret of Anjou, had fled to Scotland with their son.
While Henry was incapable, his wife was one of the most cunning and ruthless women in Europe.
Margaret of Anjou had lost this round against Edward, but she was far from finished…..
Though Margaret of Anjou eventually escaped across the English Channel, she would return with a vengeance.
Edward did manage to capture Henry VI.
Unfortunately, Henry was still such a weak king, that there was no sense in killing him – yet.
Edward simply locked Henry up in the Tower of London, and threw away the key.
Now he had a kingdom to run ~ and this would prove his toughest challenge yet……
👑 Max Irons as Edward IV in ‘The White Queen’ 2013
