2B - Factional rivalries: Warwick ‘the Kingmaker’
Follow the rebellions that removed Edward IV in 1470, and explain why Warwick, Margaret of Anjou and Edward, Prince of Wales could cooperate despite earlier hostility. The restoration of Henry VI depended on a coalition whose members wanted different things from victory.
Warwick and Clarence in 1469
Warwick's influence became dangerous to Edward when it combined with the ambitions of George, Duke of Clarence, the king's brother. Clarence married Warwick's daughter Isabel at Calais in July 1469, despite Edward's opposition. The alliance gave Warwick a close connection to a royal prince and gave Clarence access to a great noble's resources. Their grievances overlapped without being identical: Warwick wanted a decisive voice in government, while Clarence hoped to improve his own position within the dynasty.
Rebellion associated with Robin of Redesdale in the north helped create a crisis. In July 1469 a royal army commanded by William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke, was defeated at Edgecote. Herbert was executed, and Richard Woodville, Earl Rivers, and his son John were subsequently killed. This attacked Edward's supporters and the queen's family directly. Edward himself came under Warwick's control.
Control of the king did not make Warwick a successful governor. Other noblemen did not automatically accept his authority, and renewed disorder exposed his limited ability to command obedience while holding Edward. The king was released later in 1469 and outward reconciliation followed. This episode explains a limitation of the label Kingmaker: Warwick could mobilise armies and reshape a crisis, but could not dispense with wider acceptance of royal government.
In March 1470 Edward defeated a Lincolnshire rebellion at the battle usually called Losecote Field. Evidence linked Warwick and Clarence to the rising, and they fled abroad. The failure of an attempt to control Edward within the Yorkist regime made an alliance with his Lancastrian enemies more attractive.
Margaret and the prince's claim
Margaret of Anjou had a dynastic objective independent of Warwick's grievances: to restore her husband Henry VI and protect the inheritance of their son, Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales. After military setbacks in England she sought assistance abroad. Henry's captivity made her role especially important, because the Lancastrian cause needed someone who could negotiate and organise support while its king could not.
Edward of Westminster represented the future of the Lancastrian dynasty. Henry's restoration could recover royal authority immediately; the prince's survival promised continuity beyond an ageing and politically dependent king. This made the prince both an asset to the coalition and a problem for Clarence, whose own prospects were less attractive under a restored dynasty with a recognised male heir.
In France in 1470 Louis XI encouraged agreement between Margaret and Warwick. France stood to gain if England moved away from Burgundy. Margaret had strong reasons to distrust Warwick: he had fought against her family, contributed to Henry's deposition and supported Edward IV. The agreement therefore required a political bargain rather than a sudden shared conviction. Warwick's younger daughter Anne married the Lancastrian prince later in 1470, creating a family link and signalling commitment to the settlement.
The identities of the two Edwards must remain clear. Edward IV was the Yorkist king whom the coalition sought to remove. Edward of Westminster was Henry VI and Margaret's son, whose claim it intended to protect. The Yorkist heir who became Edward V belonged to a third, younger generation. Confusing them prevents an accurate explanation of the coalition's ambitions.
Restoration in 1470
Warwick's invasion in September 1470 succeeded because it exploited division within Edward's existing support, rather than merely reviving an unchanged Lancastrian army. Edward was away from the centre of power. John Neville, Marquess Montagu, Warwick's brother, turned against him. Edward could not rely on enough immediate support to withstand the combined danger and fled to the Low Countries with close followers, including Richard, Duke of Gloucester, and Hastings.
Henry VI was brought out of the Tower and restored in October. This second period of his reign is often called the Readeption: the recovery of royal possession. His name and recognised royal status legitimised the new regime, but Warwick and allied councillors supplied much of its active leadership. Henry's restoration therefore did not show that his earlier weaknesses had been resolved.
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