Edward IV Takes the Throne

Setting the scene

Edward, Earl of March, was the 18-year-old son of Richard of York, killed at Wakefield in December 1460. After his father's death, Edward inherited the Yorkist claim and won a decisive victory at Mortimer's Cross in February 1461, then marched on London. Meanwhile, the Lancastrian army under Margaret of Anjou defeated Warwick at the Second Battle of St Albans and freed Henry VI, but failed to take London due to their army's pillaging. Londoners, fearing Lancastrian looting, welcomed Edward.

What happened

On March 4, 1461, Edward was proclaimed king by acclamation at Westminster, deposing Henry VI. He was crowned at Westminster Abbey on June 28. But his throne was insecure until he met the Lancastrian army at Towton in Yorkshire on March 29, 1461—Palm Sunday, fought in a snowstorm. Towton was the bloodiest battle ever fought on English soil, with perhaps 50,000 combatants and 20,000-28,000 dead. Edward's Yorkists won decisively, Henry VI and Margaret fled to Scotland, and Lancastrian power was broken for a decade.

Why it still matters

Edward IV's reign (1461-1470, 1471-1483) brought stability after decades of war. He was a capable administrator who restored royal finances, promoted trade, and avoided expensive foreign wars. His secret marriage to Elizabeth Woodville in 1464 alienated Warwick, leading to a brief Lancastrian restoration in 1470-71, but Edward regained the throne after victories at Barnet and Tewkesbury in 1471, where Henry VI's son Edward was killed. Edward died in 1483, leaving his 12-year-old son Edward V, whose disappearance in the Tower enabled Richard III's usurpation. Edward IV was the first Yorkist king and the most successful of the Wars of the Roses monarchs.【1735771197344239808†L5-L7】

Background

The Wars of the Roses still had twists ahead. Even centuries later, this episode remains a reference point for how empires rise, fracture, and transform.