Wars of The Roses - Edward IV

Edward IV

Edward IV's official coronation took place in June 1461 in London where he received a rapturous welcome from his supporters. Edward was able to rule in relative peace for ten years.

In the north, Edward could never really claim to have complete control until 1465. After the Battle of Towton, Henry and Margaret had fled to Scotland, where they stayed with the court of James III and followed through on their promise to cede Berwick to Scotland. Later in the year, they mounted an attack on Carlisle but, lacking money, they were easily repulsed by Edward's men who were rooting out the remaining Lancastrian forces in the northern counties. Several castles under Lancastrian commanders held out for years. Dunstanburgh, Alnwick (the Percy family seat), and Bamburgh were some of the last to fall.

There were Lancastrian revolts in the north of England in 1464. Several Lancastrian nobles, including the third Duke of Somerset, who had apparently been reconciled to Edward, readily led the rebellion. The revolt was put down by Warwick's brother, John Neville. A small Lancastrian army was destroyed at the Battle of Hedgeley Moor on 25 April, but because Neville was escorting Scottish commissioners for a treaty to York, he could not immediately follow up this victory. Then on 15 May, he routed Somerset's army at the Battle of Hexham. Somerset was captured and executed.

The deposed King Henry was later captured for the third time at Clitheroe in Lancashire in 1465. He was taken to London and held prisoner at the Tower of London where, for the time being, he was reasonably well treated. About the same time, once England under Edward IV and Scotland had come to terms, Margaret and her son were forced to leave Scotland and sail to France, where they maintained an impoverished court in exile for several years. The last remaining Lancastrian stronghold was Harlech Castle in Wales, which surrendered in 1468 after a seven-year-long siege.