... were both great–great–grandsons of Edward III, and this makes them third cousins. Henry's great–grandfather was John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster – Edward's fifth child and fourth son.
Edward IV was descended from the sixth child and fifth son of Edward III – Edmund, 1st Duke of York. Edmund's first son, Edward – the 2nd Duke of York – died at the Battle of Agincourt; his second, Richard of Conisburgh (3rd Earl of Cambridge), had been beheaded some ten weeks previously for his part in the Southampton Plot, a conspiracy against King Henry V. Edward (the 2nd Duke) had no children, and this meant that Richard of Conisburgh's eldest son, Richard Plantagenet, inherited the title of Duke of York from his uncle. Edward IV was the second child and eldest son of Richard Plantagenet, the 3rd Duke of York.
Henry VI came to the throne at the age of just nine months, on the death of his father Henry V. He grew up to be a weak and unpopular king, and he suffered from bouts of mental illness. There was disagreement among the nobility over his conduct of the war with France – where all English possessions, with the exception of Calais, had been lost. The aforementioned Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, was determined to purge his Lancastrian political opponents from positions of influence over the king, and this was a major cause of the Wars of the Roses. By October 1460 – five years into the wars – Richard's ambition had grown to encompass the throne itself. When he was killed at the Battle of Wakefield, on 30 December of that year, his claim was taken up by his eldest (and only surviving) son, Edward.
Following early successes in the Wars of the Roses, culminating at Mortimer's Cross in Herefordshire in February 1461, Edward proclaimed himself king. He scored a further victory over the Lancastrians at Towton on 29 March, after which he was crowned in London. Henry escaped to Scotland, but was later captured and imprisoned in the Tower of London.
In overthrowing Henry, Edward had needed the support of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick – the wealthiest and most powerful English peer of his age. Most of England's leading families had remained loyal to Henry, or remained uncommitted; the new regime therefore relied heavily on the support of the Nevilles. But Edward proceeded to antagonise Warwick, not least by impulsively marrying Elizabeth Woodville, after sending Warwick to France to arrange a marriage to either the daughter or the sister–in–law of Louis XI. Warwick formed an alliance with Edward's disaffected younger brother George, Duke of Clarence, but the so–called Lincolnshire Rebellion was defeated, and Warwick fled to France. There he agreed with Louis XI and Margaret of Anjou, the wife of Henry VI, to restore Henry in return for French military support. This led to the restoration of Henry VI in October 1470 – an event known as the Readeption – leading to Warwick's sobriquet 'the Kingmaker'.
Following the Readeption, Edward fled to Burgundy. There he raised an army, which he led back to England. He continued to gather support, and enlisted the help of his younger brothers George, Duke of Clarence, and Richard, Duke of Gloucester (later King Richard III). After entering London unopposed, and taking Henry prisoner, they defeated Warwick at the Battle of Barnet, on 14 April 1471, in which Warwick was killed. The remaining Lancastrian resistance was eliminated three weeks later at the Battle of Tewkesbury, in which Edward of Westminster, the only son of Henry VI (aged 18), was killed. Henry himself died a few days later (21 May 1471) – it's widely suspected that Edward had him murdered.
Seven years later, the Duke of Clarence was found guilty of plotting against Edward, imprisoned in the Tower of London, and privately executed. According to a long–standing tradition, he was "drowned in a butt of Malmsey wine".
Before long Edward became seriously ill, from ailments that remain mysterious (but were probably natural). On his deathbed, with his son Edward aged just 11, he named his remaining younger brother Richard (the future King Richard III) as Protector. Edward IV died on 19 April 1483, and soon afterwards his sons Edward (now King Edward V) and Richard were taken to the Tower of London.
Arrangements were made for Edward's coronation, but then the marriage of his parents (Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville) was declared invalid, making their children illegitimate and ineligible for the throne. Richard of Gloucester was proclaimed as King Richard III, and he was crowned on 6 July.
The two princes were never seen in public after August 1483. They probably never left the Tower, and it is widely believed that they were murdered there. The most likely culprit is their uncle Richard, but there are other suspects.
The dispute between the houses of York and Lancaster was finally settled some two years later, when Richard III (of York) was defeated by Henry Tudor at the Battle of Bosworth Field.
© Haydn Thompson 2021