Editing Edward IV (section)

==Early life==
[[File:Richard of York Talbot Shrewsbury Book.jpeg|thumb|right|upright=1|Drawing of [[Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York]], the father of Edward IV and [[Richard III]], {{Circa}} 1445]]

During Edward's youth, there was economic decline in England and military defeat abroad, exacerbated by a weak and corrupt central government. Both Edward and his younger brother [[Edmund, Earl of Rutland]], were born in Rouen, where their father, the Duke of York, served as governor of English lands in France until 1445, when he was replaced by [[Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset]]. Edward and Edmund were probably brought up at [[Ludlow Castle]], in the [[Welsh Marches]], where the Duke of York was the dominant landowner.{{Sfn|Ross|1974|pp=5,7}}

In 1447, the Duke of York was made [[chief governor of Ireland]], although he did not take up the post until 1449. Most of Normandy was recaptured by the French, leaving [[Calais]] as the last English possession in Northern France; Somerset, whom many held responsible for the losses, was appointed King Henry's chief minister.{{Sfn|Penn|2019|p=9}} English politics became dominated by the struggle between the Yorkists and supporters of the [[House of Lancaster]], or Lancastrians, notably the Duke of Somerset, [[William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk]], and King Henry VI's wife, [[Margaret of Anjou]].{{Sfn|Penn|2019|p=9}}

Matters came to a head in August 1453 when King Henry VI collapsed into a catatonic stupor on hearing news of the loss of [[Duchy of Gascony|Gascony]], an English possession for over 300 years. The Duke of York took over the government, his chief supporters being [[Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury]], and Salisbury's eldest son, [[Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick]].{{Sfn|Penn|2019|p=11}} In January 1454, 12-year-old Edward accompanied his father to London to attend the [[Magnum Concilium|Great Council]].{{Sfn|Ross|1974|p=14}}

The birth of King Henry VI's son, [[Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales]], in October 1453 created a viable Lancastrian figurehead, and the 1450s was dominated by political conflict between the two factions. By the age of 17, the Earl of March was a political and military leader in his own right; after their defeat at the [[Battle of Ludford Bridge]] in 1459, his father and brother Edmund fled to Ireland, while the Earls of March, Salisbury and Warwick made their way to Calais. Edward's name appears alongside those of his father, Warwick and Salisbury in widely circulated manifestoes declaring their quarrel was only with Henry's evil counsellors.{{Sfn|Gillingham|2001|p=110}}

In 1460, Edward crossed the [[English Channel]] with Warwick and Salisbury, and marched into London. At [[Battle of Northampton (1460)|Northampton]] in July, he commanded one of three divisions in a Yorkist victory that led to the capture of Henry VI.{{Sfn|Ross|1974|pp=25–27}} York returned from Ireland; on entering the [[Palace of Westminster]], he declared himself king, a claim greeted by the assembled lords in silence.{{Sfn|Gillingham|2001|p=117}} The [[Act of Accord]] agreed a compromise, whereby Henry remained king, but York and his descendants were designated his successors.{{Sfn|Ross|1974|pp=28–29}}

The implications of removing the legally accepted heir to the throne created substantial opposition to the Yorkist administration; in late 1460, Edward was given his first independent command and sent to deal with a Lancastrian insurgency in Wales. Warwick remained in London, while York, Salisbury, and Edmund marched north to suppress another in [[Yorkshire]]; all three were killed following defeat at [[Battle of Wakefield|Wakefield]] on 30 December, leaving Edward as the new head of the Yorkist party.{{Sfn|Ross|1974|pp=29–30}}