How Successful Was Edward Iv in Restoring Royal Authority Between 1461 - 1470

1634 Words7 Pages
How successful was Edward IV in restoring royal authority between 1461 and 1470? Edward IV did not begin with the whole world in his favour; there were many threats and oppositions for him to overcome as well as the fact he had to produce his own solutions to problems to achieve his ultimate power, for example an heir and a queen. This however was not an easy task as Henry VI s son Prince Edward was growing up fast, which intensified the pressure on nineteen year old Edward to get on with his arrangements. The threats mainly involved the rivalry of the Duke of Somerset, who was in the Beaufort line and had a distant claim to the throne. Whilst that was at the back of Edward's mind, he also had the inhibitory situation of Warwick and Clarence becoming over-mighty subjects. Despite the many disadvantages Edward was placed at he demonstrated at times impressive determination and resilience to them, such as the expansion of his power base which placed him in a stronger position, and the improvement of the crown’s finances. In fact when one is comparing Edward’s progress in comparison to Henry VI success at being king, he seems far better and more deserving of his title, due to Henry’s complete lack of governing success which Edward himself eventually managed to regain control over. A definite and early landmark which supports the fact that Edward was in fact partially successful in restoring royal authority is the fact that in 1461 Edward was completely victorious over the Lancastrians in The Battle of Towton. The Yorkists created an utter rout, where the opposition was overwhelmed and fled, and thousands of Lancastrians were killed as well as defeated. This in effect enabled Edward to march to London and be crowned king; he would have had support from the people of London on account of the fact that they knew first-hand the inability of royal authority that
Open Document