The Wars of the Roses
 Edward IV
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This time it was Edward IV who was forced to flee the country when John Neville changed loyalties to support his brother Warwick. Edward was unprepared for the arrival of Neville's large force from the north and had to order his army to scatter. Edward and Gloucester fled from Doncaster to the coast and thence to Holland and exile in Burgundy. Warwick had already invaded from France, and his plans to liberate and restore Henry VI to the throne came quickly to fruition. Henry VI was paraded through the streets of London as the restored king in October and Edward and Richard were proclaimed traitors. Warwick's success was short-lived, however. He overreached himself with his plan to invade Burgundy in alliance with the King of France, tempted by King Louis' promise of territory in the Netherlands as a reward. This led Charles the Bold of Burgundy to assist Edward (who was also his brother-in-law), providing funds and an army to launch an invasion of England in 1471.
Edward landed with a small force at Ravenspur on the Yorkshire coast. He soon gained the city of York and rallied several supporters. His brother Clarence turned traitor again, abandoning Warwick. Having captured London, Edward's army met Warwick's at the Battle of Barnet. The battle was fought in thick fog, and some of Warwick's men attached each other by mistake. It was believed by all that they had been betrayed, and Warwick's army fled. Warwick was cut down trying to reach his horse.
Margaret and her son Edward had landed in the West Country only a few days before the Battle of Barnet. Rather than return to France, Margaret sought to join with the Lancastrian supporters in Wales and marched to cross the Severn but was thwarted when the city of Gloucester refused her passage across the river. Her army, commanded by the fourth successive Duke of Somerset, was brought to battle and destroyed at the Battle of Tewkesbury, and Prince Edward of Westminster, the Lancastrian heir to the throne was killed. With no heirs to succeed him, Henry VI was murdered shortly afterwards on May 14, 1471, to strengthen the Yorkist hold on the throne.
...to be continued.
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