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Overview:

Years ruled 1461 - 1470 & 1471 - 1483 Son of: Richard duke of York and Cicely Neville Married to: Elizabeth Woodville (1464)

Biography:

Edward IV ascended to the throne in 1461 finally achieving the goal of seating a member of the York family pushed forth by his father, Richard, duke of York, for the entire decade of the 1450s. He fought alongside his father at the battle at Ludford after which Edward fled to Calais with the earl of Warwick and the earl of Salisbury. Edward defeated the Lancastrians at Mortimor's Cross and was proclaimed king in March 1461. In 1464 he married Elizabeth Woodville which became the root of many future troubles. Unable to muster enough forces to confront a set of Lancastrian armies (one of which was led by Richard Neville, earl of Warwick), Edward fled to Holland in September 1470. The next year he returned and defeated the Lancastrian forces at the battle of Tewkesbury. That same year he had Henry VI executed. Upon his death in 1483, his legacies include two young sons, Edward V and Richard, both of which would be murdered in the Tower of London that year.

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