Edward IV (1461-1470, 1471-1483)
Edward was a tall man of 6 feet in height and had long straight brown hair. He was a handsome playboy with countless mistresses and bastard children.
Edward’s father Richard Duke of York was executed after the battle of Wakefield when claiming the throne from Henry VI. After his execution his head was mockingly placed on the walls of York wearing a paper crown.
Six months after his fathers death Edward defeated Henry VI in battle and forced him to flee to Scotland. At the age of 18 Edward Duke of York became Edward IV King of England.
Four more years of fighting still remained before Henry would finally be captured. Though Edward was a fantastic soldier he could not participate personally in the capturing of Henry due to poor health brought on by “sexual excesses”.
After Edward had been crowned king he quickly built up his powerbase around the capital and in the south of England by giving the men in his wife’s family important court positions and marring off her five sisters into powerful southern English families.
Richard Neville Earl of Warwick and Edwards treacherous younger brother George Duke of Clarence had encouraged Richards relatives in the north the Nevilles to revolt in 1469. Warwick and Clarence then went to Paris France and met up with Queen Margaret Henry VI wife who was living there in exile. From France Warwick, Clarence and Margaret invaded England and Edward found no support other than from his 18 year old brother Richard Duke of Gloucestor.
Edward and his brother Richard fled to Flanders. Warwick meanwhile reclaimed the throne for Henry VI but ruled in his place.
Warwick and Henry ruled England for only 6 brief months before Edward and his brother returned from Flanders with 2000 mercenaries. Edwards double crossing brother George Duke of Clarence had a change of heart and abandoned Warwick to join his brother.
Warwick was slain at the battle of Barnet. Then after the battle of Tewkesbury Queen Margaret was defeated. Her son was murdered after the battle by Edwards two brothers. Henry VI was also murdered.
After Edward had reestablished himself as King of England he suspected his brother George Duke of Clarence of plotting to betray him again. So he had him drowned in Malmsey wine in the Tower of London.
Edward ever ruthless decided that now that he had finally triumphed over his domestic enemies it was time to expand his realm.
He gave an ultimatum to the King of Ireland to surrender his land to England. The King refused and announced he was no longer vassal to England.
Edward upon hearing the news in his dinning hall laughed so hard he nearly choked to death on the venison he was feasting on. After he had pulled himself together he ordered Belfast to be taken as soon as possible and to send the petty Irish King to London once captured so he can experience first hand how the enemies of Edward IV are treated.
Belfast was taken in a few months and the Irish King was shipped back to London in chains as Edward had wished. Upon arrival he was paraded round the streets of London along with some local criminals and the next day all were publically executed.
News of Edwards disgraceful actions spread across Europe and England found itself isolated from all its neighbors for the rest of Edwards reign.
Several decades after the anexation of Ireland Edward became restless. He was a man of excess and during the latter years of his reign he grew into a morbidly obeise man. Many of his court servants suspected he may die very soon from his overeating. But it did not concern him. He always wanted more of what he liked whether it be women, food, money or land. His own personal income was enormous since he had personally confiscated the lands of his defeated Lancastrian enemies. He was the largest proprietor in England with one-fifth of England being within his personal estates.
However this was not enough. Greedily he often eyed a large map of the known world that hung in his dining hall and complained while chewing his food that his Scottish vassal had as much land as he did. His ministers brought to his attention that most of this land was of poor quality but he did not care. To him it did not look right and so on 1480 he called up all his vassal noblmen in England and formed the largest army he had ever commanded. Half of these men were boarded on ships and sent to Dublin, the other half were marched north to the Border with Scotland.
A messanger was sent to King James in Edinburgh stating that he was no longer required to pay the yearly tribute to the English crown because the his lands were now part of the kingdom of England.
Thereafter a long and costly war in men and money was waged against Scotland. So costly in fact that Edward dispite being a remarkably wealthy man do to the flourishing wool trade found that he had to take a loan out to pay for his war. Inflation reached 4% and the Scots put up a long hard fight. The small Scottish fleet defeated the much larger English fleet led by the incompetant Captain Smiley. The army that marched into Scotland had a tough time with Scotlands mountainous terrian and it took two years to push the Scots back to the highlands. In Ireland things went better but the sieges were tying down English soldiers that could be used in the fight in Scotland. Finnally in 1483 Ireland had been pacified and the Irish army was put on ships to head for Scotland. Unfortunaly many of these men died while crossing the Irish sea due to Captain Smiley’s poor leadership against the Scottish navy which harrassed the armada the entire way to Lancaster.
The survivors of the ordeal eventually landed and joined the battle against James who had taken refuge in the far north of his realm and was gaurded by 16,000 fearsome Scottish clansmen. The English army prevailed after taking heavy losses and James aggreed to surrender all his territory save Edinburgh.
Edward died that same year in Westminster at the age of 40 following a fever caused by overeating.
