Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick
Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick (November 22, 1428 – April 14, 1471), is known as "Warwick the Kingmaker." Warwick was the richest man in England outside of the royal family, and he used his wealth and power to help depose the "Lancastrian" Henry VI in favour of the "Yorkist" Edward IV, and later to restore Henry VI to the throne.
Said to have been born in Bisham, Berkshire, Warwick was the eldest son of Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury and Alice Montagu, Countess of Salisbury. His younger brother was Sir John Neville, 1st Marquess of Montagu and briefly Earl of Northumberland.
Warwick married Anne de Beauchamp, the sister of Henry de Beauchamp, 1st Duke of Warwick, 14th Earl of Warwick. When the Duke died, his earldom was inherited by the infant Anne de Beauchamp, 15th Countess of Warwick. Lady Warwick died at age five, and Neville inherited the earldom through his wife. Thus, he controlled two great earldoms, with estates throughout the English Midlands and the Welsh Marches.
As the nephew by marriage of Richard, Duke of York, Warwick was a leading figure in the Wars of the Roses. He used his influence and popularity to help York to gain a more influential role under Henry VI, although he stopped short of supporting York when he claimed the throne in 1460. When his father was killed at the Battle of Wakefield in 1460, Warwick became the largest and most influential landowner in England, after which his military support was instrumental in putting Edward IV of England on the throne. The two had a very close relationship during the early years of Edward's reign, when Warwick put down Lancastrian rebellions in the northern counties of England.
By the late 1460s Warwick had quarrelled with the King. The breakdown in their relationship stemmed from Edward’s secret marriage to Elizabeth Woodville in 1464. Edward later announced his marriage to the considerable embarrassment of Warwick, who had been negotiating a match between Edward and a French bride to establish an alliance with France. This embarrassment turned to bitterness when the Woodvilles came to be favoured over the Nevilles at court. Other factors compounded Warwick’s disillusionment: Edward’s preference for an alliance with Burgundy rather than France, and his reluctance to allow his brothers George, Duke of Clarence and Richard, Duke of Gloucester to marry Warwick’s daughters Isabel and Anne.
By 1469, Warwick had formed an alliance with Edward's jealous brother Clarence, to whom he married his elder daughter Isabel. They defeated Edward's forces at the Battle of Edgecote, capturing the King and ruling in his name for a few months.
Warwick's forces also captured the King's father-in-law, Richard Wydeville and his second son, John at Chepstow after the battle. They were beheaded at Kenilworth on August 12, 1469 on trumped-up charges.
Crucially, however, Warwick's brother Montagu remained loyal to Edward. Warwick found that he could not rule effectively with the King imprisoned, and folowing his release the King gradually reasserted political control. Following another rebellion blamed on Warwick and Clarence in 1470, Warwick was attainted as a traitor and fled to France. There he came to form an alliance with his old enemy Margaret of Anjou, exiled queen of King Henry VI of England. As a result, he married his younger daughter, Anne, to Margaret's son, Edward, Prince of Wales.
Margaret remained suspicious of Warwick, and insisted that he cement their alliance by returning to England with an army. This time, Warwick's brother Montagu supported him with an army from the north, and Edward was forced into exile while Warwick restored Henry VI to the throne on October 30.
Warwick now planned to consolidate his alliance with Louis XI of France by helping France to invade Burgundy, for which King Louis promised him the reward of the Burgundian territories of Zeeland and Holland. News of this drove Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, to assist Edward with funds and an army to invade England in the spring of 1471. By the time Margaret and her supporters were ready to join Warwick from France, Warwick (along with his brother and chief supporter Montagu) had been defeated and killed by the returning Edward IV at the Battle of Barnet.
His daughter, Isabel remained married to Clarence until his death in 1478; but Anne Neville, whose husband the Prince of Wales was killed at the Battle of Tewkesbury shortly after Warwick's death, later married Gloucester, who became King as Richard III.
| Political Offices | ||
| Preceded by: The Lord Rivers |
Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports 1460–1471 |
Succeeded by: Sir John Scott |
| Preceded by: The Duke of Gloucester |
Lord High Admiral 1470–1471 |
Succeeded by: The Duke of Gloucester |
| Titles of Nobility Peerage of England |
||
| Preceded by: Anne de Beauchamp |
Earl of Warwick 1449–1471 |
Succeeded by: George Plantagenet |
| Preceded by: Richard Neville |
Earl of Salisbury 1460–1471 |
Succeeded by: Edward Plantagenet |
References
- Warwick the Kingmaker by Paul Murray Kendall ISBN 0351170960
- The Rose of York: Love & War by Sandra Worth ISBN 0975126407. An award-winning novel based on Paul Murray Kendall's account, and lauded by the Richard III Society for its meticulous research, The Rose of York brings the Wars of the Roses to life for the student of medieval history.
