I mean, sure, but the characters don't necessarily know that - thought from Edward's POV there might have been some benefit in getting Margaret (and her vast lands) in the hands of an adult brother relatively soon after Towton, rather than waiting a few years for George to come of age.
A Second White Rose - Edmund, Earl of Rutland Survives
- Thread starter Zestinobambino
- Start date
I mean, sure, but the characters don't necessarily know that - thought from Edward's POV there might have been some benefit in getting Margaret (and her vast lands) in the hands of an adult brother relatively soon after Towton, rather than waiting a few years for George to come of age.
The implication I was going for from the narrative bit of Edmund saying he wants to marry Joanna is that they are both very very in love:
So as long as Edmund’s feelings are mutual (which they are because I'm the writer and I want them to be), Joanna is very happy with her marriage. Her eldest brother Thomas still died at Towton (I might have just forgotten to put him on the casualty list) and the other brothers Henry and John are in France now. If Henry and John ever return to England and get captured, I’m sure Joanna will convince her husband to convince Edward to let them live, most likely under house arrest for the rest of their lives.
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I also tried to imply this in Chapter Four by saying Edward assumed/hoped Edmund would have picked a Beaufort girl (i.e. Margaret), but because he loves his brother so much he was willing to let Edmund pick someone else.
Chapter Seven: Rebellion Brews
Chapter Seven: Rebellion Brews
As time went on, Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick grew more disillusioned with the king he had helped to put on the throne. Edward had completely disregarded Warwick’s opinions on matters of foreign policy and the king’s marriage, but it was more than that. Warwick’s attempts to ingratiate himself with the royal family failed repeatedly, with Edward continually rejecting the idea of his daughters Isabel and Anne marrying Edward’s brothers George and Richard. When George married Margaret Beaufort in 1466, Warwick now campaigned for Richard, Duke of Gloucester to marry his eldest daughter Isabel, but Edward had very different ideas. He negotiated with Robert, Lord Boyd, the regent of King James III of Scotland, for Richard to marry James’s younger sister Margaret Stewart (born in 1455). Lord Boyd agreed to the alliance in February 1468, and the two would be married in 1472. The news of the Scottish alliance shocked Warwick, as it meant that he no longer had any options to marry his daughters to within the royal family. His disillusionment rapidly increased, and he soon found an ally in George, Duke of Clarence, who had his own grievances with his older brother.
George, Duke of Clarence had married Margaret Beaufort, through whom he had inherited a vast network of estates, but this wasn’t enough. He wanted Margaret’s son’s earldom of Richmond, which Edward refused to allow, but Clarence’s frustration was worse than that. Despite being married to Margaret since 1466, he had been so far unable to impregnate her. This caused rumours and ridicule to spread among the nobility that Clarence was impotent, causing the highly arrogant duke a great deal of embarrassment and frustration. Even Edward himself referred to Clarence as “our impotent dear brother Georgie” in 1467. To prove his detractors wrong, Clarence took a mistress for himself in Lady Joyce Percy, a relative of the Earl of Northumberland. Lady Joyce was pregnant within two months of the beginning of her affair with Clarence, which he took as proof that he had been burdened with an infertile wife and demanded that Edward allow Clarence to divorce Margaret Beaufort. Edward refused, infuriating Clarence to the point that in 1467, when Warwick spoke to him about a conspiracy against Edward IV and Edmund, Duke of Rutland, Clarence happily agreed.
However, fate had other plans.
When she arrived in England, Catherine of Bourbon very quickly stole the hearts of the kingdom. Only two years older than King Edward, she was stunningly beautiful, with “a delicate nose, eyes as blue as a sapphire from the Far East and ebony hair - a fitting partner for our handsome King.” Indeed, Edward IV was very taken with his new wife, as was she with him - evident in the fact that only five weeks after their wedding, Catherine was pregnant. On 26th November 1465, Queen Catherine went into labour, accompanied by her mother-in-law Cecily, Dowager Duchess of York, and gave birth to a daughter. Thanks to the Dowager Duchess’s help in getting through the difficult labour, Catherine decided to name the girl Cecily, and Edward happily agreed. Catherine was soon pregnant again, and on 13th October 1466 she gave birth to a son, who was named Edmund after his uncle. On 7th July 1468 Catherine gave birth to another son, who was then named Edward. But even this joyous birth was marred with grief, as Catherine of Bourbon died less than a day after giving birth to Edward when she suffered from a postpartum haemorrhage, and baby Edward died just over a week later. Edward IV was shocked by the loss of Catherine - even though they had only been married for four years, they had grown to love and cherish each other. The memory of their mother led Edward to treasure Cecily and Edmund even more, and Edmund was officially invested as Prince of Wales in 1469.
As tragic as the news was that Catherine of Bourbon had died, to the Earl of Warwick it represented one final chance to prove his importance at Edward IV’s court by negotiating the king’s second marriage. However, his own suggestions for Edward’s French bride had now been betrothed to others - Louis XI’s daughter Anne was now betrothed to Maximilian Habsburg, and Louis’s sister-in-law Bona of Savoy had married Edward’s enemy the Red Prince in 1466. At first, Warwick suggested Louis’s second daughter Joan, but Edward dismissed this on grounds of both her young age (she had been born in 1464) and her poor health. With that, Warwick saw one last chance - he offered Edward his own daughter Isabel as his second wife. To convince Edward of this idea, Warwick promised that he would will all his lands to Edward IV himself, so that he could then divide the vast inheritance Warwick had between all his children as he desired.
Warwick Castle, 22nd March 1469
The Earl of Warwick could vaguely hear stomping and someone shouting his name as he worked. The door to his office swung open and Warwick looked up to see the furious red face of George, Duke of Clarence.
“You devious bastard,” Clarence hissed venomously.
Warwick raised his eyebrows. “Pardon me?”
“Isabel was meant to be mine!” Clarence shouted. “That was our deal, Warwick! And now you have offered her to my brother instead!”
“She is my daughter, Clarence. I can decide who she is to marry, not you.” Warwick chided. “Your brother has not accepted my offer yet, regardless. Isabel may still be yours.”
“It does not matter whether he does or does not. We agreed that I would marry her. And now you have shown me that your word means nothing.” Clarence said and let out a bitter snort of laughter. “Is it not enough that my brother encumbers me with a barren whore for a wife? Now you have to take my one chance for freedom from me!”
“Calm down!” Warwick snapped, and Clarence blinked surprised. “This is politics, Clarence. Why would I wage a rebellion against my king when I still have a chance to make amends?”
“If you don’t, then I will.” Clarence said.
“You will rebel against your brother, who has given you all the Beaufort lands? You will rebel on your own?” Warwick laughed. “I beg your pardon, Clarence, but I fear you lack the gumption to organise such a rebellion.”
Clarence was about to snarl some reply back when a squire came into Warwick’s office. “My lord!” The squire announced, brandishing a scroll. “I come with correspondence from the king.”
Warwick and Clarence looked into each other’s eyes for a moment, an entire conversation being said without a single word being uttered. The messenger watched them, then asked, “Is this a poor time, my lord?”
“Not at all, squire.” Warwick said, eyes still locked with Clarence’s. “Please - read what our king has sent me.”
The squire fumbled with the scroll, unfurled it and began to read.
“Dear Richard, Earl of Warwick,
I hope this letter finds you well. I am writing to you today to inform you of my decision regarding the offer you so generously made me; that is, the offer for your daughter’s hand in marriage.” The squire paused to look at Warwick.
Warwick’s heart stopped. “Go on,” he croaked, his throat rapidly drying up. This is it. Please, God, please.
The squire nodded, cleared his throat and carried on. “I have decided that I shall accept your offer, and I shall wed Isabel, as per the terms we discussed.”
And with that, Warwick’s heart did not just restart, but soared into the heavens above with relief. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back. Thank God for that, he told himself, and a wide grin stretched across his face.
Clarence, on the other hand, shook his head and stormed out of Warwick’s office, looking down at the ground in silent rage as he thundered towards the castle’s exit. Fuck Warwick, he thought. Fuck Edward. I’ll show them both.
Edward IV had realised the crux that Warwick's offer symbolised, and had realised the danger of rejecting this offer. He knew that by accepting it, he could reconcile Warwick to the regime that he had grown somewhat disillusioned with, and so he did. Edward then also suggested that Warwick's younger daughter Anne Neville instead marry Thomas FitzAlan, the son and heir of William, Earl of Arundel, a match that Warwick happily pursued now that an incredibly strong link to the House of York was established.
Although Edward's decision reconciled Edward with Warwick, it pushed Clarence past his limits. Of course, it was not only Clarence who had issues with King Edward IV. There were still some Lancastrian nobles in England who had not been fully reconciled, including William Beaumont, Viscount Beaumont. In fact, Beaumont was permanently and irrevocably against any reconciliation with the Yorkists. Beaumont had been attainted in the aftermath of the Battle of Towton, but had secured a pardon just before Christmas in 1461 - but despite that, Edward IV granted all the Beaumont lands to William Hastings, leaving Beaumont with nothing. John de Vere, Earl of Oxford was likewise in a position to rebel. His father John and elder brother Aubrey had been convicted of high treason in February 1462 by John Tiptoft, and were executed that month. Although Edward had allowed John to succeed his father, Oxford remained angry at the execution of his father and brother, so when the opportunity to rebel came along, he gladly took it. As well as that, there was some popular discontent with Edward’s rule. In 1465 Edward had summoned parliament to pass a tax so that he could raise an army and join the War of the Public Weal against Louis XI. The tax was passed, but by the time Edward’s officials had raised the money, the war was over and Edward used the tax money to pay off some of the crown’s debts. To many, this reeked of corruption. The treaty with Scotland also upset many northerners, who remembered the Scottish invasions of 1461 and 1462, as well as those even further back. Although Edward had proved himself in battle against the Scots, the new marriage alliance felt like a regression. With all of this against Edward IV, England was about to enter the second phase of the Wars of the Roses.
Amazing! Hopefully this Will soothe warick enough.
HAHAHAHA! Our dear Impotent brother Georgie. That's Golden! And the name George Will be remembered For aside from traitor and turncoat.
And RIP Catherine, may her legacy live on with cecily, Edmund and Edward. Hope that Ned and Isabel can love each other and give the Three kids siblings
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It definitely will.
Catherine may be dead, but this isn't the last of her legacy. Marrying her will prove to have been a very useful choice for Ned, even if she's no longer with him...
(And, just a minor correction, baby Edward died young so it's just Cecily and Edmund
)Great to hear.
Assisting him beyond the grave, truly a great Queen. Wish isabel best of luck though
Great chapter, rebellion seems to be happening like OTL, though it'll be much less successful with Warwick not at the helm. George is gonna blunder massively in this I believe. RIP Queen Catherine and young Edward, gone too soon 😢😢. Hopefully good marriages are found for Cecily and Edmund. Nice that Richard is marrying a Scottish princess, it'll give Edward IV an advantage if Scotland needs to be invaded. Keep up the good work 👍👍👍
whew... Edward and isabel are getting married? intriguing!
makes me wonder, obviously otl Warwick offered isabel and anne to George and richard, but did he ever offer either to edward? seems to me like the king would have been his first choice rather than his little brothers, no?
I'm not sure if he did. I agree that he probably pointed out either Isabel or Anne as an option for Edward before he went to negotiate with Louis XI. There's not an outrageously unreasonable age gap between Edward and Isabel - 8 years - so I do think this match is certainly feasible.
fair enough
and i like the sound of this tooThere will be... I have my plans well in advance
Chapter Eight: The Clarentine Rebellion
Chapter Eight: The Clarentine Rebellion
Warwick's apparent betrayal of Clarence, coupled with the constant belittling of Clarence by the court and Edward's refusal to allow Clarence to divorce Margaret Beaufort and marry someone else, pushed the duke to his breaking point. He could no longer stand to live under Edward IV and convinced himself that his older brother must hate him - after all, why else would he treat him this way? Clarence decided that he would go through with his and Warwick's plan to defect to the Lancastrians anyway, even if it meant going it alone. On 11th March 1469, Clarence issued a document that he called the Clarentine Manifesto, calling for the dismissal of Edward IV's evil advisors such as Edmund, Duke of Rutland, William, Earl of Pembroke and - a recent addition to the list - Richard, Earl of Warwick. The Clarentine Manifesto went into great detail about the myriad sins and misdeeds that Rutland, Pembroke and Warwick had done to the English government, including controlling Edward IV through the development of new factions in court, taking the law into their own hands to deal with criminal cases in their localities and manipulating the king into certain actions. However, many saw through the thin veneer that Clarence put on, and realised that this rebellion was motivated by petty greed for more power and a different wife. As such, very few people came out in support of Clarence, and when he realised this, he had little choice but to flee.
On 1st April 1469, George, Duke of Clarence fled England, departing from Southampton to Cherbourg - making sure to steer clear of the English-held fortress at Calais, which was currently under the captaincy of William, Lord Hastings. Once he landed in France, he was arrested by Charles, Duke of Berry’s soldiers, who then took him to Paris for an audience with Louis XI. Fascinated by the defection of Edward IV’s brother, Louis suggested a reconciliation between Clarence and Margaret of Anjou, who was continuing to press her cousin for more support for the Lancastrian cause. The meeting, which took place at the aptly-named town of Angers, was an awkward and bitter affair, but it did result in an agreement between Margaret of Anjou, Louis XI and the Yorkist defector. They agreed that Clarence would lead an invasion of England with the aim of freeing Henry VI from captivity in the Tower of London, and deposing Edward IV. Clarence would be rewarded for this by being made Duke of York, and would be granted all land held by the House of York. The alliance worked well for Louis XI. Still dealing with the shock of the War of the Public Weal, Louis had a lot to gain from overthrowing Edward IV - a Lancastrian king of England would remove an ally for Charles, Duke of Burgundy. Louis XI also offered to find Clarence a French bride, and suggested Catherine d’Armagnac, the daughter of Louise of Anjou, Louis XI’s god-daughter, and her husband Jacques d’Armagnac, Duke of Nemours. The Archbishop of Reims, Jean Juvénal des Ursins, dissolved George, Duke of Clarence’s marriage to Margaret Beaufort on 12th August 1469, and Clarence formally married Catherine three days later. Catherine was pregnant shortly after their marriage, and on 3rd June 1470 gave birth to a boy, who was named Louis in honour of George’s new French patron.
Clarence, of course, was not the only disaffected noble in England. While he reconciled with the Lancastrian court-in-exile, a rebellion in the Midlands led by John, Earl of Oxford and William, Viscount Beaumont erupted. With a force of 4,600 men, Oxford and Beaumont marched on Northampton, a town held by the Duke of Rutland. The Siege of Northampton began on 17th May 1469, and the town very quickly collapsed into the hands of the besiegers due to poor planning. From there, the rebels planned to march on London to depose Edward IV and free Henry VI. They set off but were met on 4th June at the Battle of Bedford, in which John Tiptoft, Earl of Worcester commanded the Yorkist army. In the following battle the Lancastrians were defeated and their forces scattered. Although the Lancastrian assault was halted, the Yorkist victory achieved little. Oxford and Beaumont were able to escape with their lives, but the Yorkist commander John Tiptoft was killed in battle. Oxford and Beaumont then fled to France as well to join the growing conspiracy.
With the Lancastrian court-in-exile growing ever more numerous, Edward IV knew he had to secure his realm from more rebellion. Luckily for him, it was around this time that Henry Percy, recently released from the Tower of London, began to petition Edward for a regrant of his lands and title as the Earl of Northumberland. Edward was torn over this. On the one hand, the Percy family had been staunch Lancastrians earlier in the war, so Edward wasn’t sure if he could trust Percy now. On the other hand, the Percy family was well-suited to fill the void left by the junior Nevilles, who had now all left England, and were still popular among their old tenants. As well as that, Henry Percy had joined Edward IV on the march north and had fought honourably at Maltby, and so the restoration of the Earldom of Northumberland would be a suitable reward for Percy’s loyalty. Rutland advised against allowing Percy to retake his estates, but this was one of the few occasions Edward went against his brother’s advice and decided to give Henry Percy what he wanted. He returned to his estates in August 1469, but was only formally recognised as Earl of Northumberland by parliament in the 1472-1473 parliament, which was mainly used to raise finances for the coming war with France. Percy also went on to marry Katherine Herbert, daughter of William, Earl of Pembroke.
The Lancastrians returned in March 1470 with an army led by Clarence, Beaumont, Shrewsbury, and Oxford, with a small command given over to Edward of Westminster. They landed in Sandwich, Kent, on 12th March. Only a few days later, John Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury was killed at the Battle of Kennington (17th March) by an archer fighting under the banner of the Earl of Kent, Edmund Grey. Small-scale skirmishes erupted across the south of England as the Lancastrians pushed towards London. The Battle of Tilbury Fort (25th March) saw Edward of Westminster’s first victory and proved to England the cruelty of this young prince – he took four hundred prisoners, including the Duke of Norfolk and Lord Audley, and had them all executed. It was around this time Edward of Westminster became known as the Red Prince in the courts of Europe, and it is debated whether this is because of the red rose emblem of the House of Lancaster, or if his nickname represented all the blood he spilled at Tilbury Fort.
Edward IV and his soon-to-be father-in-law Warwick left London, gathering an army of 16,000 men from their estates in the south, to halt Clarence’s advance. Meanwhile, Edward left London in the capable hands of the Duke of Rutland and the Earl of Kent. Together, they closed all of the city’s gates, and a fleet of ships led by Thomas, Bastard of Fauconberg moored in the River Thames to help defend London. As Edward IV had done during Somerset’s Rebellion in 1464, Rutland removed Henry VI from the Tower of London and sent him north under the protection of John Stafford, who took him to Stafford Castle. The Red Prince attempted a siege of London, but with Fauconberg’s navy and Rutland and Kent’s defensive measures, he was quickly repulsed. However, Rutland’s men were unable to capture him, and he fled back to France to rejoin his wife Bona.
Meanwhile, Edward IV and Warwick came face-to-face with Clarence on 4th April at the Battle of Bletchley. Just before the battle, Edward offered Clarence one last chance at reconciliation, hoping he could convince his brother to return to his side with no bloodshed. Clarence refused, claiming that both Edward and Warwick had betrayed him to the point where rebellion was his only option, and so battle began once more. the Battle of Bletchley lasted for about 45 minutes and ended in a Yorkist victory - after losing his standard-bearer - and his nerve - Clarence surrendered to King Edward IV. The Clarentine Rebellion was over.
The Rebellion of the Duke of Clarence - a painting by an unnamed artist in the 1800s showing the Battle of Bletchley (4th April 1470), although the artist was later criticised for historical inaccuracy as the fires do not match up with contemporary descriptions of the battle [1]
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I can't say for definite. All I'll say is I think you'll get a bit of entertainment out of the aftermath...
Great chapter, the Clarentine Rebellion is over with George surrendering, I assume he'll either be forever kept in the Tower of London or executed the moment possible. The Lancastrians have to be dealt with in support Clarence's rebellion against the crown. An invasion of France is inevitable. I wonder what Margaret Beaufort will do now? Keep up the great work 👍👍👍
Chapter Nine: Aftermath
Chapter Nine: Aftermath
Baynard’s Castle, 29th April 1470
The two guards shoved George, Duke of Clarence - bound in shackles - into the office of his brother, King Edward IV. Edward looked up at his little brother and sighed with disappointment.
“Nice of you to remember me,” George said bitterly. It had been over three weeks since George had surrendered to Edward now, and all that time he had simply been rotting in a cell in the Tower of London, waiting for his brother’s verdict.
“I have been trying to work out what to do with you, George.” Edward said, standing up. “On the one hand, you have committed treason against your king, and that is punishable by death. On the other hand... well, you are my brother.”
“As if that ever meant anything to you.” George spat, and Edward looked genuinely offended.
“Have I not done right by you, Georgie?” He asked. “I have given you an entire family’s land, and not just any family, but the Beauforts. Is all of that great wealth not enough for you?”
“I told you so often what I wanted.” George hissed. “I wanted Richmond and I wanted Isabel. Instead, you let Herbert take Richmond, and you take Isabel for yourself. What else am I to do but rebel?”
“I didn’t give you the wife you wanted, so you commit treason!” Edward laughed in disbelief. Then he shook his head. “Anyway, I have decided what I am going to do with you... I’m going to give you exactly what you wished.”
George blinked. “I beg your pardon?” He asked.
Edward smiled, ready to relish in the laconic irony of George’s punishment. “You wished to be divorced from Margaret Beaufort; I accept this. You chose to instead marry Catherine d’Armagnac; you have my blessing.”
George grinned - then, sensing that something was up, frowned. “And?”
Edward shrugged. “That is it.”
George gasped. “Thank you, brother.”
“You are welcome. There’s just... two slight issues with my acceptance of your decisions.” Edward said and smiled again. “Since you have divorced yourself from Margaret Beaufort, all the lands you held in right of her are no longer yours. The Beaufort inheritance will be returned to crown hands immediately.” Edward said.
“What?!” George gasped. “But- but without those lands, I have nothing!”
But Edward was not done. “And your new wife - I doubt her father will be willing to send her to England to be with a husband who is so poor in land. Therefore, I will not waste his time or mine in trying to bring her here.”
George couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You mean-“ he stammered, his square face flushing bright red with embarrassment.
“I mean that your decision to go against me has cost you your lands and your wife.” Edward said, harshly. “The Duke of Clarence will not be the title of a wealthy or respected man for a very long time, and you will have to live with that decision.”
Other than his rebellious brother, there was one other key figure that Edward IV needed to deal with in the short-term - his predecessor as king, Henry VI. Since the Battle of Towton there had been several rebellions against Edward IV with the key aim of freeing Henry VI, and this was to be no more. Henry was murdered quietly in his sleep on the night of 6th June 1470.
Prior to Edward’s reign, Edmund, Duke of Rutland had gained a little experience with the Irish as he had travelled with their father the Duke of York as Lord Lieutenant to Ireland. Edmund had been made Lord Chancellor by Henry VI, with authority exercised through a series of professionals until he was of age and was also made Earl of Cork. Early in Edward’s reign, Edmund was made Lord Lieutenant in Ireland. Busy with developments in England, Rutland had allowed the Earl of Kildare to govern Ireland in his absence as Lord Deputy. However, following the Clarentine Rebellion, Edward suggested that Edmund take some time in Ireland to distance himself from Clarence while the situation calmed down. Reluctantly, Edmund agreed. In a show of faith and brotherly affection, shortly before Edmund’s departure from Chester to Dublin, Edward made his brother the Earl of Ulster, a title that Edward had held himself as the de Burgh heir, and upgraded his earldom of Cork to a duchy. Edmund landed in Dublin on 9th September 1470 with a body of 600 soldiers and his wife Joanna Courtenay and children Lionel, Thomas and Joanna. During his extended tenure in Ireland, which lasted until March 1473 (when he was called away to fight in the Franco-Alliance War), Edmund continued the reputation of his father and was well-liked by the Anglo-Irish lords. He was able to anglicise the Dempsey clan by investing Sean Dempsey as Earl of Maliere, furthering the cause of tying England and Ireland together.
While Edward had proved his might in dealing with the rebellion, his dynasty remained insecure since the death of Catherine of Bourbon and only one son. Arguably now more than ever, Edward IV needed a wife. He wasted no time in finalising the arrangements with Warwick, and the twenty-eight-year-old Edward and the nineteen-year-old Isabel were married on 10th September 1470. They had their first child together next year, on 4th November 1471. The baby was a boy, who they decided to name Richard, after both his grandfathers.
Given Louis XI’s role in Clarence’s Rebellion, it was clear that Edward IV would want revenge against France for. Luckily, Edward IV had constructed a diplomatic network linking him to Louis XI’s biggest enemies - Edward’s sister Anne was married to Charles, Duke of Burgundy, and Edward had pursued good relations with Francis II, Duke of Brittany. Charles, who was eager for a military alliance to help turn his Burgundian state into a unified, independent kingdom, invited Edward and Francis to Bruges to form a three-way alliance on the invasion of France. What followed was the Treaty of Bruges, ratified in June 1472, which gave birth to what was named the Bruges Alliance. The Treaty stipulated that:
- All powers involved would join forces to invade Normandy in spring 1473.
- Both Charles and Francis recognised Edward IV as King of France.
- Edward recognised both Burgundy and Brittany as independent countries.
- Burgundy would be granted Champagne, Nevers, Rethel, Guise, Valois and Bar to link its northern and southern dominions.
- Brittany would be granted control over Maine and Anjou.
Even though Edward couldn’t get support from Scotland, he and the Bruges Alliance did find new support from within France; Louis, Count of St-Pol wrote to Edward to tell him that he would allow English troops into his territories of Amiens, Peronne and Abbeville if he were rewarded with Champagne (this offer was not accepted, given Charles’s desire to take Champagne, but St-Pol still helped the invaders and was rewarded by being allowed to retain his lands). John, Duke of Bourbon also allied himself with the Bruges Alliance thanks to Edward IV’s old marriage to Catherine of Bourbon, and was among the first French nobles to declare for Edward. To ensure the war went as smoothly as possible, Edward ordered a delegation of Richard, Duke of Gloucester and Henry, Earl of Northumberland to negotiate with the Scots for a truce while Edward negotiated with the Hanseatic League for them to not disrupt English ships. Edward began to choose noblemen for his commanders and chose John Howard, William Hastings, the Duke of Norfolk and the Duke of Suffolk, Edward’s brother-in-law. He also allowed Richard, Earl of Warwick a command despite his rebelliousness, given that he was an excellent military leader. Notably, he snubbed George, Duke of Clarence from command, given his recent rebelliousness and lack of military ability. In September 1472, Edward called a parliament in London, which was used to pass a tax to raise finances for the war (as well as this, Edward forced Clarence to swear fealty in this parliament, and formally restored Henry Percy to the Earldom of Northumberland). In December 1472, he demanded that Louis XI hand the Lancastrians over to Hastings in Calais or risk the consequences. Louis did not respond (Edward knew he would not – the demand was more an excuse to go to war than a chance to make peace), so on 25th February 1473, England declared war on France, as did Burgundy and Brittany. The Franco-Alliance War had begun.
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Ooh, a double posting! I do treat you all...
But this way, now I've opened up the door for this TL to go a little more international! Brace yourselves...
But this way, now I've opened up the door for this TL to go a little more international! Brace yourselves...