Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick

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Richard Neville, jure uxoris 16th Earl of Warwick and suo jure 6th Earl of Salisbury (22 November 1428 – April 14, 1471), is known as "Warwick the Kingmaker".

Warwick was the richest man in England outside of the Royal Family. He was a leading figure in the Wars of the Roses during which he helped depose the Lancastrian King Henry VI in favour of the Yorkist King Edward IV. This earned him his nickname of "the Kingmaker" but he later fell out with Edward and restored Henry VI to the throne. During this period Warwick was considered the real ruler of England.

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[edit] Early life

Said to have been born in Bisham, Berkshire, Warwick was the eldest son of the 5th Countess of Salisbury and the jure uxoris 5th Earl of Salisbury. His younger brother was the 1st Marquess of Montagu, who had briefly been Earl of Northumberland.

Warwick married Lady 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 his infant daughter Anne de Beauchamp, 15th Countess of Warwick. Lady Warwick died at age five, and Neville inherited the earldom through his wife, the late Countess' aunt. 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 the latter 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.

[edit] Breaking with Edward IV

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 following his release the King gradually reasserted political control.

[edit] Warwick changes sides

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 her death in 1476; 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.

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Fictional portrayals:

[edit] External links

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
Peerage of England
Preceded by
Anne de Beauchamp		 Earl of Warwick
(jure uxoris
by Anne Neville)
1449–1471		 Succeeded by
Edward Plantagenet
Preceded by
Richard Neville		 Earl of Salisbury
1460–1471		 Succeeded by
Edward Plantagenet


Persondata
NAME Neville, Richard
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Warwick the Kingmaker
SHORT DESCRIPTION jure uxoris 16th Earl of Warwick and suo jure 6th Earl of Salisbury
DATE OF BIRTH 22 November 1428
PLACE OF BIRTH Bisham, Berkshire
DATE OF DEATH April 14, 1471
PLACE OF DEATH Barnet, England
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