EDWARD IV, king of England: b. Rouen, France, 29 April 1441; d. 9 April 1483. His father, Richard, Duke of York, was grandson of Edward, Earl of Cambridge, and Duke of York, fourth son of Edward III, while the Lan caster branch descended from John of Gaunt, the third son. The York line had intermarried with the female descendants of Lionel, the sec ond son, which gave it the preferable right to the crown. Edward, on the defeat and death of his father at the battle of Wakefield, as sumed his title, and having entered London after his victory over the Lancastrians at Mortimer's Cross in February 1461 was declared king by acclamation. Soon after his accession he had to fight for his crown against an army of 60,000 Lancastrians, assembled in Yorkshire; and the field of Towton confirmed his title by a decisive victory. Although the high-spirited Margaret was enabled by the aid of Louis XI of France again to take the field, the result of the battle of Hexham, in May 1464, obliged her to return to Flanders, and leave her hus band, the imbecile Henry VI, a prisoner in the hands of his enemies. By a marriage with Elizabeth Woodville, widow of Sir John Grey of Groby, a Lancastrian, Edward plunged him self into very serious difficulties, since at the same time he had despatched the Earl of War wick to negotiate a marriage for him with Bona, sister to the Queen of France; so that he at once offended two royal houses and his powerful friend Warwick. Aided by France, Warwick, who had contracted his daughter to the Lancastrian Prince Edward, landed with Clarence and some other lords at Dartmorith; and quickly saw himself at the head of 60,000 men, with whom he marched to encounter Ed ward. The king left Warwick in full posses sion of his kingdom, 11 days after he had set his foot in it. Henry's title was again recog nized by Parliament, and Warwick and Clar ence were declared regents of the kingdom.
Edward subsequently landed at Ravenspur, in Yorkshire. Here his forces were reinforced by partisans from all quarters, and he was soon enabled to march to London, where he obtained entrance as king, and the unfortunate Henry again became prisoner. Warwick advanced against him as far as Barnet, where, on 4 April 1471, another great battle was fought, which ended in the death of Warwick, and a decisive victory on the part of Edward. On the same day Queen Margaret and her son landed at Weymouth, and marched into Gloucestershire, where she was met by the victorious Edward, who totally defeated her at Tewkesbury. The story is told that the queen and her son Edward being taken prisoners and brought into the presence of the victor, Edward asked the latter how he dared to invade his dominions. On re ceiving a spirited answer he basely struck the captive prince on the face with his gauntlet— the signal for immediate massacre by the king's brothers and other nobles attendant. Margaret was thrown into the Tower, where Henry VI soon after died, but whether by violence or by, disease is uncertain. The latter part of his reign was disturbed by his jealousy of his i brother Clarence, whom he put to death, it is said, by drowning in a butt of Malmsey. wine. He had ten children, seven of whom survived him. His reign was marked also by commer cial enterprise, notably the introduction of printing and silk manufactures; and by prog ress in legal methods, especially in the adoption of indirect pleading. Consult Ramsay, 'Lan caster and York' (2 vols. Oxford 1892) ; Vick ers, 'History of England (London 1912).