WARWICK THE KINGMAKER

THE MACHIAVELLIAN ARISTOCRAT WHO DEPOSED TWO MONARCHS 1428-71 YORKIST-LANCASTRIAN

Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick was an extremely wealthy nobleman who was instrumental in deposing both Henry VI and Edward IV, which earned him the epithet ‘Kingmaker’.

Warwick was a key ally of Richard,

Duke of York and his men played a decisive role in the Yorkist victory at the First Battle of St Albans. He was subsequently made constable of Calais, which controlled a standing English army. Warwick’s position in Calais was vitally important to Yorkist success, and he committed piracy to pay the garrison.

The earl loyally fought for the Yorkists, including at the decisive Battle of Towton, but he was previously routed while commanding troops at the Second Battle of St Albans. To secure Edward IV’S rule he campaigned extensively in northern England to root out resisting Lancastrians, but he became dissatisfied with Edward’s policies. In 1469 Warwick began a rebellion that briefly captured the king. Warwick then fled to France, where he defected to the Lancastrians and invaded England, which forced Edward into exile.

Warwick restored Henry VI and governed England, but Edward soon returned in 1471 and defeated the Kingmaker at Barnet. The over-mighty earl was killed in thick fog while trying to escape the battlefield.

The term ‘kingmaker’ was subsequently coined as a word to describe a person who brings leaders to power by exercising political influence