Duke of York

• Henry VI's military commander in defence of Lancastrian 
• demoted to lieutenant of Ireland
• landing in Wales, York travelled to London, backed by an army of 5,000 retainers
• presented a series of bills to the king and make a public and humiliating apology in St Paul's Cathedral, taking an oath of furute loyalty to the king
• soon afterwards, Margaret of Anjou's pregnancy was announced damaging York's claim to be heir presumptive to the throne
• 1452 Richard took up arms against the king and met the royal forces at Dartford in Kent (oartford Uprising)

• November 1453, Somerset accused Treason on the gorunds of poor military leadership
• late March 1454, York was declared Defender and Protector of the Realm by pariament
• Richard was willing to declareopenly his loyalty to the infant Prince Edward
• also surrounded himself with advisors who held a range of opinions
• had the support of the Neville family from October 1453
• appointed Richard Neville as chancellor
• angered the Percies who then organised a rebellion
• May 19th 1454, York led a strong military force, backed by Lord Cromwell, against the rebels and his opponents fled
• by July, York managed to capture Exeter and to imprison him in Pontefract castle - although reccurence of Neville-Percy violence in the autumn of 1454, around Stanford Bridge

End of 1st protectorate

• Henry VI recovers christmas of 1454
• king released a number of York's prisoners
• 9th February 1455 York resigned as Protector

22nd May 1455

• Richard Duke of York and Richard Neville assembled their private armies in the north and marched south to conront the king
• 2,000 strong Lancastrain army under command of Duke of Buckingham arrived at town first and Began organising defences
• after several hours of failed negotiations Yorkist force launched a frontal assault on the town
• Yorkists suffered heavy casualties
• Lancastrian defences finally broke
• Warwick ordered his men to charge the main body of Henry's army
• Lancastrain defences abandoned their barracades and fled
• Warwick's longbowmen resigned arrows onto Henry's bodyguard killing Buckingham and wounding the king
• York restored as Lord Protector of England
• Margaret and son fled

Key outcomes of Battle of St Albans

• Somerset and Henry Percy killed
• king wounded in neck
• York could give Henry the crown, and he could also take it away
• king was captured
• Yorkists lords made a display of begging king for forgiveness
• only wished to attack 'traitors' to the realm
• duke of York did not want to take crown at this point

Events fuelling York's ambition

• York was once again made Defender and Protector of the Realm
• York's second protectorate - king's relapse into insanity
• rivalry with Margaret of Anjou
• 'Loveday' demonstrations
• Act of Attainder

York's ambition demonstrated

• York exaggerated the king's ill-health to justify seize
• negotiated with Anglp-Irish political leaders
• Warwick captain of Calais (strong Yorkist military)
• Blore Heath

• September 1459 armies of the Hous of Lancaster and York met at Blore Heath
• it was a concequence of renewed instability
• York felt it was neccessary to re-assert his influence
• as Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury, hurried South - intercepted by Lord Audley
• Audley's Lancastrian army reckoned to be suprerior
• Lancastrians lost

• king led his own army and Yorkists troops refused to fight their own king
• York suffered a heavy defeat
• Yrok fled to Ireland while Salisbury, Warwick and Edward IV fled to Calais

• purpose was to condemn York and allies to traitors to the king
• November 1459 parliament met in conventry and passed Act of Attainder
• individuals convicted of treason, punishable w/o trial by death and persons and their heir disinherited
• could have possibly been a mistake as it empowers them b/c they have to nothing to lose