Edward IV Second Reign: Foreign and Domestic Policies

Edward IV's future was looking very bright because:

• His previous Lancastrian rivals were dead.
• His political rival, the Earl of Warwick, was dead.
• His right to the throne became stronger as Henry VI's descendants had become exstinct, and it was only female lines of John of Gaunt's descendants remained.
• His dynasty looked secure because:
  • Ed IV had an heir, Edward.
  • His brothers, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, and George, Duke of Clarence, both supported it.

When he became King, Edward IV:

• Quickly restored the govt to the status quo in 1470, choosing to regard Henry VI's redeption as a non-event.
• The Earl of Essex was re-instated as Treasurer, who remained in that office until the end of Ed IV's reign.
• Senior officer roles were restored to Ed IV's men.
• Lower offices were granted to members of the King's households.
• The four tellers of the Exchequer were all household men:
  • Sir John Scott
  • Thomas Vaughan
  • Sir John Fogge
  • Richard Fowler

Ed IV managed his Kingship by delegating local power to a small group of trusted nobles:

• These were namely family members or others with close personal connections.
• Following the deaths of the King's former allies and the demise of the Neville family, many vacancies were now available.
• E.g. John, Lord Dynham, and Thomas, Lord Grey of Groby, were trusted with matters in the south-west of England.
• However, Wales and Welsh Marches were harder to manage because:
  • William Herbert's son had succeeded him as Earl of Pembroke, at the age of 16 in 1471, but was not destined to continue wielding the same level of power in the region as his father.
• The council was created in 1473, which was headed by the Earl of Rivers, to maanage the region in the name of the very young Edward, Prince of Wales.
  • He could also manage the Principality of Wales, the Welsh Marches and the Prince's Duchy of Cornwall.
• The Dukes of Norfolk and Suffolk, and John, Lord Howard, were in charge of East Anglia.
• Thomas, Lord Stanley, was in charge of Lancashire and Cheshire.

Foreign affairs was another way in which Ed IV could consolidate his power in England:

• Before, in the 1460s, his motives behind foreign policy was to attack or ally with any foreign power that may offer sanctuary or support to his Lancastrian enemies.
• However, with the Lancastrian elimination, Ed IV no longer had this problem.
• It was important for Ed IV to take the lead on his foreign policy.
• As a result, his foreign policy had consequences for events in England, as it changed the fortunes of senior members of the aristocracy, and his own brother, George, Duke of Clarence.

Ed IV regained control of his domestic affairs:

• This put him in a stronger position to consider his options further afield.
• However, foreign policy was more of a main concrn, where he desired a new French campaign called the 'King's Great Enterprise.'
• He maintained a claim to the crown of France in the same vein as his predecessors.
• Ed IV also sought revenge for Louis XI's involvement in Henry VI's readeption, and Louis XI was certainly a meddlesome individual who needed to be curtailed.
• Therefore, a campaign in France was at the forefront of foreign policy, in the hope that war wirh France would return the monarchy to the ideal image of Edward III whilst drawing a line under the recent civil wars.