April 14, 1483: Edward IV of England Is Killed at the Battle of Barnet

What if Edward IV never survived the Battle of Barnet. What would life have been like had George, Duke of Clarence betrayed his brother to become King George I of England? Would he have succeeded or still faced the same fate?

The Battle of Barnet looked to be a Yorkist victory. Edward IV’s army had its enemies trapped in the mud. They could pick them off one-by-one. Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick had tried, but failed to bring an end to the Wars of the Roses. But he wasn’t going down without a fight and he would have to be killed to give up this battle.

He thought that would happen, until the unthinkable took place. Just as Edward IV came towards him, he stopped; a look of shock in his eyes. Suddenly blood dripped from his mouth and he landed hard on his knees. Warwick looked up in awe to see George, Duke of Clarence standing above his own brother, his own sword stuck into Edward’s back.

George, Duke of Clarence Changes Warwick’s Fate

George had always been a tricky man to trust. He would switch sides whenever it suited him for power. While initially unwilling to kill his brother, that changed today. Warwick wasn’t sure why it changed right now, but it didn’t matter.

The actions of George meant that Edward’s army had no leader. Well they did, but that new leader had just usurped the old one. And that new leader was now clearly on the side of the Lancastrians.

Or was he?

George looked straight at Warwick, glee in his eyes. This was all part of a game; part of a plot. George just wanted his older brother out of the way. The battle was still on and Warwick realised that he wasn’t going to make it out alive.

Yet, somehow he did. He just made it out maimed. George had decided to capture the Lancastrians that still lived and pulled them from the mud. Many of them were executed, but Warwick was spared. It just so happened that Warwick was George’s father-in-law and George didn’t want to leave his wife without a father. He knew how that felt.

Instead, George cut off Warwick’s sword hand. It was excruciating, but Warwick was able to remain alive.

The Battle of Tewkesbury Still Takes Place

Over the next two weeks, Warwick was pulled in to give George some council. No, it wasn’t council, but news of Henry VI’s army. Warwick wasn’t just going to give that answer away. He wanted reassurances from George first.

It was Isabel, his elder daughter, who was able to give him some reassurances. Warwick would be

welcomed back to Court as the king’s advisor and would be made a duke. After all, there were positions available since Edward IV’s downfall and now death. On top of that, his elder daughter would be queen and her children with George would be heirs to the throne.

Unlike Anne, Isabel had already proven fertile. She lost the baby, but she could at least bear children. Anne was still to conceive with her husband. And it wasn’t like Henry VI or his son were really fit to rule. George wasn’t the most stable, but Warwick could help ensure the safety for England, ruling behind the scenes through Isabel.

Yes, he decided to help and that gave George a major advantage when it came to the Battle of Tewkesbury on May 4, 1471. Henry VI’s Lancastrian forces were no match. Everyone died, including the king’s son Edward of Westminster. Only the women, Margaret of Anjou and Anne Neville, lived but they were taken straight to the Tower of London to be put on trial for treason.

Henry VI was also captured and taken to the Tower of London.

The Execution of Royalty

George knew that he couldn’t execute Margaret of Anjou without bringing about a war with France. He wasn’t ready to do that, so arrange a ransom for her with the French instead. King Louis XI agreed a handsome sum for his niece and also agreed to the return of some of the lost lands due to Margaret and Henry’s wedding contract.

Warwick was impressed with George’s actions. He never expected this from the wildfire that was now George I of England. However, he was more interested in the action taken against his younger daughter, Anne.

George had wanted to execute her as a traitor. Isabel pleaded with her husband to keep Anne alive, even placing her under house arrest, but George refused. George knew that once Warwick died, Isabel and Anne would get his land and inheritance. He didn’t want Anne to get any of it, so for Anne’s trial put together a range of men who would have a reason to find the young former Princess of Wales guilty of treason.

Richard, Duke of Gloucester attempted to save Anne from her execution, but was caught by guards. George had his own brother locked away, before swiftly taking Anne’s head and life.

Dealing with His Sister-in-Law

While all this happened, Elizabeth Woodville remained living in sanctuary with her children. George learned that Elizabeth had given birth to a son while in sanctuary. Those who supported Edward’s

claim to the throne would now have someone to place as a figurehead. He may have just been an infant now, but it wouldn’t take long for him to be a viable contender for the throne. Elizabeth and Anthony Woodville would make sure Edward Plantagenet would become King Edward V one day.

George needed to do something. He needed to remove Edward and the rest of the Woodvilles as a threat, but he couldn’t breach sanctuary. Nobody would ever forgive him if he did that. He would have to lure her out somehow instead.

But before he could do that, he heard news that his wife was pregnant. George excitedly awaited the birth of the prince. After all, if Elizabeth Woodville had finally given birth to a boy, his wife as Queen of England would too. Unfortunately, Isabel gave birth to a girl. This one was quickly named Margaret but George wasn’t happy. He needed an heir to his throne. Edward IV had one and Henry VI had one, so he needed an heir too.

The problem now was the Lancastrians rising again. They had a king in the Tower of London. Lead by the Duke of Buckingham and (as George would later find out) instructed by Margaret Beaufort, they aimed to break Henry VI out of the Tower. The revolt didn’t work. The soldiers were killed, the Duke of Buckingham executed, and Margaret Beaufort placed under house arrest.

As for Henry VI, George had him killed to avoid any more problems. Warwick, who had still not been given the title of duke, reminded George of another man in the Tower who would be a greater threat to his crown: his younger brother, Richard. Richard had gained supporters around England while working with Edward IV. While George had proven to lack loyalty, Richard had not.

George knew that his brother was a bigger threat to his safety than his sister-in-law, nieces, and nephew currently in sanctuary, but wouldn’t do anything yet. He could execute his wife’s sister, but not his own brother. Especially not when he had nothing that he could use against Richard that would warrant death.

The Death of a Queen

Isabel soon found herself with child again. This time the child was a son, named Richard after his father. Bonfires were lit around England, as an heir was born. George was ecstatic, and pushed for Isabel to be rechurched as soon as possible so they could make another heir.

It wouldn’t be good for Isabel’s body. While she quickly became pregnant again, her body hadn’t fully recovered. She was weak from the last pregnancy and gave birth to a weak baby boy, who would be called George. Isabel struggled to recover and was consumed by childbed fever. Just months after the birth of her second son, she died of childbed fever just before Christmas of 1476. Baby George followed on New Year’s Day.

The country mourned for the loss of their queen and prince. George took the deaths extremely hard.

Believing them to be witchcraft, George turned to the only source he could believe would want to see Isabel and the baby dead: Elizabeth Woodville. She had to be conspiring to put her own son on the throne. First it would be Isabel and the new baby, since they were already weak, and then it would be Richard, Margaret, and finally himself.

Without Isabel by his side, Warwick saw that George was losing all sense of control. England had something to worry about when George stormed into Sanctuary to retrieve Elizabeth Woodville and her children. When George and Warwick reached sanctuary, they realised that something wasn’t right.

Everyone had disappeared. Somehow Elizabeth and her children had fled the country. Nobody could tell them when or how. On further inspection around the country, all the Woodvilles had fled. It would be months later that they would hear of the Woodvilles in exile with Margaret of York, Edward’s sister. She refused to allow who she viewed as the rightful heirs to the throne die at the hands of her mad brother.

George was furious. In retaliation, he had his own brother Richard executed in secret. Legend has it that Richard was drowned in a barrel of Malmsey wine, a way that George had said he would always like to go. Margaret Beaufort was also executed, as George didn’t trust her while her son Henry Tudor was in France.

The Death of King George I of England

George didn’t last long after the events of February 1478. England turned against him, as his mental health deteriorated. Warwick had to handle more of the king’s affairs, and worked to put a council in place (with him as Lord Protector, of course) for George’s young son Richard to take the throne.

In February 1483, George died suddenly. Nobody knows the real causes, but it meant that 8-year-old Richard was now King Richard III of England. The country hoped that he would be as strong has his Uncle Edward, but that wasn’t possible with Warwick controlling everything behind the scenes.

In Europe, the Woodvilles realised that this was the time to attack. They’d spent the last decade recruiting an army and were working with Jasper and Henry Tudor. On August 22, 1485, the Woodville and Tudor army headed to Bosworth Field, against Warwick’s forces. Evenly matched and nothing to lose, Anthony Woodville and Henry Tudor overpowered Warwick and his men, usurping the throne.

The 14-year-old Edward Plantagenet was now able to make his way to England safely and take his place as the rightful King of England. Henry Tudor married Elizabeth of York, a promise Elizabeth had made to Jasper in return for his men and smarts. While Henry wouldn’t become king, he would have a place close to the throne. It wasn’t exactly what his father wanted, but it was enough for him, for now.

The young Richard III of England was placed in the Tower of London temporarily. Elizabeth wouldn’t allow her son to act in the same way as George had by executing his own kin. Instead, Elizabeth worked with Margaret of York to have Richard raised with her. He actually didn’t mind, especially when he heard the stories of his father’s actions.

The Plantagenet line continued for another four generations.

What Really Happened on April 14, 1471

George, Duke of Clarence never did betray his brother on the battlefield. Edward IV’s men were able to overpower Warwick’s, killing the Earl of Warwick on the battlefield. At the Battle of Tewskesbury, Richard of Westminster was killed, but Anne Neville’s life was spared. She would go on to marry Richard, Duke of Gloucester.

Elizabeth Woodville would return to Edward IV’s side as his consort and they would have six more children after Prince Edward. George would go on to betray his brother again and did falsely accuse a woman of witchcraft after the death of his wife. After George’s actions, Edward IV felt he had no choice but to execute his brother, and legend says it was in a barrel of Malmsey wine.

The Battle of Tewkesbury would be the last Wars of the Roses battle for more than a decade. Edward IV would remain in power until his death on April 9, 1483.