King of England Edward Plantagenet, IV

1442 - 1483  (40 years)

• Name	Edward Plantagenet  [1, 2, 3]
  Title	King of England
  Suffix	IV
  Birth	28 Apr 1442	Rouen, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France   [2, 3]
  Gender	Male
  Military - Old World	An extremely capable and daring military commander, Edward destroyed the House of Lancaster in a series of spectacular military victories; he was never defeated on the field of battle
  		War-Battle of Barnet (Roses) Illustration of the Battle of Barnet (14 April 1471) on the Ghent manuscript The Battle of Barnet, where Warwick was killed. Edward IV can be seen on the left, wearing a crown, Warwick on the right being pierced by a lance. It should be noted that in reality Edward did not kill Warwick. …
  		War-Battle of Tewkesbury (Roses) The Battle of Tewkesbury, which took place on 4 May 1471, was one of the most decisive battles of the Wars of the Roses in England. King Edward IV and his forces loyal to the House of York completely defeated those of the rival House of Lancaster. The Lancastrian heir to the throne, Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales, and many prominent…
  		War-Battle of Towton (Roses) The Battle of Towton was fought during the English Wars of the Roses on 29 March 1461, near the village of the same name in Yorkshire. It was "probably the largest and bloodiest battle ever fought on English soil". According to chroniclers, more than 50,000 soldiers from the Houses of York and Lancaster fought for hours amidst a snowstorm on that…
  Title	65th Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece
  Death	9 Apr 1483	Westminster, London, England   [2, 3]
  	Westminster Palace
  Burial	Windsor, Berkshire, England   [3]
  	St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle
  		Tomb-PLANTAGENET Elizabeth and King Edward IV Edward IV -He reigned as King of England from March 4, 1461, until October 3, 1470, and from April 11, 1471, until his death on April 9, 1483. Once on the throne, Edward proceeded to alienate his supporters by secretly marrying a Lancastrian widow, Elizabeth Woodville. They would have ten children. -- St. George's Chapel, Windsor +…
  		Church - Chapel of St George St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is both a Royal Peculiar (a church under the direct jurisdiction of the monarch) and the Chapel of the Order of the Garter. St George's Chapel was founded in the 14th century by King Edward III and extensively enlarged in…
  Person ID	I15969	A Tree Called Smith
  Last Modified	21 Jul 2025

  
  

  Father	3rd Duke of York Richard Plantagenet,   b. 21 Sep 1411   d. 31 Dec 1460, Wakefield, Yorkshire, England (Age 49 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Mother	Duchess of York Lady Cecily de Neville,   b. 31 May 1415, Durham, England d. 31 May 1495, Hertfordshire, England (Age 80 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Marriage Contract	1424
  	When Cecily was nine years old, she was betrothed by her father to his thirteen-year-old ward, Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York
  Marriage	18 Oct 1429	Yorkshire, England   [4]
  Marriage End	1460
  	Death of Richard in Battle
  Family ID	F3321	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Queen Consort of England Elizabeth Woodville,   b. 1437, Grafton Regis, Northamptonshire, England d. 8 Jun 1492, Surrey, England (Age 55 years)
  Marriage	1 May 1464	Grafton Regis, Northamptonshire, England   [2, 5]
  Marriage End	1483
  	Death of King Edward
  Children	1. Bridget Plantagenet,   b. 10 Nov 1480, Eltham, Kent, England d. 1517, Kent, England (Age 36 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]   2. Lady of the Garter - Viscountess Welles Princess Cecily Plantagenet,   b. 20 Mar 1469, Westminster, Middlesex, England d. 24 Aug 1507, Isle of Wight, England (Age 38 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]   3. Queen Consort of England -- Lady of the Garter Elizabeth Plantagenet,   b. 11 Feb 1466, Westminster, London, England d. 11 Feb 1503, Tower of London, London, England (Age 37 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]   4. Lady Companion, Order of the Garter - Princess Mary of York Mary Plantagenet,   b. Aug 1466, Windsor, Berkshire, England d. 23 May 1482, Windsor, Berkshire, England (Age 15 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]   5. 1st Duke of Bedford George Plantagenet,   b. Mar 1477, Windsor, Berkshire, England d. Mar 1479, Windsor, Berkshire, England (Age 2 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]   6. Margaret Plantagenet,   b. 10 Apr 1472, Westminster, Middlesex, England d. 11 Dec 1472, Westminster, London, England (Age 0 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]   7. Catherine Plantagenet,   b. 14 Aug 1479, Kent, England d. 15 Nov 1527, Tiverton, Devon, England (Age 48 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]   8. Lady Howard Princess Anne Plantagenet,   b. 2 Nov 1475, Westminster, Middlesex, England d. 23 Nov 1511, Framlingham, Suffolk, England (Age 36 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]   9. Richard Plantagenet,   b. 17 Aug 1473, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England d. 1483, Tower of London, London, England (Age 9 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]   10. King of England Edward V Plantagenet,   b. 4 Nov 1470, Westminster, Middlesex, England d. 1483, Tower of London, London, England (Age 12 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]
  Family ID	F5885	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	21 Jul 2025

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - 28 Apr 1442 - Rouen, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France Marriage - 1 May 1464 - Grafton Regis, Northamptonshire, England Death - 9 Apr 1483 - Westminster, London, England Burial - - Windsor, Berkshire, England  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Burials

  Tomb-PLANTAGENET Elizabeth and King Edward IV Edward IV -He reigned as King of England from March 4, 1461, until October 3, 1470, and from April 11, 1471, until his death on April 9, 1483. Once on the throne, Edward proceeded to alienate his supporters by secretly marrying a Lancastrian widow, Elizabeth Woodville. They would have ten children. -- St. George's Chapel, Windsor +…

  
  

  Old World

  _Edward IV Edward IV (28 Apr 1442 – 9 Apr 1483) was King of England from 4 Mar 1461 to 3 Oct 1470, then again from 11 Apr 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England fought between the Yorkist and Lancastrian factions between 1455 and 1487. Edward inherited the Yorkist claim when his…

  
  

  Places

  Church - Chapel of St George St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is both a Royal Peculiar (a church under the direct jurisdiction of the monarch) and the Chapel of the Order of the Garter. St George's Chapel was founded in the 14th century by King Edward III and extensively enlarged in…

  
  

  Wars & Battles » Slide Show		War-Battle of Barnet (Roses) Illustration of the Battle of Barnet (14 April 1471) on the Ghent manuscript The Battle of Barnet, where Warwick was killed. Edward IV can be seen on the left, wearing a crown, Warwick on the right being pierced by a lance. It should be noted that in reality Edward did not kill Warwick. …
  		War-Battle of Tewkesbury (Roses) The Battle of Tewkesbury, which took place on 4 May 1471, was one of the most decisive battles of the Wars of the Roses in England. King Edward IV and his forces loyal to the House of York completely defeated those of the rival House of Lancaster. The Lancastrian heir to the throne, Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales, and many prominent…
  		War-Battle of Towton (Roses) The Battle of Towton was fought during the English Wars of the Roses on 29 March 1461, near the village of the same name in Yorkshire. It was "probably the largest and bloodiest battle ever fought on English soil". According to chroniclers, more than 50,000 soldiers from the Houses of York and Lancaster fought for hours amidst a snowstorm on that…

  
  

• Sources

  [S473] Hamilton, Rosanna, comp., British Chancery Records, 1386-1558, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT ; Date: 2004;). Record for Edward Plantagenet http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=britchancery_ga&h=106265&indiv=try [S54] Ancestry Family Trees, (Name: Online publication - Provo, UT : Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.;), Database online. Record for King of England Edward Plantagenet http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=pubmembertrees&h=42010149423&indiv=try [S10709] FindAGrave Old World (Famous), Edward IV 1442-1483 - King of England. King Edward Plantagenet IV - English Monarch. Born the son of Richard, Duke of York, a leading claimant to the English throne, and Cicely Neville at Rouen, France. As the then King, Henry VI, became increasingly less effective, the Duke pressed the claim of the House of York for the throne. He was then killed in 1460 at the Battle of Wakefield, and Edward succeed him in pursuit of the throne. Edward deposed his cousin, Henry VI, in 1461. The Earl of Warwick gained control of London and had Edward declared king. Edward strengthened his claim with a decisive victory at the Battle of Towton during which the Lancastrian army was virtually wiped out. Once on the throne, Edward proceeded to alienate his supporters by secretly marrying a Lancastrian widow, Elizabeth Woodville. They would have ten children. The queen and her large, ambitious family made themselves obnoxious to the nobility and were roundly disliked. As a result of Edward's actions, Warwick and the king's younger brother, George, Duke of Clarence, changed sides and led an army against Edward. Henry VI briefly regained the throne during this interlude, but was recaptured at the Battle of Barnet and returned to the Tower where he was quietly murdered. Warwick was killed at the same battle. The remaining Lancastrian resistance was crushed at the Battle of Tewkesbury in 1471. Edward never faced any further rebellion after his restoration. He revived the English claim to the French throne, and invaded France in 1475. He extorted a non-aggression treaty, the Treaty of Picquigny, from Louis XI that same year, which paid the English crown an annuity. Safely on his throne, the king allowed his brother, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, to govern the often fractious north of the kingdom, while he overindulged in drink and food and collected a string of mistresses. The king fell ill at Easter 1483, but lingered long enough to name his brother, Gloucester, as Protector after his death. Edward's death left behind two sons aged twelve and nine, five daughters, and a troubled legacy. He was succeeded by his twelve-year-old son, Edward V. His son was, however, barred from the throne by Parliament on charges of illegitimacy, and he was succeeded by Richard III. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/1962/edward_iv [S54] Ancestry Family Trees, (Name: Online publication - Provo, UT : Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.;), Database online. Record for Richard Plantagenet http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=pubmembertrees&h=-174749627&indiv=try [S969] Wikipedia: Elizabeth Woodville, (Name: Wikipedia;), Elizabeth Woodville. Elizabeth Woodville (also spelt Wydville, Wydeville, or Widvile;[nb 1] c. 1437[1] – 8 June 1492), later known as Dame Elizabeth Grey, was Queen of England from her marriage to King Edward IV on 1 May 1464 until Edward was deposed on 3 October 1470, and again from Edward's resumption of the throne on 11 April 1471 until his death on 9 April 1483. At the time of her birth, Elizabeth's family was of middle rank in the English social hierarchy. Her mother, Jacquetta of Luxembourg, had previously been an aunt-by-marriage to Henry VI. Elizabeth's first marriage was to a minor supporter of the House of Lancaster, Sir John Grey of Groby. He died at the Second Battle of St Albans, leaving Elizabeth a widowed mother of two sons. Elizabeth's second marriage to Edward IV became a cause célèbre. Elizabeth was known for her beauty but came from minor nobility with no great estates, and the marriage took place in secret. Edward was the first king of England since the Norman Conquest to marry one of his subjects,[2][3] and Elizabeth was the first such consort to be crowned queen.[nb 2] Her marriage greatly enriched her siblings and children, but their advancement incurred the hostility of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, "The Kingmaker", and his various alliances with the most senior figures in the increasingly divided royal family. This hostility turned into open discord between King Edward and Warwick, leading to a battle of wills that finally resulted in Warwick switching allegiance to the Lancastrian cause, and to the execution of Elizabeth's father, Richard Woodville, in 1469. After the death of her husband in 1483, Elizabeth remained politically influential even after her son, briefly proclaimed King Edward V of England, was deposed by her brother-in-law, Richard III. Edward and his younger brother Richard both disappeared soon afterwards, and are presumed to have been murdered. Elizabeth subsequently played an important role in securing the accession of Henry VII in 1485. Henry married Elizabeth's eldest daughter, Elizabeth of York, ended the Wars of the Roses, and established the Tudor dynasty. Through her daughter, Elizabeth Woodville was a grandmother of the future Henry VIII. Elizabeth was forced to yield pre-eminence to Henry VII's mother, Lady Margaret Beaufort; her influence on events in these years, and her eventual departure from court into retirement, remain obscure. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Woodville