I came to recover my father's heritage - A Lancaster Victory TL

Of Edward's sisters
Anne (b1439) was unhappily married to the wealthy Henry Holland 3rd Duke of Exeter (Edward attainted him but Anne was given the estates) - their only child Anne was born in 1455 (and died in childhood) - Anne and Henry had seperated by the mid 1460's and ultimately divorced.
Elizabeth (b1444) married in the mid 1450's John de la Pole
Margaret of York b 1446 - married 1468 Charles the Bold of Burgundy (the marriage had been under negotiation for several years though and had been complicated by Edward's wish for his brother George to mary Mary of Burgundy as part of the same deal)

Wouldn't rule out Lancastrian/Yorkist marriage alliances they had happened frequently - where money power prestige and connections were involved loyalty went out the window.
 
Maybe something along the lines of Henry Holland betrothing his daughter to Edward of Westminster during his time in exile with the Lancastrians, and the betrothal actually taking place once the Yorkists are defeated, Edward IV deposed and Henry is restored to his property.
 
I thought a major reason that Henry VII married Elizabeth of York was both to appease the Yorkist Faction as well as strengthen his relatively weak claim to the throne
 
I hope not, because that means Dracula will die a bitch death. But we can still make it roughly similar to that series, and have the Wallachians be a constant threat feared by the English for their potential of invasion.
 
I thought a major reason that Henry VII married Elizabeth of York was both to appease the Yorkist Faction as well as strengthen his relatively weak claim to the throne

One of those highly debated points.
Henry VII never claimed the throne through hereditary right.
His first Parliament after Bosworth simply recognised him as King by Conquest (largely to sidestep the issues with the Beaufort legitimacy and his claim was through his still living mother).
During his exile he was said to have agreed to marry Edward IV's daughter and he was pressed to do so by Parliament however he delayed some time (they married in January 1486). He did not want to be in the position of King by right of his wife he was however pressed to do so and it certainly helped.

By this period it would be hard to say there was a Yorkist faction as such.
The vast majority had accepted Edward IV's rule by his death - only a few staunch Lancastrians had held out.
Richard III's usurpation (of whatever you like to call it) had been largely put up with with a few hold outs (largely those people most closely part of Edward IV's household).
Certainly the marriage appeased most of the nobility although the majority had already accepted Henry as King.
 
AFAIK he held off marrying Elizabeth until the Papal Bull - confirming/nominating him as King of England by right of both conquest and blood - as well as granting the necessary dispensation for them to marry. After all the Wars of the Roses had put England through, the last thing Henry needed was dubiously legitimate heirs - don't forget Elizabeth's grandmother Cecily Neville was the (grand?)daughter of Joan Beaufort, half-sister of Henry IV.
 
Yorkish Triumph – The Shifting Tides (1462)

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(Henry Percy, 3rd Earl of Northumberland)


Edward IV was crowned King of England in Westminster soon after the battle of Towton. Fulfilling his promise that until Henry VI was defeated he was unworthy of being a crowned King. The first act of business that Edward undertook was to offer amnesty to any major Lancaster support that agreed to recognize his rule. Many Lancaster supporters in the South accepted this offer, yet parts of Wales and most of the North continued to resist. Edward IV decided he was needed in London to implement reforms and solidify his power. Edward IV agreed to appoint William Neville, Earl of Kent as Warden of the North after the Neville family asked for the title. Edward tasked him with defeating the Lancastrian Resistance in Northern England and if possible convince the Northern Lords to support his reign. William Neville goal was to force the weakened Lancastrian forces into a large-scale battle similar to Towton but Sir Andrew Trollope advised Henry Percy to avoid these types of battle as all costs. Andrew Trollope is said to have told Henry Percy, “It is your duty to maintain Lancaster power until the return of Henry or his son Edward and all it will take is one major defeat for the White Rose of Lancaster to wilt.” Thus Lancaster forces under Henry Percy merely fought the Yorkist forces in minor Skirmishes. The only major battle fought was early in 1462 when Henry Percy and his forces crushed the Yorkist forces besieging the Castle of Bamburg. The Yorkist Commander of the Bamburgh Siege Sir Thomas Fitzroy had roughly 1,500 soldiers to maintain the siege because should Bamburgh fall, most of North-West England would be open to a full Yorkist attack. William Neville had ridden East to fight the Duke of Somerset and William had assumed that Henry Percy and his army would be with the Duke of Somerset, the highest ranking Lancaster commander still in England. Henry Percy and roughly 3,000 troops marched South quickly when hearing about William Neville leaving the siege of Bamburgh. Henry Percy made use of the hills surrounding the Yorkist forces and had his archers reign arrows down upon the Yorkist forces. Sir Thomas Fitzroy and his 2nd in command were among the men killed in this initially volley. This sent the Yorkist camp into disarray and the forces under Percy quickly broke the Yorkist forces. The battle quickly turned into a bloodbath as the Yorkist forces were trapped between the walls of Bamburgh and the Lancaster forces. It was during the celebrations in Bamburgh when news reached them that Duke Somerset has been defeated in battle near Manchester and a large number of his forces had been captured. This news was further soured when word reached them that Yorkist forces thad captured Henry VI as he sought to reach Percy Family Seat of Alnwick. This in turn caused many of the minor Lancaster Northern Lords and Duke Somerset to bend their knees to Edward IV in exchange for keeping their lands. Thus by the end of 1462, only North-West England, Parts of Wales and parts of Lancashire remained under the control of loyal Lancaster commanders.

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(Alnwick Castle- Percy Family Seat)


OOC: For some reason I hit major writers block so hopefully part 2 of this update can be up either tonight or tomorrow


Next Update: Scottish Ties- The Shifting Tides (1462)
 
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