Edward IV dies in April 1483, and his brother Richard Duke of Gloucester named Lord Protector Sets out from the north to meet with the new king his nephew Edward, Prince of Wales, who has set out for London as well. Gloucester meets first with the new king’s uncle and half-brother. Anthony Woodville, having had no distinct liking of Gloucester but knowing of course that the tide is against his family agrees to work with the Lord Protector and together they have Richard Grey arrested on a crime of treason. The man is summarily executed at Northampton before the party head southward. The new king and his uncles head southward to London where the king takes residence in the Tower awaiting his coronation. His mother fearful after her son’s execution tries to take the new king’s siblings away from London to a safe haven, but the Lord Protector with permission from the king has them brought to the Tower, where they are summarily housed. Meanwhile, the Lord Protector is informed of a plot against his person involving the Queen and her relatives, as well as old friend William Hastings. However, the Lord Protector suspecting that this might be a set up decides to ignore it, and instead calls the Queen to the Tower and they ‘formally reconcile’ though both continue to suspect one another. Edward is eventually crowned on the 4th May, 1483, and comes to the throne as Edward V.
Edward and Richard’s relationship is initially strained, largely due to Edward’s uncertain feelings toward his uncle, brought about mainly due to Woodville whisperings. However, Edward knowing that his father did trust Richard, he endeavours to get to know the man who is to serve as his Lord Protector and finds surprisingly that they do get on. Edward comes to resent his mother for trying to take away one of the few connections he has to his father, and as such begins spending more time with his uncle Richard as well as with his cousin Edward of Middleham and his bastard cousin John of Gloucester. He comes to view Richard as the father he so rarely saw, and begins to believe that the man can do no wrong. It is under his uncle’s encouragement that he begins trying to form a relationship with his siblings, particularly his own brother Richard, determined to have a relationship similar to what his father had with Gloucester. On some accounts he is successful, though his cousin Edward would be more of his strong right hand then his brother the Duke of York. Anthony Woodville, would later grow bitter and resentful of the relationship between the king and Gloucester, and would go onto the foster some mentorship to the rather embittered Duke of York. Woodville along with York’s mother would go onto be the key people in York’s rebellion of 1495, one that ends with York’s imprisonment, and Anthony’s death.
The young king, faces several interesting challenges, most pressing the issue with Scotland, with Alexander, Duke of Albany present within the young king’s court, the need to ensure a monarch who owes his presence to England becomes a most enticing prospect, however, with James III regaining popularity within Scotland, Edward V, hesitate to act. Yet act he does, when word comes from the High Steward asking for help in removing the king, Edward sends his uncle the Lord Protector North with an army to remove James III as king and potentially rid them of the pest that Albany had become. The invasion is successful in removing James III, however, instead of seating Albany on the throne, Richard on orders of his king instead installs James III’s young son, as king and sees him crowned as James IV, and also ensures that the young king will marry Edward V’s sister Cecily. Richard returns south a hero, and Albany is left in Scotland to be tried and executed. A treaty is negotiated which recognises the overlordship of Edward V, as well as the possession of Berwick as an English settlement, this will later cause trouble in years to come.
Richard returns to court to find that in his absence the Queen Dowager and William Hasting have been fighting a political war for control of the king, Hastings for the Lord Protector and to nullify the influence of the Woodvilles, and the Queen Dowager in trying to ensure more power for her family. Edward V, spending more time reading and trying to gain more power looks at his uncle’s return with good hope. His uncle with permission from the king quickly dismisses the King’s mother and her relations to Baynard Castle and then begins teaching the king a new. In order to fulfil a plan of his father’s the young king is formally betrothed to Anne heiress to the Duchy of Brittany on the 28th July, 1483 and Anne comes to England to prevent any attempts by the King of France to seize her for himself. The young couple will grow to become fond of one another, and whilst the king’ brother Richard would stray from the marital bed frequently, the King himself would not. Edward continues to grow and prosper under his uncle’s tutelage, showing skill in finance, and in literature, and showing a most adept mind, though his prowess in martial matters is not what his father’s was, something that does concern the Lord Protector. The betrothal of the young king and the young heiress, creates tensions with France, and King Charles begins planning an invasion of Brittany in retaliation. Edward and his uncle begin planning on aiding the Duke of Brittany and word is sent out to Navarre as well as to Castille and Aragon, marriages are arranged, and soon enough Charles backs down, for fear of fighting a war on too many fronts. Edward’s sister Anne is formally betrothed to Philip son of Maximillian Archduke of Austria and contender for the throne of the HRE. Edward’s eldest sister Elizabeth is betrothed to the five year heir to the crowns of Aragon and Castille Prince John. Powerful alliances indeed, and ones that force King Charles of France to reconsider any plans of aggression.
Within England it there is relative peace for around two to three years at the beginning of King Edward V’s reign, though there is growing anger within some ranks of the nobility at the foreign betrothals being made, and Henry Tudor in exile in France using his mother and her husband, is able to use this to his advantage. The pot is stirred so to speak, and when some former Lancastrian loyalists begin causing trouble, Edward sends his uncle out to look into the matter, his uncle goes missing on the 18th September, 1486 and Edward a few months away from being of age flies into a rage. Henry Tudor lands with a small force of mercenaries and Frenchmen given to him by King Charles, and Scotsmen march south determined to end English hegemony. War breaks out with the death of Henry Percy Earl of Northumberland, the north is overrun all this culminates in the battle of edge hill circa December, 1486 which ends the Lancastrian threat once and for all with the death of Henry Tudor. Following this, Edward’s reign is relatively peaceful, though in 1488 war once again breaks out with Scotland when James IV reneges on his betrothal to Cecily of York and promises to marry a daughter of Charles of France, he also signs an alliance with the King of France. Edward leads this army himself, wroth with James for the insult, he marches north with quick haste and destroys James IV and his host at the battle of Lochmaeben slaying James himself and installing his brother as a puppet king, something that will bring trouble later on.
Edward, his blood stirred by the taste of battle decides to deal with France as well and so using popular sentiment calls his men to arms and in the spring of 1490 lands an army in northern France, engaging in a chevauchee campaign but stopping when the treaty of Normandy sees Charles hand over the duchy into Edward’s possession. Edward returns to England and once more faces challenges with Scotland and his own kingdom.
Being tied to the continent brings its own share of headaches for the king as well, seeing Edward drawn into wars with France for control of Brittany, brought into the war over the Castilian succession somewhat, as well as into some HRE politicking as well as helping Burgundy with their issues with France. then there is also the beginning of the colonies, and the race to capture them as well.