WI: Edward IV dies before George, Duke of Clarence?

Let's say George's wife lives a little longer so he doesn't jump off the edge as he did in OTL. As a result George is still alive when Edward IV dies as in OTL. How do you think the succession would unfold?
 
Clarence will make a play for the throne, and likely wheel out the precontract story (IIRC there's speculation that spreading that contributed to his death IOTL) or even the Edward as a bastard theory (depending on how scared he is of his mother).

Though the Woodvilles won't remotely trust him, which means he wouldn't be able to get his hands on Edward V peacefully like Richard did. I'm hazy on geography, but I'm not sure Clarence's holdings would put him in any position to intercept Edward V anyway- could Edward V pass by Clarence's territory and be a significant way to London before Clarence can try anything?.

With an obvious potential threat around the Woodville party would likely also be far less leisurely on their journey to London and maybe push for a quicker coronation.

Hastings also won't support him, given Hastings loyalty to Edward and his kids (and unlike with Richard I doubt Hastings will believe Clarence has his nephew's best interests at heart).

Buckingham will throw in with whoever he thinks will serve him best.

The big issue is Richard Duke of Gloucester- he'd had clashes with Clarence over his marriage to Anne Neville and subsequent disputes over territory, assuming Edward V names his loyal brother Richard Lord Protector that'd be another bone of contention (Clarence as the elder brother would view the regency as his by right, Richard would be wary of Clarence trying to usurp his (Richard's) position as LP).

If Clarence has been sulking around his estates whilst Richard is accumulating offices, acting as Edward's deputy in the north etc. then Clarence will likely have some resentment/entitlement issues.

Much depends on how you view Richard's motives IOTL. Did he
a) Genuinely believe the precontract story, and would he accept it if it was coming from such an obviously biased source as Clarence.
b) Genuinely fear the Woodvilles and feel that taking the kingship was the only way to ensure his protection (of course in this scenario most of the perceived Woodville hostility would be directed at Clarence, so Richard might be better disposed towards them). In which case the Woodvilles are still around and Clarence is their enemy too, but Clarence could cause greater trouble. So he could either try to work with the Woodvilles whilst Clarence is neutralised or try and patch things up with Clarence whilst the Woodvilles are neutralised? Either scenario would likely result in Richard falling out with his ally of convenience.
c) Have some single-minded ambition to seize the throne at all costs, in which case he'll have to be rid of Edward V, Richard of Shrewsbury and Clarence. This could be partially paired with the above scenario, with Richard playing the Woodvilles and Clarence against eachother, using one to eliminate the other and then turning on the victor. Though if Edward V is coronated/anointed/whatever in the interim that makes deposing him a tougher sell.
d) IIRC there was something where Richard's claim to a lot of his lands was shaky and kingship allowed him to shore that up.

Having Lord Protector Richard making nice with the Woodvilles to stop whatever Clarence is trying is nice for irony points.

Henry Tudor will likely lick his lips at he chaos, but without the support of Yorkist exiles and Richard's controversial actions his chances are slim. The changed circumstances in England will likely also change diplomatic maneuvrings on the continent (if Clarence bungles things and ends up in exile on the continent he'd be a better bet than Henry yeah? Given Clarence has a better claim to the throne and more influence in England (unlike Henry, who's spent the last dozen years in exile)).

TL;DR With his ambition and loathing for the Woodvilles, Clarence will make a play for the throne. The question is what does Richard do (at least initially- his long-term goal can still be the kingship, if you view him that way), support a brother with whom he's not on the best of terms or a nephew of doubtful legitimacy whose maternal family might still be trying to screw Richard out of his due (the Lord Protectorship bestowed on him by Edward's will).
 
Despite apparently not being the "best of friends" with Clarence i do see Richard supporting his brother.

His mother and wife, we're very big on supporting family and I could see him begrudgingly going along with this.

Plus i expect that the Woodvilles would try and get their man in as LP rather than Richard.
 
Anyone think the Wydevilles/Woodvilles would be able to play George and Richard off one another?

Theoretically, as I said, Clarence has plenty of potential grievances against Richard, so the Woodville's could exploit that. The problem is that George absolutely loaths the Woodvilles and they'll likely be his first target (as they were the first time he rebelled, though that rebellion was under Warwick), so with that in mind it might be hard for the Woodvilles to redirect him at Richard.

As for Richard, how do we rate his political savviness? He obviously got the throne with very little bloodshed, but a lot of things went wrong after that. So, without Richard holding the trump card- possession of Edward V- as he did IOTL, the Woodvilles might be able to outmaneuver him? Though the Woodvilles were also pretty unpopular, so...
 
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