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It's generally agreed that Edward IV was a fairly good monarch. He waged war successfully (famously he was never defeated in battle), imposed law and order and provided the Yorkist dynasty with an heir and a spare. His primary vice was debauchery, which is not generally a cardinal sin in a monarch. Yet within three years of his death in 1482 his sons had both been murdered and his brother Richard had made himself so unpopular that the Beauforts (Lancastrians) and Woodvilles (Yorkists) united to overthrow him and place Henry Tudor on the throne.

The cause of this collapse can in general be ascribed to Edward's failure to live long enough for his heir to come of age. This had historically led to serious problems and power struggles amongst those who wished to rule on behalf of a young monarch and it would do so again in the reign of Edward VI three generations later. So, what if Edward IV lived long enough for Edward V to take the throne in his own right rather than requiring his uncle's appointment as Protector?

It's hard to say exactly how long Edward IV might have lived. He has the minor distinction of being one of only two Yorkist men to die natural deaths (two brothers, his father and great-uncle died in battle; one brother and his grandfather were executed) but being forty-one wasn't all that old either. The other natural Yorkist death was that of his great-grandfather at the age of sixty-one and Edward's father had been forty-nine when he died, so somewhere between these ages seems reasonable. Edward died of ill-health probably complicated or caused by his obesity, which has echoes of Henry VIII, so let's say fifty-five which would conveniently place Edward V as succeeding at the age of twenty-six: the exact same age as Henry V had.

Are there any timelines exploring this? And if not, what would happen?

So here's a POD: Edward IV recovers from a minor illness in 1482 and reigns another fourteen years until 1496, passing the throne to Edward V who is at this time in his prime.

What happens to Richard of Gloucester? His only son, Edward, died young. However, it is possible he would remarry after the death of his wife in 1484.

For that matter, what of young Richard of Shrewsbury, Edward V's brother? Or his elder sister, Elisabeth, who IOTL would have wed Henry VII?

The Lancastrian cause is - and would likely remain - extinct. Henry Tudor was an unlikely candidate to be King in place of Richard III. What role might he have when the House of York remains secure?
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