WI:Richard of York Becomes King of England

Well the Dukes of Somerset would either be killed or flee to France.

I guess that he would set aside (such a polite term) Henry VI and have himself crowned king imediately.

I would imagine there would be a period of settling scores with his enemies (including Margret of Anjou) and then I think he would be a reformist king. He had identified many areas where royal authority could be improved and most of these seem sensible.

He would extend the wars in France and prehaps be able to keep at least Normany as English posessions.

Personally I have always thought he would make a great king.
 
I think York would be more focused on Gascony. And Queen Margaret and Edward of Westminster could escape and threaten to restore theHouse of Lancaster, though this could be defeated. Edward IV would probably be a better King.
 
I think York would be more focused on Gascony. And Queen Margaret and Edward of Westminster could escape and threaten to restore theHouse of Lancaster, though this could be defeated. Edward IV would probably be a better King.
The English are in no position to war with France at this time...perhaps the Lancastrians are granted by France Gascony in order to spite the Yorkists.
 
The English are in no position to war with France at this time...perhaps the Lancastrians are granted by France Gascony in order to spite the Yorkists.

Very very very unlikely. Why would France give away one of their richest domains to some English upstarts?!?!?!
 
Richard of York

His heir Edward would never have married Elizabeth Woodville under these circumstances. Maybe even her first husband would have lived (I can't recall which battle he was killed at). I can't see England retaining Normandy though.
 
His heir Edward would never have married Elizabeth Woodville under these circumstances. Maybe even her first husband would have lived (I can't recall which battle he was killed at). I can't see England retaining Normandy though.

Precisely!
 
Edward IV might marry Margaret Beaufort instead (if her marriage to Stafford could be annulled, there were no children and they were cousins..) and thus secure himself against any Lancastrian revival.
 
I'm gradually becoming acquainted with the period through reading Michael Hicks' book.

From what Hicks says, I'm unconvinced that York is going to make a particularly good king. He lacks the support of the realm's major nobles, and doesn't have a tremendous amount of popular appeal either. His solution to the crown's crippling financial problem seems to have been little more than repeated attempt at "Resumption"; the withdrawal of grants of crown land to court favourites. Now, this was undoubtedly a problem, spurred by the innate generosity and benevolence of Henry VI personally, but it was only a peripheral one: Hicks suggests that even if York had been successful in Resuming all crown lands it wouldn't have been anywhere enough to put the crown back into the black.

The real problem in the 1450s is the fact that the English Crown is trying to fight a war in France without Parliament being willing to raise taxes to pay for armies. York's revolts were all about removing those few men who saw the basic truth of that matter, and until York and his allies realise the real reasons behind the fiscal difficulties of the English kingdom then there will be more difficulty ahead.

When I have finished Hicks' book I may look back on this argument and laugh at its simplicity and lack of understanding, but we shall see. Currently I'm up to the final Yorkist revolt of 1459, so I've only read about the background to this proposed PoD so far.
 
Richard of York

Edward IV might marry Margaret Beaufort instead (if her marriage to Stafford could be annulled, there were no children and they were cousins..) and thus secure himself against any Lancastrian revival.
Not very likely. Lady Stanley never conceived again after Henry Tudor, and I can't see Edward marrying a barren woman.
 
Not very likely. Lady Stanley never conceived again after Henry Tudor, and I can't see Edward marrying a barren woman.
I think a Castillan or a Portuguese match is possible, I think a Burgundian is possible as well, perhaps a sister of Charles the Bold.
 
Not very likely. Lady Stanley never conceived again after Henry Tudor, and I can't see Edward marrying a barren woman.

He wouldn't have known she was barren - after alll, she'd already proved her fertility at the tender age of 13.
 
Richard of York

He wouldn't have known she was barren - after alll, she'd already proved her fertility at the tender age of 13.
True. I don't think she (Margaret Beaufort) was a big favorite of the Duchess Cecily of York. Plus Margaret is no beauty.
 
True. I don't think she (Margaret Beaufort) was a big favorite of the Duchess Cecily of York. Plus Margaret is no beauty.

But beauty and the like don't really figure into it. If the marriage make good political sense it goes ahead. It's a way of neutralizing Henry Tudor as a threat, reconciling York with Lancaster, and bringing an end to the constant dispute over the throne.
 
But beauty and the like don't really figure into it. If the marriage make good political sense it goes ahead. It's a way of neutralizing Henry Tudor as a threat, reconciling York with Lancaster, and bringing an end to the constant dispute over the throne.
I would think that, at the time, it's seen more of a method of neutralising Margaret herself than Henry...
 
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