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Born

Nov 1428

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Died

14 Apr 1471

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Titles Include: Earl of Warwick

Richard was a member of the powerful Neville family which had survived since the time of King John when Robert Fitz-Maldred ,lord of Raby, married Isabella de Neville. Their son took the name Neville and successive generations always passed down through a male heir mainly from father to son. Several Nevilles married the heiresses of baronial houses whose land and titles were transferred across.

Titles

Richard Neville's grandfather Ralph Neville had married the daughter of John of Gaunt (the son of Edward III) and Richard's father had gained the title Earl of Salisbury when he married Alice the previous Earl of Salisbury's daughter. Richard himself married Anne Beauchamp the heiress to the Warwick earldom. The last male Beauchamp died without an heir and so Richard took the title of Earl of Warwick which gave him control of large amounts of land in the Midlands and South Wales.

War of the Roses

Warwick became a supporter of Richard, Duke of York (White rose) in the conflict with the Henry VI and the Lancastrians (red rose) over claims for the English throne. After several battles against the Lancastrians Warwick and the Yorkists captured the King at the Battle of Northampton in July of 1460. After several more battles Richard of York's son Edward was declared king of England and was crowned in June of 1461 as Edward IV.

Changing Sides

Warwick's support for the new king ended when Edward married Elizabeth Woodville in 1468. In 1469 Warwick was behind a rebellion against the King. Warwick managed to capture the King after the battle of Edgecote in July of 1469 but the Earl did not have the support of Parliament and the country so he had to release the King from prison. In 1470 Warwick fled to France and there met Margaret of Anjou, the exiled wife of Henry VI. Although Warwick and Margaret had previously been enemies they put aside their differences and plotted together to remove Edward IV from the English throne. With assistance from the French King Louis XI Margaret and Warwick attempted to restore Henry VI to the throne. In September of 1470 Warwick and Margaret landed in England and in October Henry VI had been released from the Tower of London and restored to the throne. The victory did not last long as the Yorkists fought back taking London and then defeating the Lancastrians at the Battle of Barnet where Richard Neville, the Earl of Warwick was killed. Due to his attempts to control who should be the King of England Richard has become known as the 'Kingmaker'.

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Episode: War of the Roses

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Family Tree Details

Father:	Neville, Richard (Earl of Salisbury) ( - d.1460)
Mother:	Montacute, Alice (Daughter of Earl of Salisbury)

Neville, Richard (Earl of Warwick, 'The Kingmaker') (b.1428 - d.1471)
         +Anne (Daughter of Richard Beauchamp)
                  =Neville, Isabel ( - d.1476)
                  |        +George (Duke of Clarence) (b.1449 - d.1478)
                  |                 =Plantagenet, Edward (Earl of Warwick) ( - d.1499)
                  |                 =Margaret (Countess of Salisbury) ( - d.1541)
                  =Neville, Anne ( - d.1485)
                           +Edward (of Lancaster, Prince of Wales) (b.1453 - d.1471)
                           +Richard (III, King of England 1483-1485) (b.1452 - d.1485)
                                    =Edward (Prince of Wales, son of Richard III) (b.1473 - d.1484)

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Mini Timeline (Ages are approximate)

1428	Nov 22	Birth of Richard Neville, the Kingmaker
		Richard was the son of Richard Neville, 5th earl of Salisbury and Anne, the daughter of Thomas Montacute, 4th earl of Salisbury.¹
1449		Richard Neville becomes Earl of Warwick	Age: 21
		Richard Neville married Anne Beauchamp who was the heiress to the Warwick Earldom. The last male Beauchamp had died without an heir and so Richard took the title of earl of Warwick. This gave him control of large amounts of land in the Midlands and South Wales.
1455	May 21	The Yorkists are summoned	Age: 27
		A council was called and the Edward and Warwick were summoned to attend. Concerned that the reason they have been called to attend was that they would be punished, the Yorkists decided to demand a meeting of their own with the King at St. Albans.
	May 22	Battle of St. Albans
		The King had by his side at St. Albans the Dukes of Somerset and Buckingham, Lords Pembroke, Northumberland and Devon and around 2,000 Lancastrian men. They tried to hold the town against the Yorkists led by Salisbury and Warwick but Warwick was able to enter the town through an unguarded spot and attack the flanks of the Lancastrian barricades. Although this battle was small it left the Duke of Somerset dead along with Lord Northumberland and Clifford. As a result of this victory power again swung to the Yorkists although support from the Barons was not total. Edward again became Protector of the Realm and the powerful position of Captain of Calais was given to the Earl of Warwick.
1458 - 1459		Warwick fights several naval battles	Age: 30
		England's naval power was weak and the waters between France and England were filled with pirates. Sandwich had been attacked by the French the year before. To put an end to this problem, the Earl of Warwick, the Captain of Calais, commanded a fleet of ships to patrol the English Channel. His fleet attacked and captured Spanish and Genoese ships talking prisoners and treasure. This made the Earl popular with the sailors under his command and the traders who the pirates had previously attacked.¹
1459	Oct 12	Battle of Ludford Bridge	Age: 31
		The Earl of Warwick with a force from Calais reached Ludlow and the combined army of the Yorkists attacked the King's army at Ludford Bridge near Ludlow. The men from Calais refused to fight their king and a weak Yorkist army was defeated. Richard Duke of York and his younger son escaped and fled to Ireland while Salisbury, Warwick and Edward of March (later Edward IV) fled to Calais.
1460	Jun	Yorkists take control of Kent	Age: 32
		After the defeat at Ludford Bridge the Yorkists had dispersed. Having had time to regroup, the Yorkists from Calais led by the Earls of Warwick and March landed on the south coast of England and quickly seized Sandwich.
	Jun 26	Earls of March and Warwick land in England
		Once the Yorkist army had secured Sandwich the Earls of March and Warwick arrived from Calais. They had a force of around 2,000 and the support of the Kentish men.
	Jul 5	The Earls of Warwick and March leave London
		Accompanied by a large army of Yorkist supporters, the Earl of Warwick and Edward, the Earl of March left London and marched towards Northampton where the King was staying.¹
	Jul 10	Battle of Northampton
		The Lancastrians's Court was in Coventry at the time of the Yorkist rebels entering London. When news reached them, the Lancastrians moved south to Northampton to meet the rebels. The Yorkists led by the Earl of Warwick wanted to talk but the Lancastrians led by the Duke of Buckingham wanted to fight. Although the Lancastrians had less men than the Yorkists, they did have control of a stronger position. The Yorkists managed to defeat the Lancastrians due to a section of the Lancastrian army led by Lord Grey of Ruthin moving away allowing the Yorkists through. Orders were given that the King and ordinary men should be spared, while the knights and lords should be killed. When the fighting was over the casualties were light, but the Lancastrian leaders, Buckingham, Shrewsbury and Egremont were dead and the King was captured.
1461	Feb 17	Second Battle of St. Albans	Age: 33
		The Lancastrians army led by the Queen met the Yorkist army led by Warwick at St. Albans. The Yorkist army was split in two and during the battle sections of the Yorkists defected to the Queen's side. The Yorkists were defeated and Warwick escaped. The King, who had been travelling with the Yorkists, was freed and he was reunited with his wife and son.
	Feb 27	Yorkists enter London
		Edward and Warwick were allowed to enter the city of London. The citizens of London had refused to let the Queen enter and so she returned north with the King.
	Mar 29	Battle of Towton
		This was the bloodiest battle of the War of the Roses and was fought in a snowstorm at Towton in Yorkshire. Both the Lancastrian and Yorkist armies were large having possibly 40,000 men each. The battle lasted many hours until the Lancastrians's line was broken. Fleeing into a river many of the Lancastrians were drowned due to their heavy armour and the rest were killed by the pursuing Yorkists.
1462	Dec	Yorkists take back control of Northumbrian castles	Age: 34
		The Earl of Warwick was put in charge of capturing the castles from the Lancastrian garrisons. Edward had to stay at Durham to recover from a bout of the measles. The castles were not attacked but cut off from supplies to starve the soldiers out. Just before the new year the Lancastrian soldiers surrendered and the Yorkists took control of Alnwick, Bamburgh and Dunstanburgh Castles.
1463	Mar	Northumbrian castles fall to Lancastrians	Age: 35
		Sir Ralph Percy, the constable in charge of Bamburgh and Dunstanburgh castles, defected and allowed the Lancastrians to take control. Alnwick Castle fell to the Lancastrians shortly afterwards.
	Jul	Queen Margaret returns to France
		Warwick took an army north to deal with the new threat from Queen Margaret. The Yorkists again proved too powerful for the Lancastrians and with her invasion plans in ruin Margaret decided to return to France. She took Prince Edward with her.²
	Jul	Siege of Norham Castle
		Queen Margaret, Henry VI and Scottish support besieged the castle at Norham. King Edward failed to react to the problem and it was left to the Earls of Warwick and Northumberland to come to the castle's rescue. Henry, Margaret and the Scots fled.
1464	May	Edward secretly marries	Age: 36
		Edward married Elizabeth Woodville (Wydville) secretly during a hunting trip. The hunting trip that may have been arranged as a cover. Edward is supposed to have had a reputation as a lady's man and had many lovers. To Edward, Elizabeth could have been just another lover, but Elizabeth may have wanted more and persuaded Edward to marry her. The marriage took place in secret and was kept quiet until the spring of 1465. One problem with the marriage was that Elizabeth was the widow of Henry V's brother John, a Lancastrian and her family were Lancastrian supporters. The other problem was that Warwick had contacted the French king Louis XI and had been trying to arrange a marriage for Edward to a French princess. Edward's act upset Warwick's plans.
	May	Battle of Hexham
		The Nevilles defeated the last of the Lancastrian forces near Hexham and executed the rebels including Henry Beaufort the Duke of Somerset. In recognition of their contribution to the security of his reign Edward IV gave John Neville, Lord Montagu, the title of Earl of Northumberland and George Neville became the Archbishop of York.
1468	Summer	Margaret marries Duke of Burgundy	Age: 40
		Edward arranged for his sister Margaret to marry Charles the Duke of Burgundy. Burgundy had for some time been a supporter of the Yorkists and this marriage strengthened the bond. For Warwick, this was a disaster. Warwick had been attempting to make an alliance with France and that was not about to happen.
	Qtr 4	Warwick plots against the King
		Warwick was unhappy with the marriage of Edward and Elizabeth Woodville and he began to plan how overthrow the king. Warwick's plans centred around Edward's brother George, the Duke of Clarence. If George was to marry Warwick's daughter Isabel and become king, Warwick would be back in a position of power.
1469	Qtr 1	Rebellion of Robin of Redesdale	Age: 41
		A rebellion began early in the year started by a mysterious person calling himself Robin of Redesdale. The motivation for the uprising against the king was his marriage to Elizabeth Woodville and the influence the Woodvilles were having. The rebels were supported by the Earl of Warwick.
	Jul	Clarence marries Isabel Neville
		Warwick and the Duke of Clarence travelled to France where Clarence was married to Warwick's fifteen year old daughter Isabel. The ceremony was conducted by Warwick's brother George Neville the Archbishop of York.
	Jul 26	Battle of Edgecote
		Edward's army was insufficient to deal with the rebels alone and he had moved them to Nottingham to wait for a larger army to join them led by Sir William Herbert. Pembroke's army was attacked and defeated by a combined rebel army led by Robin of Redesdale and the Earl of Warwick who had returned from France. The battle took place at Edgecote near Banbury. Sir William Herbert and his brother Richard were captured and executed.
	Jul 29	Edward is captured
		After the defeat of William Herbert at Edgecote, Edward was left without a strong enough army to deal with the Earl of Warwick. Either Edward's army deserted him, or he dispersed his army on purpose, the outcome was the same. Edward was captured.
	Aug	Woodville family members executed
		While Edward was imprisoned, Warwick captured the Queen's father (Earl Rivers) and one of her brothers and had them executed at Warwick Castle.
	Sep	Riots and rebellions
		With the king in custody there began a series of riots around the country protesting against the Earl of Warwick. Warwick did not have the backing of Parliament and in the end had little choice but to let Edward go free and return to rule the country.
1470		Marriage of Edward of Lancaster and Anne Neville	Age: 42
		The marriage between Edward of Lancaster, the son of Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou, to Anne Neville, the daughter of Richard Neville the Kingmaker was a marriage to cement the agreement that Richard and Margaret would support each other and try to get Henry VI back on the English throne. The marriage took place in France where Margaret and Edward were exiled.
	Mar 12	Lincolnshire rebellion
		A rebellion had begun in Lincolnshire early in the year and had been mostly been dealt with by Edward, but Sir Robert (Welles ?) had escaped capture and was still on the run. Edward finally caught up with Sir Robert near Stamford in Lincolnshire. In the battle known as Empingham (or Lose-Coat), Sir Robert was captured and confessed that the rebellion had been master-minded by the Earl of Warwick and the Duke of Clarence.
	May	Warwick and Clarence escape to France
		After their treachery had been uncovered, the Earl of Warwick and Duke of Clarence fled to France. Warwick's plan was to get help from the French King.³
	Jul 22	Warwick and the Lancastrians
		Louis XI, the French King devised a plan to remove Edward IV from the English throne. Louis persuaded the Earl of Warwick (a Yorkist) and Margaret of Anjou the exiled wife of Henry VI (a Lancastrian) to combine forces and attempt to over through Edward. Warwick and Margaret met on 22 July at Anger Cathedral to put their differences aside and to agree on a course of action.
	Jul 31	The plan to restore Henry VI
		Warwick promised to restore Henry VI to the English throne, and he betrothed his youngest daughter Anne to Margaret's son Edward, the Prince of Wales.
	Sep 13	Warwick lands in England
		The Earl of Warwick landed at Dartmouth in Devon accompanied by the Lancastrian Earl of Oxford and Jasper Tudor, the half-brother of Henry VI. Edward was in the north at the time of Warwick's return and was turned upon by John Neville, Warwick's brother. Although John Neville had accepted Edward as King, Edward had removed John's title of Earl of Northumberland earlier in the year and given it to the Percys.³
	Oct	Henry restored as King
		Henry VI was released from the Tower of London by the Earl of Warwick and crowned King of England for the second time.
1471	Apr 4	Clarence rejoins his brothers	Age: 43
		George, Duke of Clarence deserted the Earl of Warwick and joined his brothers Edward and Richard. Importantly for the Yorkist cause, he brought with him a sizable army.³
	Apr 11	London opens its gates to Edward and the Yorkists
		The Earl of Warwick was in Coventry and apparently unwilling to confront Edward, so Edward and Richard marched south to London. London was under the control of Warwick's brother, George Neville the Archbishop of York, but the Londoners were Yorkists and they welcomed the return of their true king. Once inside the city Edward had the Archbishop arrested and along with King Henry VI put in the Tower of London.
	Apr 14	The Battle of Barnet
		The Earl of Warwick had left Coventry to confront Edward. The armies met at Barnet just north of London in thick fog. The two battle lines overlapped and Warwick's Lancastrian men commanded by the Earl of Oxford were able to get around the Yorkists commanded by Lord Hastings. Hastings' men fled back to London with Oxford's men in hot pursuit. On the other side of the battle the Yorkists, led by Richard, were outflanking the Lancastrians and took the advantage pushing their enemy back. When Oxford's men returned to the battle they were mistakenly fired upon by their fellow Lancastrians and fled. By early evening Lord Montagu and the Earl of Warwick were dead. The Lancastrians were defeated.