By 1461, Henry VI had been usurped by Edward IV and was in hiding in the far north of England; the root cause of the conflict that led to Henry’s usurpation was undoubtedly his poor politics and weak personality, however the reasons for the eventual Yorkist victory by 1461 are more varied. Whilst they were in part due to Henry’s fundamental weaknesses, the Yorkists relied heavily on their military might and dynamic leadership, in addition to their particularly powerful supporters; most notably Warwick.
It is inconceivable that the Yorkists would have won the throne were it not for the role played by Warwick. Whilst Warwick was in no way the leader of the Yorkist faction, his military assistance proved crucial. Nowhere was this more evident than when he spearheaded the initial Yorkist invasion in 1461, landing with 2,000 loyal men from his Calais Garrison who later gained entry into London. The significance of this is demonstrated by the fact that whilst this was going on, Richard Duke of York, the leader of the Yorkist faction remained in Ireland! That the Yorkists were even able to launch such an invasion is further proof of the role played by Warwick. With Richard and his heirs attainted following the Parliament of Devils, the funds for this invasion came from largely from Warwick and the proceeds he gained from raiding French shipping from his power base in Calais. Whilst Warwick’s late arrival at the Battle of Towton would also prove decisive, the invasion itself would clearly have been impossible were it not for the close involvement and funding from Warwick.
After the outbreak of full scale conflict in 1459, a Lancastrian victory was made incredibly difficult due to their general unpopularity; nowhere was this better demonstrated than when the citizens of London refused to open the gates to Margaret’s forces following her victory at the 2nd Battle of St Albans in 1461, preventing her from capitalising on her success. The root cause of such unpopularity was however poor Lancastrian management during Henry VI’s first reign as King. His financial mismanagement had isolated the London merchants to whom he owed vast sums of money, turning this powerful group against him. This provided the Yorkists with an immediate support base, establishing them as the party of the south, who now had the backing of London’s wealthy merchant classes. As these merchants were heavily represented in the House of Commons, it is little surprise that the House of Commons generally ruled in his favour, as demonstrated by the Act of Accord in 1460.
In addition to poor policies, Lancastrian brutality also turned many against Henry, making hard for him to rally support. This was demonstrated when the once staunch Lancastrian town of Coventry switched alliance to the Yorkists in 1461 out of fear of the Lancastrians looting and pillaging. On a wider scale, the 1459 Parliament of Devils made the Lancastrians appear particularly brutal, with the attainting of innocent Yorkist heirs appearing particularly harsh. Although this did not lead to vast numbers of nobles switching sides to join the Yorkists, it did make it extremely hard for Henry to rally supporters when challenged, hence the Yorkists ability to win the decisive battles. It was this ability of the Yorkists to win the major battles that truly cemented their grip on power; although the Lancastrians were victorious at battles like Wakefield and the Second Battle of St Albans, Yorkist victories were generally far more decisive, as demonstrated at Northampton where the powerful Lancastrian, the Duke of Buckingham was killed. Nowhere was this more evident than at Towton, where the Yorkists annihilated the Lancastrians, killing 6 peers including Northumberland and Clifford. The death of such peers decimated the Lancastrian leadership, making it increasingly difficult for them to recruit troops and continue fighting. Significantly, Henry, Margaret and their son Edward were forced to flee, allowing the Yorkists to exert their supremacy in the North, with Edward now able to establish himself as King over the whole of England following his earlier crowning as King following the battle of Mortimer’s Cross. It is however extremely difficult to underestimate the role of Warwick within these victories; he led the Yorkist troops at Northampton and his arrival at Towton heavily contributed to the rout that followed. Furthermore, such battles were only possible due to the Warwick led invasion in 1460.
Having fled in 1459 following their attainder, the Yorkists major obstacle in claiming the crown was gaining an initial foothold, however thanks to Warwick they were able to do this by 1460. Although this did not make a Yorkist success inevitable, it allowed them to build their power and support by preying on Henry’s weaknesses and winning round those who he had isolated. Warwick alone could not win the crown for the Yorkists, however his involvement was the essential prerequisite.