ABSTRACT
The struggle of Lancaster and York had no single cause, but resulted from various factors coming together at the same time. Suffolk's removal from political dominance in 1450, first by his impeachment and then by his murder, was certainly a turning-point in internal English politics. The King himself showed no sign of hostility to York, who still remained active in public affairs, serving on the Scottish border to defend it against raids. York and his second son Edmund fled to Ireland and his oldest son Edward joined Salisbury and Warwick, going first to Devon and then to Calais. In the first, at Wakefield, York was defeated and killed, and Salisbury was captured and executed. It is true that Lord Audley had already abandoned Lancaster for York in 1460, but Richard, Lord Rivers, who fought against Edward at Towton, was pardoned in July 1461, and remained loyal to Edward, becoming his father-in-law in 1464.
