Edward IV Interesting Facts

1 Early Death

As a young man, Edward was strong and fit but he put on weight over time because of his fondness for eating and drinking. This may be part of the reason he died at the relatively young age of 40 from either a stroke or heart attack.

2 Edward’s Wife

Elizabeth Woodville, while a great beauty, was also a widow, commoner and English. She was not considered a great match for the King of England. Edward was besotted by her and when she insisted on marriage before agreeing to be his, Edward agreed. He even went so far as to give prestigious positions at Court to Elizabeth’s family, the Woodvilles, enraging Warwick and downgrading his family, the Nevilles. Warwick’s rage at Edward’s actions caused him to betray him spectacularly. He joined forces with Henry VI’s wife Margaret and together they restored Henry to the throne.

3 Ruled Twice

First king of the House of York, he ruled from 1461 to 1470 and 1471 to 1483. He was just a teenager at the start of his first reign and enjoyed the full support of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick. Richard was known as ‘Kingmaker’ because of his powerful influence. However, Edward and Richard quarrelled after Edward secretly married Elizabeth Woodville. Edward lost his throne when Richard betrayed him by helping to put King Henry VI back on the throne. During his second reign he was older and more successful. He concentrated on building his private fortune as well as restoring those of England. He took an interest in the legal system as well as art and culture.

4 Order of the Garter

Heralding back to the chivalric age of Edward III, Henry revived the Order of the Garter which met in the chapel of St George at Windsor. The Order of the Garter was founded by Edward III in 1348. Its motto is ‘evil be to him who evil thinks’ (honi soit qui mal y pense). The Order is still in existence to this day.

5 Booklover

In 1476 Edward invited the printer William Caxton to London. Here Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales and Malory’s Morte d’Arthur were first printed for Edward’s library.

6 Wars of the Roses

While the Wars of the Roses cost many lives, they also brought power and prestige to those who supplied the opposing warring factions. Wealthy cloth merchants forced laws that dictated lords should wear purple and gold sable, knights were to wear velvet, silk and satin and commoners were ordered to wear local wool.

7 Killed his own brother

Edward’s brother George, Duke of Clarence, married the widow of Prince Edward, son of Henry VI. This meant he was marrying into the family of Edward’s enemies. He had already joined forces with Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick just before Henry VI was reinstated as King of England. Edward forgave Richard his disloyalty but remained suspicious of him. A fortune teller told Henry that someone whose name began with G would try to take his crown. Shortly after Henry accused George of treason and he was killed at the Tower of London. It is said he was drowned in a casket of wine, to reflect his alcoholism. Sadly for Henry’s heir, the ‘G’ of whom Edward should have been suspicious was his other brother, Richard, Duke of Gloucester.

8 Cricket Ban

In 1477, Edward passed a law banning cricket because he believed it stopped his soldiers from practising their archery skills.