How successfulwas Edward IV in restoring royal authority by 1470?

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How successful was Edward IV in restoring royal authority by 1470?

When Edward IV came to the throne in 1461, he faced many problems concerning the amount of royal authority due to a number of factors, most of which had been problems during the reign of the previous monarch Henry VI and had not been dealt with successfully by this incompetent king. Edward, a stronger character than Henry, was determined to tackle these problems in order to gain the support and respect needed to secure royal authority.

A huge problem during Henry’s reign was that of the nobility. The nobility was full of over-mighty nobles who dominated Henry and made his decisions for him. Henry favoured some of these nobles more than others so therefore patronage was not distributed fairly amongst them. This led to noble quarrels and corruption amongst the nobility. They had enough power to act corruptly without Henry’s interference. Edward was met with this corrupt nobility and dealt with it fairly well. Warwick, who was expecting a much bigger play in government than the other nobles and was not pleased when parts of land which and positions originally occupied by Warwick were passed to other nobles, namely Lord Herbert and Lord Hastings. Edward did not favour the nobles and distributed the patronage fairly amongst them. He asserted his authority by showing he was going to be his own person and not let the nobility dominate him. When, in 1464, Warwick went abroad with then intention of securing a marriage with a French Princess, Edward in fact married Elizabeth Woodville against Warwick’s blessing. Here we see an example of Edward taking control of his own life and not letting a noble make his decisions. However, Edward’s attitude towards Warwick later leads on to Warwick rebelling against him. Still, Edward has determined his authority over the nobility and gained their respect.

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Edward also inherited the problem of England’s dire financial situation. Through all the defeats from the wars with France, England had lost not only land but also a lot of money.  Under Henry the financial incomings and outgoings of England had been disorganized. When Edward came to the throne, he oversaw much better management of finances. He took a personal interest in commerce and the financial position of England which had a positive effect, making England more financially stable. Edward has been successful in improving the finances of his country. In doing this, he is showing his capabilities as king ...

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