The death of Edward IV on 9 April 1483 saw the accession of his son Edward V to the English throne. However, as Dr Hannes Kleineke of our Commons 1461-1504 Section explores, it was only two months later that he would be deposed…

To the parliamentary historian, the assembly summoned in the late spring of 1483 in the name of the young Edward V presents a problem. Unquestionably, it was a Parliament, summoned by letters under the new King’s seal, and in the best traditions of such assemblies, summoned, e.g., in May 1413 in the name of Henry V and in October 1422 in that of Henry VI. As was the case particularly in the latter instance, it was understood that the community of the realm should come together to make arrangements for the nominal rule of the monarch who for the foreseeable future would be a minor.  And yet, the circumstances of Edward V’s accession had perhaps more in common with those of Richard II in 1377, than with those of the infant Henry VI. Richard II had been ten years old when the deaths in quick succession of his father (Edward, the Black Price) and grandfather (King Edward III) had propelled him to the throne. Edward V, for his part, was twelve when his father died, and thus even close to achieving his majority than Richard had been.

As now became customary for royal children, in 1473 the young Edward had been established at his family home of Ludlow castle, there to be prepared for his future as heir to his father’s throne. It was also there, that on 14 April he received news of his father’s death, five days earlier, and it took a further ten days for him to set out to London, ostensibly to await his coronation. On the way, he met with his uncle, Richard, duke of Gloucester, who under the terms of Edward IV’s will had been appointed protector during his nephew’s minority. Gloucester for his part lost little time in separating the young King from his entourage, and it was surrounded by Gloucester and his servants that he was conducted to the Tower of London, the ancient royal palace to the east of the city.

The coronation had originally been planned for 4 May, the day of Edward’s arrival in London, but was now pushed back to 22 June. Parliament, for which writs of summons were issued on 13 May, was to assemble three days later, on 25 June. Edward V took up residence in the Tower on 19 May, and here he was joined, almost a month later, on 16 June, by his younger brother, Richard of Shrewsbury, duke of York and Norfolk. In the mean time, elections were held up and down the country, in the normal fashion, usually in one or other of the four- or six-weekly county courts. By and large, we may assume, the local communities were unaware of the intense politicking at the centre that paved the way, on the very day when parliament should have opened, for Edward’s deposition and replacement by his uncle Richard. No formal letters of supersedeas were, it seems, issued and some of the representatives of counties and towns consequently made their way to Westminster, where they were to witness a very different spectacle from what they might have expected.

H.W.K.