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Edward IV suffered the same problems of consolidation as Henry IV. In 1463-64 he crushed Lancastrian challenges and in 1464 Henry VI was recaptured and sent to the Tower. Edward owed his throne to his own military prowess in 1460 and 1461, rather than to his chief ally, his uncle the Earl of Warwick.
However, Warwick was a great magnate and major figure in the government, and when he became alienated after 1464, serious problems developed. The initial cause of the rupture was Edward\'s secret marriage with a widow of Lancastrian background and little political importance, Elizabeth Wydeville. Warwick could not be excluded easily from the regime and the breakdown of trust between him and the king came to dominate politics.
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