The First Battle of St Albans was fought on 22 May 1455 at St Albans, 22 miles (35 km) north of London, and traditionally marks the beginning of the Wars of the Roses in England. Richard, Duke of York, and his allies, the Neville earls of Salisbury and Warwick, defeated a royal army commanded by Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, who was killed. With King Henry VI captured, a subsequent parliament appointed Richard of York Lord Protector.

The incapacitation of Henry VI by mental illness in 1454 led to the recall to court of Richard of York, his closest adult relative. In 1447, York had been appointed Lieutenant of Ireland, and had essentially been in exile from England, and his long-time rival, Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, the favourite of the King, had been given the Lieutenancy of France. After Somerset's failure in France, York unexpectedly returned to London with significant support not only from the nobility, most of whom saw the incompetence of Somerset's efforts in France, but also from the public. He presented himself as a champion of the law and urged the King to have Somerset tried and held accountable for his failures. He also wished to be recognised as heir presumptive to the English throne while Henry VI was childless.

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