Since the Wars of the Roses had broken out in 1455, the Yorkists had been in the ascendant. However, the high-handed actions of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, incurred the suspicion of Henry VI's queen and sometime regent, Margaret of Anjou. She persuaded Henry to move his court to his Midlands stronghold, where the Yorkists would feel less secure. In the course of the largely bloodless Battle of Ludford Bridge, in Shropshire, a series of important defections to the Lancastrians induced the Yorkist leaders to flee. Their leaderless forces soon submitted to Henry VI, and were publicly pardoned. This was an important breakthrough for the Lancastrians, but their advantage only lasted six months before they were overthrown completely.
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