Edward was the eldest of the four sons of Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York. The Duke of York was a very powerful man, and had a claim to the throne of England. He became more popular than the existing king, Henry VI of England, who was thought to be weak. When the duke tried to take the throne from Henry VI, the Wars of the Roses broke out. By the time Edward was eighteen, he and his brother Edmund, Earl of Rutland, who was seventeen, were old enough to take part in the fighting, and Edward turned out to be a very good soldier. He was helped by Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, a clever nobleman who fought for the Duke of York. At the Battle of Wakefield in 1460, Edward's father, and his brother Edmund, were both killed. As his father's heir, he now claimed the throne. In March 1461, he entered London with his army and was crowned king, although he was only nineteen. King Henry VI was put into prison.