Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland was accomplished. In December, the king rallied sufficiently to resume control of government, and York's protectorate was terminated. With Somerset back at the centre of power, civil war seemed imminent. In May 1455, Northumberland was travelling with the king and Somerset to a great council at Leicester, when the party was intercepted by York and the Nevilles. On 22 May 1455, at the First Battle of St Albans, the royal forces clashed with the forces loyal to the Duke of York, in what has been described as the first battle of the Wars of the Roses. The battle was a
Wars of the Roses kings of France and Scotland and the dukes of Burgundy played the two factions off against each other, pledging military and financial aid and offering asylum to defeated nobles and pretenders, to prevent a strong and unified England from making war on them. Chronicles written during the Wars of the Roses include: "The above-listed individuals with well-defined sides are coloured with red borders for Lancastrians and blue for Yorkists (The Kingmaker, his relatives and George Plantagenet changed sides, so they are represented with a purple border)" Sources: The hinge point in the succession dispute is the forced abdication of Richard