John Neville, 1st Marquess of Montagu (1431-14 April 1471) was an English noble who fought for both the Lancastrians and Yorkists during the Wars of the Roses. Neville was loyal to the Yorkists for most of the war, but he defected to the Lancastrians to join his brother Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick in rebellion against King Edward IV of England after Edward demoted John for his brother's rash actions. The brothers died fighting for the Lancastrians at the Battle of Barnet in 1471.
Biography[]
John Neville was the son of Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury, and he was the brother of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick. From an early age, he took part in the Neville-Percy feuds in northern England, and he supported Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York's uprising against the mentally unstable King Henry VI of England. In 1460, his father and brother were killed at Wakefield, and John became the new Neville leader. He represented King Edward IV of England's power in the north, and he defeated the last remnants of the Lancastrian rebels in 1464. He was then created Earl of Northumberland, a high point for his house. However, his brother Warwick soon fell out with King Edward, and Warwick captured Edward in July 1469 after rebelling against his rule. King Edward demoted John Neville to Marquess of Montagu, despite John's success in persuading Warwick to release the king. Warwick and the Duke of Clarence were forced into exile in France, and, when they returned, John Neville - still upset about being demoted by the King - turned against the King and sided with the invaders. Henry VI was restored to the throne, but Edward and Richard of Gloucester returned to reclaim the throne for the Yorkists. In the Battle of Barnet, the Neville brothers were slain by the Yorkists.
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