“How important was the Duke of Somerset in preventing York from dominating English Gov until 1453”

Margaret of Anjou

* York was a substantial threat to Margaret as York still had a claim to the throne and she was yet to have a baby meaning York was next in line for the throne
* The lack of heir, Yorks claim to the throne and has confrontational nature meant that he was a significant threat to Margaret
* Margaret reacted by ensuring that York would be excluded from government and prevented him from having any influence whatsoever
* However-
* Margaret did this by associating herself with Yorks enemies such as Somerset and therefore used Somerset to undermine the influence of the Duke of York.

Somerset

* Somerset and York had substantial rivalry, because Somerset was favoured by royal council this meant that York was isolated
* Somerset replaced York as captain of Calais- York resented this as York had more experience than Somerset and Somerset contributed significantly to the loss of Normandy after he surrendered Rouen.
* Somerset had a high degree of political control which he had inherited as Suffolk’s political heir
* Somerset was chief councillor and part of the Kings inner circle- York was not
* However-
* Somerset was only able to exert so much influence due to the control of Margaret of Anjou who before 1453 had to exert political control indirectly through Somerset in order to minimise the control of the Duke of York.

Weaknesses of the Duke of York

* Dartford Coup 1452
* York attempted to raise arms
* Failed to gain significant support other than Lord Cobham and Earl of Devon
* Therefore the reason York failed to gain significant power is because he lacked the support to do so as many stayed loyal to the king.
* However-
* He only resorted to this because of a lack of involvement in council and with the King due to being isolated by Margaret and Somerset- would not have happened if they listened to Yorks demands

In conclusion:

The reason that York was unable to dominate gov until 1453 is because of the influence of the Duke of Somerset by his political influence and power over government however he only had the ability to do this and influence due to Margaret of Anjou who’s main goal was to isolate the Duke of York.