St Albans (1455), he was appointed by York to be joint Constable of Windsor Castle after the battle. His alignment with York, who was his brother-in-law, was natural, as his brother, the Earl of Salisbury and his nephew the Earl of Warwick (the "Kingmaker") were Richard's principal allies. In 1457, he joined Warwick (appointed Captain of Calais) as his deputy. Warwick used Calais as a base for what was essentially piracy, and Fauconberg seems to have been happy to assist. He was in England in 1458, and in May he was briefly imprisoned in London — but he was bailed by Warwick and returned to Calais. Awards and appointments The rewards of victory followed. He was made a member of the King's Council and appointed Lieutenant of the North. On 1 November, he was created Earl of Kent and appointed Steward of the Royal Household. In July 1462, he was appointed Lord Admiral, and in August that year he was granted 46 manors in the West Country. Edward IV relied on him for both land and naval warfare. Following the victory at Towton, he took part in the gradual establishment of royal control in Northumberland, heading a garrison of 120 men at Newcastle in the summer of 1461, and taking part in the siege of Alnwick in November 1462. Between these dates, he was back in Calais, raiding the Breton coast in August 1462, then burning Le Conquet near Brest, and raiding the Ile de Re. He died on 9 January 1463, and was buried at Gisborough Priory in the heart of his Fauconberg lands. As he had no surviving legitimate sons, the earldom became extinct. He was survived by his wife, who died in 1490 at the age of 84 (thus living through the reigns of all the English kings of the fifteenth century). He had three daughters and one son from his marriage, and one acknowledged illegitimate son, Thomas Neville. Known as the Bastard of Fauconberg, he was to align himself with Warwick and lead a revolt later in Edward IV's reign. William Neville is an underrated figure in the rise to power of the Yorkist regime. More successful as a military leader than the more famous Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, his reputation is summed up in Goodman's words: "No other veteran of the Anglo-French Wars won such distinction in the Wars of the Roses". Ancestry