The Battle of Mortimer's Cross was fought on 2 February 1461 near Kingsland, Herefordshire (between Leominster and Leintwardine, by the River Lugg), not far from the Welsh border. It was a major battle of the Wars of the Roses. The opposing forces were an army led by Jasper Tudor and his father, Owen Tudor, and other nobles loyal to King Henry VI of the House of Lancaster, his wife, Margaret of Anjou, and their seven-year-old son, Edward, Prince of Wales, on one side, and the army of Edward, Earl of March. Some sources say it was fought on 3 February, and the exact location has been the subject of some speculation. Background In 1460, with King Henry VI a prisoner, Richard, Duke of York (father of Edward, Earl of March) attempted to depose Henry and become king himself. His closest supporters dissuaded him from this step, but he secured an Act of Accord by which he and his descendants would inherit the throne on Henry's death, thus disinheriting Henry's young son Edward, Prince of Wales. Inspired by Henry's queen, Margaret of Anjou, York's enemies and rivals began gathering armies in Wales and Northern England. York sent Edward of March, his 18-year-old eldest son, to gather support in the Welsh Marches while he himself led an army to the north. On 30 December, York led his men into a trap at the Battle of Wakefield where he was killed. With York's death, his titles and claim to the throne descended to Edward of March, now 4th duke of York. He sought to prevent Lancastrian forces from Wales, led by Owen Tudor and his son Jasper, Earl of Pembroke, from joining the main body of the Lancastrian army. The elder Tudor had been second husband to Catherine of Valois, widow of Henry V; their sons (Jasper and Edmund Tudor), as Henry VI's half-brothers, had been made earls, and the family was a major power in South Wales. His army included Welshmen, drawn especially from the Tudor lands in Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire, along with French and Breton mercenaries and Irish troops led by James Butler, Earl of Wiltshire and Ormond. Edward, based at Wigmore Castle had gathered his army from the English border counties and from Wales. Among his leading supporters present were Lord Audley, Lord Grey of Wilton, Sir William Herbert of Raglan, Sir Walter Devereux and Humphrey Stafford. After spending Christmas