The bewildering changes of fortune brought about by the Wars of the Roses had their full effect upon Ireland. The Duke of York was, of course, the leader of the Yorkists, and his sun was at its zenith when he defeated the Lancastrians at St. Albans and captured Henry VI. He was declared Protector of England and Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. In 1459 fortune turned against him; he was beaten in several encounters, and, finally, fled to Ireland with a few followers. In Dublin {53} he found some consolation, although he had been unable to bring his wife with him. The Irish and the English joyfully welcomed him, and the Irish Parliament met at once and proclaimed him viceroy, formally declaring the acts of the Lancastrian Parliament at Coventry null and void so far as they concerned Ireland. The most significant feature of this meeting of the Irish Parliament was the formal statement that it was absolutely and entirely independent, and could not be controlled by the English Parliament. It acknowledged the obedience of Ireland to England, but 'nevertheless, it was separate from it and from all its laws and statutes except such as were accepted by the lords spiritual and temporal.' Richard established a mint at his castle of Trim; his son, Edmund, Earl of Rutland, was appointed Chancellor of Ireland, the viceroy's person was declared sacred, and conspiracy against him high treason. The Duke of York was undoubtedly the most popular man in Ireland, but the Lancastrians, who had gained the adherence of the Earl of Ormonde and Wiltshire, looked to the latter to remove the viceroy. The earl sent one of his retainers to arrest the duke on a charge of falsely representing himself to be His Majesty's--Henry VI.--Lieutenant for Ireland. The luckless squire was seized by Richard's officers, brought to trial, and eventually hanged, drawn, and quartered. The next move of the Lancastrian party was an abortive attempt to induce the native Irish to turn against the viceroy and murder him. {54} This charge was denied vigorously, but there was every reason to believe that it was true. The Earls of Kildare and Desmond, however, came to Richard's aid, and they speedily secured the allegiance of the principal chieftains in Leinster and Munster. News of Yorkists' triumphs in England took Richard hastily to London, where he found an excited populace awaiting him, and calling upon him to crown himself King of England. The path to the throne seemed easy, but Queen Margaret, making one desperate rally for her family, met Richard near Wakefield on the last day of 1461, defeated his army, and killed him.