The Battle of Barnet, which took place on April 14, 1471, was a decisive battle of the Wars of the Roses, near the town of Barnet, 10 miles north of London.

Background
The main protagonists were King Edward IV of England and Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, former friends and allies who had fallen out as a result of Edward's tendency to favour the relatives of his queen, Elizabeth Woodville. In October of the previous year, Warwick "the Kingmaker" had driven Edward out of the country, replacing his Lancastrian predecessor, King Henry VI of England, on the throne. Warwick then made the mistake of agreeing to assist King Louis XI of France in his conflict with the Duke of Burgundy. This prompted the Burgundians to offer military aid to Edward, who returned to England on March 14, 1471. The two armies were evenly matched in numbers, but Warwick was expecting support from his son-in-law, George, Duke of Clarence, who happened to be Edward's brother and hurried to make his peace with the latter.
Edward marched to London while Warwick remained in Coventry where he had been raising troops. Having taken back his capital, Edward then moved to meet Warwick at Barnet.