Why did Richard III and his family take refuge in the Low Countries during his childhood?

During his childhood, Richard III took refuge in the Low Countries as a direct result of the political upheavals caused by the Wars of the Roses.

Following the death of his father, Richard, 3rd duke of York, at the Battle of Wakefield in 1460, the Yorkist cause faced a significant setback. Although Richard was only a child at the time, he was caught in the instability of these conflicts and sought safety abroad until his eldest brother, Edward IV, successfully defeated the Lancastrians and restored the family's fortunes in 1461.1

Later, in 1470, Richard again went into exile in The Hague with Edward IV after the Earl of Warwick and his brother George briefly succeeded in reinstating the Lancastrian king Henry VI to the throne.1