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How was Henry VI briefly restored to the throne in 1470?

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Wars of the Roses Illustration depicting the Battle of Bosworth Field, with King Richard III on the white horse.

In 1470, the deposed Lancastrian monarch Henry VI was briefly restored to the throne due to a political falling out between the Yorkist king Edward IV and his former ally, Richard Neville, 16th earl of Warwick.12

After Edward IV asserted his independence and alienated Warwick, the earl fled to France in April 1470. There, he reconciled with his former enemy, Margaret of Anjou, Henry VI’s wife, and secured the support of the French king Louis XI.13

Warwick returned to England in September 1470, successfully driving Edward IV into exile in the Netherlands. With Edward removed, Warwick restored Henry VI to the throne and ruled the kingdom as the king's lieutenant for approximately six months. During this period, the frail and deposed king was occasionally exhibited to the public in unregal clothing while Warwick managed the government. This restoration ended in the spring of 1471 when Edward IV returned to England, defeated Warwick at the Battle of Barnet, and reclaimed his crown.341