Bonville had, then, by April 1455, received much royal favour, including all the offices the earl had lost, as well as the constableship of Exeter Castle. He was – as one historian has called him – "the King's lieutenant in the west." The Earl of Devon had already reacted against this hegemony during the Duke of York's first protectorate (1454–5) and joined the royal council. However, it appears that even the council itself did not trust him to keep the King's peace, as they placed him under a bond of £1,000 to do so. This he had disregarded, and commenced another campaign against Bonville. This time, the Earl of Devon was accompanied by his sons, and, bringing a force of men into Exeter in April 1455, he attempted to ambush Bonville. This resulted in further government-imposed undertakings of good behaviour between the two parties. As the government was now headed by Courtenay's old ally, the Duke of York, it is likely that it was now that the earl decided to reject his alliance with York and give his support to the crown. He fought (and was wounded) at St Albans on 22 May that year, on the side of the king. Bonville, meanwhile, through his wife, was related to the Harrington family of Hornby, Lancashire, who had close links to the Nevilles – his father-in-law was Thomas Harrington, a feoffee and retainer to the Earl of Salisbury. Bonville's new-found Yorkist sympathies seem to have driven the Earl of Devon to even greater violence in the county.