Prepare v2026.04-rc1

Signed-off-by: Tom Rini <trini@konsulko.com>

Makefile

diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 37cebd4..435a4bf 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0+
 
 VERSION = 2026
-PATCHLEVEL = 01
+PATCHLEVEL = 04
 SUBLEVEL =
-EXTRAVERSION =
+EXTRAVERSION = -rc1
 NAME =
 
 # *DOCUMENTATION*

doc/develop/release_cycle.rst

diff --git a/doc/develop/release_cycle.rst b/doc/develop/release_cycle.rst
index d5714f9..087f038 100644
--- a/doc/develop/release_cycle.rst
+++ b/doc/develop/release_cycle.rst
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@
 
 * U-Boot v2026.01 was released on Monday, 05 January 2026.
 
-* The Merge Window for the next release (|next_ver|) is **open** until the -rc1
+* The Merge Window for the next release (|next_ver|) is **closed** with the -rc1
   release on Monday, 26 January 2026.
 
 * The next branch is now **closed** until the -rc2 release on Monday, 09
@@ -69,9 +69,9 @@
 .. The following commented out dates are for when release candidates are
    planned to be tagged.
 
-.. For the next scheduled release, release candidates were made on:
+For the next scheduled release, release candidates were made on:
 
-.. * U-Boot |next_ver|-rc1 was released on Mon 27 January 2026.
+* U-Boot |next_ver|-rc1 was released on Mon 26 January 2026.
 
 .. * U-Boot |next_ver|-rc2 was released on Mon 09 February 2026.