War Of The Roses Research Paper

The Wars of the Roses, commonly called the War of the Roses, started in 1455 and lasted until 1485. The wars were between the House of Lancaster and the House of York, both houses were descendants of King Edward III, and both houses wanted control of the throne. The wars were named after the rose because the House of Lancaster’s symbol was the red rose, while the House of York’s symbol was the white rose. There were many different reasons why the battles began but the main are because the Lords and Dukes of the time had their own armies, the mental health of the Lancaster king Henry IV, and the connections of both houses to King Edward III. It all began when Richard of York, son of Edward III, returned after being exiled to Ireland. York and Henry V’s wife, Margaret of Anjou had never seen eye to eye and the return of Richard started the first battle. The first battle of St. Albans started the Wars of the Roses where many Lancaster nobles were killed; Henry V was captured, while the Queen, Margaret of Anjou, and their son, Edward, escaped. Richard York was crowned king and four years of peace followed. In 1459 war was started again, more violently than before, when Margaret of Anjou contested York and

Edward’s brother, Richard Duke of Gloucester, prevented Elizabeth Woodville’s family from stealing the throne for Edward’s eldest son Edward V. Richard ‘protected’ Edward V and his twin brother Richard by hiding them in the Tower of London, both boys were never seen again. During that time Richard seized the throne for himself. The Wars of the Roses ended abruptly when Henry Tudor, a direct relative of Richard II, attack Richard and defeated him in 1485. To stop the blood feud, Henry Tudor married Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV, and was crowed Henry VII. Through a few battles and uprisings followed, Henry VII crushed all attacks and so the Wars of the Roses