Who Was When
Wars

Wars of the Roses

Phases

  1. 1.First phase: Henry VI loses the throne
  2. 2.Second phase: Warwick's revolt and Henry VI's return
  3. 3.Third phase: Richard III and Henry Tudor
See this year on the world timeline

Sides

House of Lancaster and, from 1485, Henry Tudor

House of Lancaster: Henry VI, Margaret of Anjou and their supporters (in 1470–1471 also the Earl of Warwick), Henry Tudor's army: English and Welsh exiles and recruits raised in Wales (1485–1487), and Kingdom of France: Louis XI backed the 1470 restoration of Henry VI; the government of Charles VIII supplied the French troops, about 1,800, who sailed with Henry Tudor in 1485

against
House of York and its supporters

House of York: Richard, Duke of York, Edward IV, Richard III and their supporters (until 1469 also the Earl of Warwick), Yorkist rebels under the Earl of Lincoln and Viscount Lovell, with the pretender Lambert Simnel (1487), Irish troops raised with the help of the FitzGeralds of Kildare (1487), German mercenaries under Martin Schwartz (1487), and Burgundian Netherlands: Charles the Bold helped Edward IV return in 1471; the dowager duchess Margaret of York paid the mercenaries of 1487 (supporting)

Countries today: Belgium, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, and Wales

What happened

The Wars of the Roses were a series of civil wars over the English throne between supporters of two branches of the royal family, the houses of Lancaster and York. In 1455 Richard, Duke of York, attacked the forces of the Lancastrian king Henry VI at St Albans and took the king into his custody. York was killed at Wakefield in 1460, but his son took the crown as Edward IV and defeated the Lancastrians at Towton in 1461; Harlech Castle in Wales held out for Henry until 1468. In 1469 the Earl of Warwick and Edward's brother Clarence turned against Edward, and in 1470 Warwick, allied with Henry's queen Margaret of Anjou and backed by Louis XI of France, restored Henry. Edward returned with Burgundian help in 1471; his army killed Warwick at Barnet and defeated Margaret's army at Tewkesbury. After Edward died in 1483 his brother took the throne as Richard III. In 1485 Henry Tudor, heir to the Lancastrian claim, landed in Wales with French troops and defeated and killed Richard at Bosworth. As Henry VII he married Elizabeth of York, and in 1487 he defeated a Yorkist rising at Stoke Field.

Outcome: Henry Tudor took the throne as Henry VII in 1485 and in 1486 married Elizabeth of York, Edward IV's daughter; the Tudor dynasty he founded ruled England until 1603.

Key events

Leaders

  • Henry VI · King of England 1422–1461 and 1470–1471; died in the Tower of London in May 1471 · House of Lancaster and, from 1485, Henry Tudor
  • Margaret of Anjou · Henry VI's queen; led the Lancastrian cause until she was captured after Tewkesbury in 1471 · House of Lancaster and, from 1485, Henry Tudor
  • Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset · Led Henry VI's court party; killed at St Albans in 1455 · House of Lancaster and, from 1485, Henry Tudor
  • Jasper Tudor · Henry VI's half-brother and Henry Tudor's uncle; raised Lancastrian troops in Wales and was a commander at Stoke Field in 1487 · House of Lancaster and, from 1485, Henry Tudor
  • Henry Tudor (Henry VII) · Heir to the Lancastrian claim; won at Bosworth in 1485 and reigned as Henry VII until 1509 · House of Lancaster and, from 1485, Henry Tudor
  • John de Vere, Earl of Oxford · Fought for Henry VI at Barnet in 1471; commanded Henry Tudor's army at Bosworth and at Stoke Field · House of Lancaster and, from 1485, Henry Tudor
  • Rhys ap Thomas · Leading figure in west Wales; Richard III's lieutenant there, he joined Henry Tudor in 1485 · House of Lancaster and, from 1485, Henry Tudor
  • Richard, Duke of York · Led the Yorkist cause from 1455; claimed the throne in 1460 and was killed at Wakefield that December · House of York and its supporters
  • Edward IV · Son of Richard of York; king 1461–1470 and 1471–1483; won at Towton, Barnet and Tewkesbury · House of York and its supporters
  • Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick · Yorkist commander known as the Kingmaker; turned against Edward IV in 1469, allied with Margaret of Anjou in 1470 and was killed fighting for Henry VI at Barnet in 1471 · House of York and its supporters
  • George, Duke of Clarence · Edward IV's brother; joined Warwick against Edward in 1469–1470 and went back to Edward in 1471 · House of York and its supporters
  • William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke · Yorkist commander in Wales; his army took Harlech Castle in 1468 · House of York and its supporters
  • Richard III · Edward IV's brother; king from 1483; killed at Bosworth in 1485 · House of York and its supporters
  • John de la Pole, Earl of Lincoln · Richard III's nephew; led the Yorkist rising of 1487 and was killed at Stoke Field · House of York and its supporters

Meanwhile, elsewhere in

Sources