Wars of The Roses
| English Royalty |
|---|
| House of York |
| Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke |
| Edward of Norwich, 2nd Duke |
| Constance, Countess of Gloucester |
| Richard of Conisburgh, 3rd Earl of Cambridge |
| Edward of Norwich, 2nd Duke |
| Richard of Conisburgh, 3rd Earl of Cambridge |
| Isabel, Countess of Essex |
| Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke |
| Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke |
| Anne, Duchess of Exeter |
| Edward IV |
| Edmund, Earl of Rutland |
| Elizabeth, Duchess of Suffolk |
| Margaret, Duchess of Burgundy |
| George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence |
| Richard III |
| Edward IV |
| Elizabeth, Queen of England |
| Mary |
| Cecily, Viscountess Welles |
| Edward V |
| Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke |
| Anne, Countess of Surrey |
| Catherine, Countess of Devon |
| Bridget |
| Edward V |
| George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence |
| Margaret Pole, 8th Countess of Salisbury |
| Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick |
| Richard III |
| Edward of Middleham, Prince of Wales |
Despite his elevated status, Richard Plantagenet was denied a position in government by the advisers of the weak Henry VI, particularly John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset, and the queen consort, Margaret of Anjou. Although he served as Protector of the Realm during Henry VI's period of incapacity in 1453-54, his reforms were reversed by Somerset's party once the king had recovered.
The Wars of the Roses began the following year, with the First Battle of St Albans. Initially, Richard aimed only to purge his Lancastrian political opponents from positions of influence over the king. It was not until October 1460 that he claimed the throne for the House of York. In that year the Yorkists had captured the king at the battle of Northampton, but victory was short-lived. Richard and his second son Edmund were killed at the battle of Wakefield on December 30.
Richard's claim to the throne was inherited by his son Edward. With the support of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick ("The Kingmaker"), Edward, already showing great promise as a leader of men, defeated the Lancastrians in a succession of battles. While Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou were campaigning in the north, Warwick gained control of the capital and had Edward declared king in London in 1461. Edward strengthened his claim with a decisive victory at the Battle of Towton in the same year, in the course of which the Lancastrian army was virtually wiped out.
Read more about this topic: House Of York
Famous quotes containing the words wars and/or roses:
“Lechery, lechery, still wars and lechery. Nothing else holds fashion.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“No one can understand Paris and its history who does not understand that its fierceness is the balance and justification of its frivolity. It is called a city of pleasure; but it may also very specially be called a city of pain. The crown of roses is also a crown of thorns. Its people are too prone to hurt others, but quite ready also to hurt themselves. They are martyrs for religion, they are martyrs for irreligion; they are even martyrs for immorality.”
—Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874–1936)