The War of the Roses vs

Edward III King of England from 1327 until his death in Edward transformed England into one of Europe’s most formidable military powers. Married to Philippa of Hainault. Sons include Edward the Black Prince, Lionel of Antwerp and John of Gaunt

Sons of Edward III Edward – The Black Prince -Eldest son of Edward -Great military leader. -One of the founder of the Knights of the Order of the Garter, the most prestigious honour in England. -Married to Joan of Kent. -Son was Richard II. -Died before his father. Lionel of Antwerp -Second son (to survive) of Edward. -Married Elizabeth de Burgh, who died before her husband. -He had a daughter Philippa who married Edmund Mortimer. -At the death of Richard II, she was heiress presumptive. John of Gaunt -Third surviving son of Edward. -Had great influence over the rule of his young nephew, Richard II. -Married Blanche of Lancaster and eventually became Earl of Lancaster. -Was often suspected that he was trying to seize the throne from his nephew. -Was able to help his nephew prevent civil war, and this gained him the respect he deserved. -He had a son, Henry of Bolingbroke.

Richard II Grandson of Edward III. King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in He was 10 years old when he became king. At one point during his reign, he lost control of the government to the Lords Appellant, but he quickly regained control. Later, he had many of the Lords Appellant exiled or executed. After John of Gaunt died, Richard disinherited John’s son Henry of Bolingbroke, who had previously been exiled. Henry Bolingbroke eventually invaded England. It was said he did this only to restore his rights, but he eventually deposed Richard and had him imprisoned. He met little resistance.

Henry IV King of England from 1399 – He was a grandson of Edward III and son of John of Gaunt. He was the first Lancastrian king. Henry’s first problem as king, was what to do with Richard II, they had tried assassination, which was foiled, they resorted to starvation. Henry spent much of his reign defending himself against plots, rebellion and assassination attempts. He married Mary de Bohun, who was never queen, as she died before his coronation. Their son was Henry of Monmouth.

Other than Henry IV, who should have been King?

Henry V King of England from 1413 – Upon his father’s death, he quickly took control of the military had decisive wins against the French during the Hundred Years War. He had almost gained control of all of France. He was eventually named as regent and heir to the throne of France. He married the French king’s daughter – Catherine of Valois. Henry died suddenly near Paris, possibly due to dysentery. His only son was named Henry.

Henry VI King of England from 1422 – 1461 and again from 1470 – He was only 9 months old, when he became king. He was also disputed king of France from 1422 – Until 1437, his rule was governed by regents. Henry was considered to be shy and pious and against bloodshed. With the arrival of Joan of Arc and the regained strength of the French, Henry opted for a peace treaty with France. This was supported by Cardinal Beaufort and the Earl of Suffolk, but was heavily criticised by the Duke of Gloucester and Richard, Duke of York. Henry married Margaret of Anjou, the niece of the French King. Henry was very close to his two half-brothers, Edmund and Jasper, who were his mother’s sons to her 2 nd husband – Owen Tudor.

Henry VI

Henry’s heir presumptive, the Duke of York, was shunned and sent to govern Ireland. The Duke of York was from the line of Lionel of Antwerp. In France, Henry’s armies had lost most of their land with Calais being their only remaining stronghold. There was increasing turmoil in England due to Henry’s reign and the Duke of York was persuaded to return from Ireland. Henry was known to occasionally suffer bouts of insanity. For a brief period, the Duke of York was named as Regent. It was eventually decided that the Duke of York would be named as Henry’s heir. By this time, Margaret (Henry’s wife) had taken control of her husband’s reign. Through her forces, she killed the Duke of York. However, Henry was deposed and imprisoned and the Duke of York’s son, Edward became king. Henry and Margaret fled to Scotland. Confused yet???????

Edward IV King of England 1461 – 1470 and from 1471 – First Yorkist King. Edward’s claim to the throne was further strengthened with battles against the Lancastrians. Edward married Elizabeth Woodville, who was the widow of a Lancastrian sympathiser. Originally one of Edward’s greatest supporters, Richard, Earl of Warwick became fearful of the influence Edward’s wife and family held over him. Along with Edward’s brother, Richard led an army against Edward. Richard was successful and captured and imprisoned Edward. Richard tried to rule using Edward’s name, but this was unpopular with Edward’s supporters and he was forced to release Edward. Edward tried to restore peace with his brother and Richard, but they again rebelled and were forced to flee to France. In France, they formed an alliance with Margaret (Henry VI’s wife) and agreed to reinstate Henry VI as King.

Edward IV

Henry VI – AGAIN!! Edward had fled to Burgundy, and Henry VI was back on the throne. With the support of the Burgundy rulers, Edward was able to return to England through York. He claimed he was back just to reclaim his Dukedom, just as Henry IV did. However, as he marched further south, Edward gained more and more support. Edward was eventually able to enter London unopposed, where he imprisoned Henry VI. Edward then defeated Richard, Earl of Warwick and the last of the Lancastrian resistance. Henry VI’s son, Edward, also died during the battle. Upon Edward’s return to London, Henry VI had also died.

Edward IV – AGAIN! Edward had relied heavily on the support of his brothers during the campaign. George, Duke of Clarence and Richard, Duke of Gloucester were then married to the daughters of Richard, Earl of Warwick – a very wealthy family to marry into. This wealth eventually led to a dispute between the two brothers. George was eventually imprisoned for plotting against Edward and privately executed. The rest of Edward’s reign was conducted without rebellion, as the Lancastrian line was mostly destroyed. The only threat would be from Henry Tudor whose grandmother was the wife of Henry V. Edward’s heir was his son Edward V with the protector of the realm being Edward’s brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester.

Edward V King of England at the age of 13 years old. He ruled from 9 th April 1483 until the 26 th June – the SAME YEAR!! He was never actually crowned King and his 86 day reign was heavily dominated by his lord protector, Richard. On the 26 th June, Richard was able to pass a statue in parliament titled “Titulus Regius”, this ruled that Edward IV’s marriage to Elizabeth was invalid and therefore his sons, Edward V and Richard were not legitimate heirs to the throne. Edward V and his brother Richard were subsequently sent to the Tower of London, where they soon disappeared. No one knows what happened to them.

So.... Who now lays claim to the throne?

Richard III King of England for 2 years from 1483 – The last king from the House of York. A number of high ranking officials, who were supporters of Edward IV, were not happy with Richard and proposed to reinstate Edward V. Upon learning of his ‘death’, they proposed that Henry Tudor should return from exile, take the throne and marry Edward V’s sister Elizabeth. With help from the Regent of France, Henry was able to secure troops for an invasion of England in Richard and Henry’s troops met at the Battle of Bosworth Field. While fighting bravely, Richard was eventually killed. Richard’s only legitimate son died at the age of 10 and he had constantly changed who his heir should be, resulting in no clear heir.

Richard III

Henry VII (Tudor) King of England from 1485 – First monarch from the House of Tudor. Married Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV, sister of Edward V and niece of Richard III. Restored political stability to England and instituted a number of important economic and diplomatic initiatives. He was peacefully succeeded by his son Henry VIII

In the end the Lancastrians combined with the Yorkists to create the Tudors. +=