The Wars of the Roses

Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York

• Rebelled against Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou- beginning of the Wars of the Roses

• Failed to take the throne

• Father of future kings Edward IV and Richard III

Henry VI• Weak ruler->

mentally unstable and controlled by wife-Margaret of Anjou

• Deposed by Edward IV

• Margaret of Anjou unsuccessfully raised armies to put her husband back on the throne

Edward IV

• Defeated Henry VI’s armies in battle and forced him to flee

• Brother (George Plantagenet) and cousin (Richard Neville) tried to rebel against him and temporarily succeeded in unseating him

Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick

• First helped Richard of York rebel against Henry VI

• Helped Edward IV defeat Henry and Margaret of Anjou

• Betrayed Edward IV and allied with Margaret of Anjou to put George Plantagenet on the throne- failed and was killed in battle

Henry VI• Warwick’s forces

were successful in battle but resulted in Henry VI back on the throne

• Deposed by Edward IV again

• Held prisoner in the Tower of London and most likely murdered

Edward IV

• Peaceful 12 year reign after Henry VI was killed

• Died suddenly and succeeded by his 12 year old son Edward V o Edward V was never

crowned and mysteriously vanished along with his brother shortly before Richard III took the throne

Richard III• Named Lord Protector

after Edward IV died

• According to legend, he killed the Princes in the line of succession

• Took the throne in 1483

• Defeated at the Battle of Bosworth

Henry VII• Claim to the throne: Great-

grandson of John of Gaunt who was the grandfather of Henry VI

• Forced to flee England as a child

• Defeated Richard III ending the Wars of the Roses

• Married Elizabeth of York, uniting the families in the House of Tudor