How were the red and white roses connected to Lancaster and York?

The Wars of the Roses were named long after the conflict concluded, based on the heraldic badges associated with the two rival houses: the white rose of the House of York and the red rose of the House of Lancaster.12

While these floral symbols are now synonymous with the dynastic struggle for the English throne, they were not necessarily the primary identifiers used by the combatants during the wars themselves. The association was popularized in part through literature, such as William Shakespeare’s depiction of a garden scene where the Duke of York chooses a white rose and the Duke of Somerset chooses a red one to signify their respective allegiances.123

Following the end of the wars in 1485, the House of Tudor—founded by Henry VII, who united the two houses through his marriage to Elizabeth of York—adopted the Tudor Rose as their emblem, which served as a symbolic fusion of the red rose of Lancaster and the white rose of York.4