Wars of the Roses: Quick Facts

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Facts

Date	1455 - 1485
Location	United Kingdom • England
Participants	house of Lancaster • house of York

Did You Know?

The Yorkists were related to female relatives of Edward III's second and fourth sons, whereas the Lancastrians were connected to Edward through his third son.
Margaret of Anjou reportedly once let her 7-year-old son pick the manner in which two captured Yorkists would be executed; he chose beheading.
The Battle of Towton during the Wars of the Roses was one of the deadliest battles ever fought in England.

Photos

Battle of Bosworth Field

A family tree diagram showing the lineage of the Houses of Lancaster and York, with members of Lancaster in blue and York in yellow, tracing their descent from Edward III and highlighting key monarchs during the War of the Roses from 1455 to 1485.

Family tree diagram of the House of Plantagenet, also known as the House of Anjou or Angevin dynasty, showing royal lineage and connections to other European royal families, with names, titles, and dates organized by generation.

Margaret of Anjou

Line drawing of Richard Neville, 1st Earl of Warwick, in armor holding a sword and shield, standing with a griffin and a bull at his feet, with heraldic crests around him.

Lithograph by Maurin of King Louis XI of France wearing a fur-trimmed robe, a chain with a medallion, and a round hat, with his name inscribed below.

Edward V, Edward IV, and Elizabeth Woodville

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Topics

Today in History—August 22: The Wars of the Roses: A Flowery Face-Off Ends

Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic

United Kingdom: The beginning of the Wars of the Roses

Timeline

battles of Saint Albans

May 22, 1455; February 17, 1461

Battle of Towton

March 29, 1461

Battle of Tewkesbury

February 17, 1471

Battle of Barnet

April 14, 1471

Bosworth Field, Battle of

Battle of Bosworth Field

August 22, 1485

Key People

Richard III

Richard III

king of England

Henry VII

Henry VII

king of England

Edward IV

Edward IV

king of England

Henry VI

Henry VI

king of England

Line drawing of Richard Neville, 1st Earl of Warwick, in armor holding a sword and shield, standing with a griffin and a bull at his feet, with heraldic crests around him.

Richard Neville, 16th earl of Warwick

English noble

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Richard, 3rd duke of York

English noble

Margaret of Anjou

Margaret of Anjou

queen of England

Derby, Thomas Stanley, 1st earl of

Thomas Stanley, 1st earl of Derby

English noble

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Jasper Tudor, duke of Bedford

Welsh noble

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John de Vere, 13th earl of Oxford

English soldier

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John Tiptoft, 1st earl of Worcester

English Yorkist leader

Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers, portrait miniature from his Dictes and Sayenges of the Phylosophers, 1477; in Lambeth Palace Library, London

Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers

English noble

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Sir James Tyrrell

English soldier

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Edmund Beaufort, 2nd duke of Somerset

English noble

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John Neville, earl of Northumberland

English noble

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Richard Woodville, 1st Earl Rivers

English noble

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Henry Beaufort, 3rd duke of Somerset

English noble

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Humphrey Stafford, 1st duke of Buckingham

English noble

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John Howard, 1st duke of Norfolk, Earl Marshal

English noble

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William Hastings, Baron Hastings

English soldier and diplomat

Civil War era cannon overlooks Kennesaw Mountain National Battle. (military, artillery, American history)

Pick Your Battles Quiz

D-Day. American soldiers fire rifles, throw grenades and wade ashore on Omaha Beach next to a German bunker during D Day landing. 1 of 5 Allied beachheads est. in Normandy, France. The Normandy Invasion of World War II launched June 6, 1944.

A History of War

Louis IX of France (St. Louis), stained glass window of Louis IX during the Crusades. (Unknown location.)

World Wars