The Rose Wars

The Wars of the Roses are probably the only wars named after a flower. They were wars between two families, the Yorks and the Lancastrians. The Yorks's symbol was a red rose, while the Lancastrians's symbol was a white rose, which is what gave the wars their name. The wars started during the reign of Henry VI. He was a very good Christian man, although he complained that his devotions were constantly interupted. But one day, while he was talking with someone, he suddenly went mad and stopped talking. No one could figure out what was wrong with him. He just sat around all day, staring ahead. Fortunately, he recovered after a few years. But while he was mad, someone had to run England. The king's family asked the duke of York, a distant relative, to do it. Unfortunately, when the king got better, the Yorks weren't interested to giving up their power. This started the first Rose war. The king's family won, and the duke was killed. His head was put on a spike, decorated with a paper crown. Unfortunately, the Yorks didn't give up that easily. The duke's son, Edward, decided to try again. This time, King Henry lost and was put in prison.

King Edward IV was a good ruler. Unfortunately, he fell in love with Elizabeth Woodville, who was older than him. She had also been married before-to a knight that had fought on King Henry VI's side. King Edward knew his parents would never approve of her, so he married her in secret. He didn't keep it secret long, however, because his advisers wanted him to marry someone else. He had his new wife brought into London in a great parade. He gave her brothers important government positions.

Many English nobles thought the Woodvilles had too much power, so they freed King Henry the VI from prison. He and his supporters marched to Edward's palace to arrest him. Edward managed to escape before they arrived, though. Now Henry was king again! Edward, however, decided to take back his throne and started to raise an army. He came back and took over again. He imprisoned King Henry again. King Henry died son after. It is likely Edward had him killed.

After King Edward IV died, his twelve year old son Edward V took over. The boy's uncle Richard offered to help him rule. That was the end of Edward V's reign. Richard became King Richard the III. He imprisoned his nephew in the Tower of London, then the former King Edward V's little brother too, both on a pretext of keeping them safe. Both boys vanished. Years later, two skeletons were found. There's a good likelihood that the skeletons belong to the boys.

Richard didn't keep his throne long. Another royal cousin, Henry Tudor, decided to try for the throne. He gathered an army and started fighting. The last battle was called the "Battle of Bosworth Field". Richard should have won because he had twice as many soldiers, but his soldiers weren't interested in the battle and most of them surrendered. Richard was urged to run, but he was determined to die King of England. He was killed in battle. The royal plume was cut off his helmet and given to Henry Tudor. The Wars of the Roses were over!