Wars of the Roses 1455-1485

The Wars of the Roses (1455-1485) was a civil war to decide who should be king of England, fought between the House of Lancaster (red rose) and the House of York (white rose). It ended with the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, where King Richard III of York was killed, and Henry Tudor of Lancaster became King Henry VII. Henry married Elizabeth of York, uniting the families. The Tudor rose (red with white inside) symbolised this union and the start of the Tudor dynasty.