The Wars of the Roses (1455-1487) was a dynastic conflict between the English nobility and monarchy which led to four decades of intermittent battles, executions, and murder plots. The English elite was split into two camps, each centred around a branch of the descendants of Edward III of England (r. 1327-1377): the Yorks and Lancasters, who won.
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Definition
Timeline
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1411 - 1460Life of Richard, Duke of York.
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1422 - 1461First reign of Henry VI of England.
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1436Tax records show that Richard, Duke of York is the richest man in England.
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1450There is a rebellion in England led by Jack Cade.
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Feb 1452 - Mar 1452Richard, Duke of York launches a failed by marching his army to Dartford.
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13 Oct 1453Birth of Edward, the only son of Henry VI of England.
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Mar 1454Richard, Duke of York is made Protector of the Realm.
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1455 - 1487Wars of the Roses in England.
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1455Richard, Duke of York imprisons his rival the Earl of Somerset in the Tower of London.
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22 May 1455Richard, Duke of York wins the Battle of St. Albans and the Earl of Somerset is killed.
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Nov 1455Richard, Duke of York is made the Protector of the Realm for a second time.
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25 Mar 1458‘Loveday’, Henry VI of England's attempt to reconcile the Yorkists and Lancastrians.
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1459The 'Parliament of Devils' identifies Richard, Duke of York as a traitor. The duke flees to Ireland.
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12 Oct 1459An army led by Queen Margaret defeats Richard, Duke of York at the Battle of Ludford Bridge.
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10 Jul 1460A Yorkist army led by Richard Neville, the Earl of Warwick and Edward, Earl of March defeats Queen Margaret’s army at Northampton. Henry VI of England is captured.
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24 Oct 1460The Act of Accord identifies Richard, Duke of York as the official heir of Henry VI of England.
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30 Dec 1460Richard, Duke of York is killed at the Battle of Wakefield.
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1461 - 1470First reign of Edward IV of England.
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1461 - 1468Harlech Castle in Wales is besieged by a Yorkist army during the Wars of the Roses.
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17 Feb 1461A Yorkist army, led by the Earl of Warwick, is defeated at St. Albans. Henry VI of England is released from captivity.
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29 Mar 1461Edward of York wins the bloody Battle of Towton. Henry VI of England is deposed.
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1464A Lancastrian army is defeated at Hexam by Edward IV of England.
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Jul 1465The fugitive ex-king Henry VI of England is captured in Lancashire and imprisoned in the Tower of London.
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14 Aug 1468Harlech Castle in Wales finally surrenders to the Yorkists during the Wars of the Roses. The resistance of the Lancastrian garrison is commemorated in the popular song 'Men of Harlech'.
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26 Jul 1469The Earl of Warwick and Queen Margaret defeat King Edward IV’s army at Northampton in the Battle of Edgecote Moor.
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1470 - 1471Second reign of Henry VI of England.
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1470Birth of Prince Edward (eldest son of Edward IV of England), the future Edward V of England.
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11 Apr 1470Henry VI of England is reinstated as king (the ‘Readeption’).
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Oct 1470Second (English) coronation of Henry VI of England, this time in Saint Paul's Cathedral.
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1471 - 1483Second reign of Edward IV of England.
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14 Apr 1471Edward IV of England wins the Battle of Barnet where the Earl of Warwick is killed.
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4 May 1471Henry VI of England’s only son Edward is killed at the Battle of Tewkesbury. Henry VI is imprisoned in the Tower of London by Edward IV of England.
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21 May 1471Henry VI of England is murdered in the Tower of London.
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1472Edward IV of England makes his younger brother Richard the Duke of Gloucester.
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1473Birth of Edward of Middleham, son of Richard, Duke of Gloucester, future Richard III of England.
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1476Queen Margaret, wife of the late Henry VI of England, is released from confinement and returns to France.
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18 Feb 1478George, Duke of Clarence, the brother of Edward IV of England, is murdered in the Tower of London.n
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1483Richard III of England imprisons and then likely murders the two young sons of the late Edward IV, the 'Princes in the Tower'.
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Apr 1483 - Jun 1483Reign of Edward V of England.
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9 Apr 1483Edward IV of England dies of a stroke at Westminster.
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6 Jul 1483Coronation of Richard III of England in Westminster Abbey.
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Nov 1483A plot to overthrow Richard III of England is foiled. The Duke of Buckingham is executed.
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9 Apr 1484Death of Prince Edward, Richard III of England's son and heir.
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Mar 1485Death of Queen Anne Neville, wife of Richard III of England.
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8 Aug 1485Henry Tudor, future Henry VII of England, lands with an army of French mercenaries at Milford Haven in South Wales.
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22 Aug 1485Henry Tudor, future Henry VII of England, wins the Battle of Bosworth Field where Richard III of England is killed.
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22 Aug 1485The Battle of Bosworth Field is fought between the houses of Lancaster and York during the Wars of the Roses in England, ending in a victory for the Lancastrians and the death of King Richard III of the House of York, the last English monarch to fall in battle.
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30 Oct 1485Coronation of Henry VII of England in Westminster Abbey.
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18 Jan 1486Henry VII of England marries Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV of England.n
