Sowing the seeds of war

The beginnings of the conflict can be traced back to the rule of Edward III. Both the Yorkist and Lancastrian lines of the Royal family had claims on the English throne through him, with the Lancastrian branch occupying the throne since 1399.

Edward III ruled England from 1327 until 1377 and had five sons:
Edward of Woodstock, known as the Black Prince
Lionel of Antwerp
John of Gaunt
Edmund of Langley
Thomas of Woodstock

During his reign, Edward III created duchies for each of his sons, Edward the Black Prince was given Cornwall, Lionel had Clarence, John had Lancaster, Edmund had York and Thomas had Gloucester. By doing this, Edward ensured that each of his sons and their heirs would have an income independent of the sovereign or the state, which could be seen as a good thing but actually just meant that each of them had the means to maintain their own private armies, which eventually grew large enough for them to be able to undermine and defy the sitting monarch.

The House of Lancaster descended from John of Gaunt, Edward III’s third son, while the House of York descended from Edmund of Langley, the fourth son. The death of Edward III can be directly linked to the initial conflict due to his decisions over the right of succession. Edward III outlived his two eldest sons, leaving John, Edmund and Thomas as viable claimants, however, he chose to appoint his grandson, Richard, the eldest son of his eldest son, as heir instead. Richard, who was crowned Richard II was just 10 years old when he inherited the throne. Because of his young age, Richard was given a Regency council, which was made up by his uncles, all of whom vyed for more influence and power. Under the law, if Richard died without an heir, his successors would come from the line of Lionel of Antwerp, the Duke of Clarence. However, Edward III voiced a preference for heirs to the throne to only come from the male line, which excluded Lionel’s descendants, his only child being a daughter, Philippa. Philippa married into the Mortimer family, making her son Roger the one with the strongest legal claim, but this preference for male descendants meant that John of Gaunt’s children came before Lionel’s in the line of succession.

Richard II was king from 1377 until 1399 when he was deposed in perhaps the first inkling of what was to come. During his early reign, he was bound by a series of Regency councils, which were heavily influenced by his uncles, so much so, that as soon as he was able, he excluded John of Gaunt from wielding too much power. His reign was full of turmoil, with the 100 Year’s War and the Peasant’s Revolt both causing problems. When John of Gaunt died in 1399, Richard exiled his son, Henry Bolingbroke, and confiscated all their land and titles. Later in the year, while on a trip to Ireland, Henry Bolingbroke invaded England with an army that met little resistance, deposing Richard and being crowned as Henry IV, the first monarch from the Lancastrian branch.

How the war began

Almost immediately after becoming King, Henry IV faced several attempted depositions from various family members wanting to reinstate Richard. One such attempt saw the Earls of Salisbury and Gloucester and the Dukes of Exeter and Surrey join a coup against him. He had them all executed and Richard imprisoned. Richard died shortly after, with many believing that he had been murdered.

Henry’s accession also triggered a major rebellion in Wales led by Owain Glyndwr, who was aided by the Tudor family, a family that would play a very big part in the war that was to come. Henry died in 1413 and was succeeded by his son, Henry V.

There were several rebellions in which attempts were made to replace Henry V with Edmund Mortimer, who had a claim via his grandmother Philippa, the daughter of Lionel of Antwerp. Edmund and Henry had been raised together as cousins and as such, Edmund informed the king of the plan, leading to the execution of those involved. Henry would go on to be a popular king, winning favour because of his success at the Battle of Agincourt.

It was immediately after his death that the War of the Roses really began to blossom. Henry V died in 1422, leaving the throne to his 9 month old son, Henry VI, despite a promise being made to Richard of York, Henry V’s nephew that he would be heir apparent. Much like his own father, Henry VI grew up at the royal court with his cousin Richard of York and as such a young king, the country was run by another Regency Council, who used the opportunity to gain influence and power, ignoring much of the King and the former King’s wishes. The majority of those council members were descendants of Edward III and because of the duchy lands they held, they all had their own armies and wealth, allowing them the power to defy Henry VI whenever they disagreed on something. Richard and Henry spent much time around the other children of the court, which included Henry’s younger half brothers, Edmund and Jasper Tudor.

Once Henry came to his majority, it didn’t get much better. He had frequent bouts of mental illness and was completely dominated by his wife Margaret of Anjou. He also faced power struggles from several of his cousins and other noble families, notably from Richard the Duke of York and his nephew, Richard Neville the Earl of Warwick. The Earl of Warwick was so powerful and influential, he became known as the Kingmaker, as his allies would gain and lose the throne seemingly on his whim. In 1453, Henry suffered a severe mental breakdown and so Warwick appointed Richard Duke of York as Protector of the Realm to rule in his stead. Richard was much loved and as he had also at one time been considered for the throne, seemed a good alternative to Henry, who was continuously ill and unable to rule. However, when Henry regained his health, he returned as king, leading to Richard of York and the Earl of Warwick to take up arms against him. The Yorkist and Lancastrian armies met for the first battle of the War of the Roses in St Albans on 22^nd May 1455.