The Yorkists

The Yorkist conquest of the Lancastrians in 1461 did not put an end to the Wars of the Roses, which rumbled on until the start of the sixteenth century. Family disloyalty in the form of Richard III's setting aside of his nephews, the young King Edward V and his brother, was part of his downfall. Henry Tudor, a claimant to the throne of Lancastrian descent, defeated Richard III in battle and Richard was killed.

With the marriage of Henry to Elizabeth, the eldest sister of the young Princes in the Tower, reconciliation was finally achieved between the warring houses of Lancaster and York in the form of the new Tudor dynasty, which combined their respective red and white emblems to produce the Tudor rose.

Related content

Encyclopedia

Offa (r. 757-796)

Encyclopedia

Anglo Saxon Kings

Encyclopedia

Saxe-Coburg-Gotha

About

The Royal Archives

Find out more about the historic documents stored in the iconic Round Tower ...
Press release 01 April 2015

Digitisation of George III's private archive

Read more
Press release 24 May 2012

Queen Victoria's Journals launched online

Read more