War of the roses

In around 1377 , medieval England was shaken by a

power struggle between two noble families , which
spanned generations and involved a massive cast of
characters , complex motives and shifting loyalties .
If that sound familiar is because the historical conflict
known as the wars of the roses served as the basics for
much of the drama in "game of thrones "
The real- life seeds of war were sewn by the death of
king Edward III in 1377, Edwards oldest son (Edward
the black prince ) had died before his father but his
ten- year- old son, Richard II succeeded to the throne
ahead of Edward's three surviving sons .
This skipping of an entire generation left lingering
claims to the throne among their various offspring .
Particularly the Lancasters (lannester in g.o.t) ,
descended from Edward's third son and the Yorks
(stark in g.o.t ) descended from the fourth son .
The name of the wars of the roses comes from the
symbols associated with the two families .
The white rose of the yorks and the red rose of the
Lancasters .
The lancasterians first gained the throne when
Richard II was deposed by his cousin Henry IV in 1399.
Despite sporadic unrest ,their reign remained secure
until 1422 , when Henry V death in a military
campaign , left an infant Henry VI as king manipulated
by his advisors because of his weak personality , Henry
VI was convinced to marry Margaret of Anjou to gain
French support .
Margret was beautiful , ambitious and ruthless in
persecuting any threat to her power , and she
distrusted Richard of the York most of all .
Richard York gad been the king's closest advisors and
a loyal general but he was increasing side line by the
queen , who promoted her favorite supporters like
Earls of Suffolk and somerest .
York's criticism of their inept handling of the war
against france , led to his exclusion from the court and
transfer him to Ireland .
Meanwhile mounting military failures and corrupt
rule by Margret and her allies , caused widespread
discontent , and in the midst of this chaos ,Richard of
the York returned with an army to arrest the somerest
and reform the court , initially unsuccessful ,he soon
got his chance , when he was appointed to be the
protector of the realm after Henry suffered a mental
breakdown .
However Henry suddenly recovered in less than a year
later ,and the queen convinced him to reverse
Richard's reform .
Richard fled and raised an army once more , though he
was unable to directly get the throne , Richard
managed to be reinstated as protector , and be himself
and his heirs designated to succeed Henry VI , but
Richard was killed in a battle with the queen loyalists ,
His young son took up the claim and wars crowded as
Edward IV .
Edward IV had a great victory against the lancasters ,
Henry VI was captured while Margret fled into their
cruel son Edward of Westminster (joffrey g.o.t ).
One of the Edwards IV most powerful ally (earl of
warwick )was alienated from Edward IV after the
refusal of Edward IV to marry a French princes and
marrying a widow of a minor noble man .
Warwick allied with the lancasterians , turned
edward's jealous younger brother George , against him
and even managed to restore Henry VI as king for a
short period of time , but Edward IV recaptured the
throne , and Edward of Westminster was killed in
battle , and Henry died in captivity not long ago.
Edward IV was peaceful after that , but upon his
death in 1483 the blood shed resumed , though his 12
year old son was due to succeed him , Edward's
younger brother Richard III declared his nephew
illegitimate due to their father's secret marriage , he
took the throne and threw the boys in prison .
But his reign only lasted two years , Henry Tudor was
a direct descendant of the first duke of Lancaster ,
raised in exile after his father's death.
With Richard III's power grab causing a split in the
York faction , Henry won support for his royal claim .
He crossed the English channel with an army in 1485 ,
he quickly defeated Richard's forces , and by marrying
Elizabeth of the York , the elder daughter of Edward IV
the newly crowned Henry VII joined the two roses
ending a century long war .