Houses of Lancaster and York
...second wife, this comes through his mother’s side, and in those days females were not considered very important. He also has a relation through his father’s side- but his father is not part of the royal family and so this claim is very shaky. So overall I believe that Richard III had a better claim to the throne than Henry VII. The Wars of the Roses were a series of civil wars that took place in England between the House of Lancaster and the House of York from 1377-1485. These two houses were both descendants of Edward III, and they were fighting for possession of the crown. In 1485, Henry Tudor (from the House of Lancaster) defeated the reigning Yorkist King- Richard III in the Battle of Bosworth. He claimed the throne through distant family relations and claimed it was God’s will, as he won the battle. The House of Lancaster’s emblem was a white rose, and the House of York’s symbol was a red rose, thus giving the name the “Wars of the Roses”. When Henry Tudor (Lancaster) married Elizabeth of York (York) the two families had been brought together, united, as one, in peace. Therefore the Tudor emblem is a red and white rose. • In 1377, Edward III died and the crown went to his grandson Richard II • Two of Edward II sons Lionel (Duke ...