War of the Roses

Margaret Pole Who Was She?

This entry is part 11 of 12 in the series Intriguing Women

Margaret Pole was an intriguing and complex character. One of the few survivors of the Plantagenet dynasty after the wars of the 15th Century she was executed under the orders of King Henry VIII in 1541, aged sixty seven years old. So what happened to cause this old lady to lose her head? First let’s…

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Richard III Bosworth

Richard III Bosworth
This entry is part 1 of 5 in the series House of York

King Richard III Bosworth Field, where the King stood and faced the army of Henry Tudor and was defeated, his crown left tumbeld under a thorn bush, his body unceremoniously dumped at Grey Friars Leicester. This week is re-buried at Leicester Cathedral.

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Treaty of Troyes 1420

Treaties for peace, to resolve conflict, seal a marriage, create trade opportunities or simply to fuel naked ambition of a king? Treaty of Troyes a wedding and a truce for England or does it seal the fate of the House of Lancaster, see the sun set on York and an early dawn for a new dynasty the Tudors? Sounds far-fetched? Read-on since when did a Treaty actually create the conditions for lasting peace? Part 1 of a series of posts on Treaties and the Trouble that lies ahead.

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Elizabeth Woodville Queen of Edward IV

Elizabeth Woodville
This entry is part 2 of 12 in the series Intriguing Women

Elizabeth Woodville would marry a King but her sons would end their lives imprisoned by their uncle in the tower who would become the much maligned Richard III. He was this Queen who drove a King to marry in secret and fall out with his own family?

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Cade’s Rebellion 1450

Jack Cade was he a leader or a pawn of Richard 3rd Duke of York?

Cade’s rebellion by the people of Kent, is it the start of the War of the Roses and who else was involved and what created the climate for rebelliono with Henry VI on the throne of England?

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Richard Duke of York 1411 1460

Richard of York was born of Royal blood and lineage from both his parents, he would seek to usurp the ineffectual Henry VI and lead the Yorkist cause, he would be killed before the Yorks came to the throne but his death would urge his son Edward IV to seize the crown. Find out here about the intriguing events that drove his life and influence upon the outcomes of the War of the roses fought between the Lancasters and Yorks and eventually embroiling the TUDORS who would come to outlive and rule beyond both great houses.

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