Red Roses – the House of Lancaster.
Two royal houses - that of Lancaster and that of York - fought for the English crown in the Wars of the Roses. Both claimed the right to rule but who were they and what were their lines of descent? This quiz is about the dynasty represented by a red rose: the House of Lancaster.
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Blanche was descended from Edmund Crouchback, the 2nd son of Henry III and the first Earl of Lancaster. She had inherited the title from her father, and upon her marriage to John of Gaunt he became the Duke
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Henry feared a revolt aimed at restoring Richard to the throne. To prevent this he had Richard killed, allegedly by starvation so as to leave no marks on the body and to clear Henry from charges of murder
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All were called Henry. Henry VI ruled twice, from 1422 until 1461, and again from 1470 until 1471
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The war began in 1337 when Edward III invaded France claiming the throne as the heir of the French king Charles IV, who was Edward's uncle. It ended in 1453 with the English defeat at the Battle of Castillon. The Wars of the Roses began two years later
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Henry V died on 31st August 1422 from what is thought to have been dysentery. The French king, Charles VI, died 52 days later. Henry's son was proclaimed King of both France and England, but the French throne was taken by Charles VII and the war continued
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He holds the record as the youngest ever monarch of England. Until 1435 the country was governed by a regent, Henry's uncle John, Duke of Bedford
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Poor harvests and disease in livestock drove up the price of food and this was exacerbated by a shortage of silver. The Great Slump, together with defeat in France and Henry VI's periods of madness, all helped to cause the Wars of the Roses
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Since 1413, when Henry V ascended to the throne, the title Duke of Lancaster has been held by the monarch. Discounting kings, there have only ever been two Dukes of Lancaster, preceded by three Earls
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Philippa had married King John I of Portugal in 1387 and her descendant was now the king. Theoretically the king of Portugal could have contested Henry VII's claim to the English throne, though no challenge was ever made
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Henry VII was the great-great-grandson of John of Gaunt and his lover, Katherine Swynford. The two did marry after John's first two wives had both died, but Henry's great-grandfather was born out of wedlock
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