54. Which two English royal houses fought against each other in the Wars of the Roses?
From Quiz A Plague on Both Your Houses
Answer:
York and Lancaster
The Wars of the Roses were fought from 1455 to 1485 between the Lancastrians and the Yorkists, as each side sought to put its own candidate on the English throne.
The origin of the dispute began after the death of the powerful King Edward III, in 1377, when his grandson Richard II succeeded him, but the throne was taken from him by Henry of Bolingbroke in 1399. He ruled as Henry IV, the first Lancastrian king. He was succeeded by his son Henry V, whose successor Henry VI, ascended the throne as an infant. His claim was disputed by Richard, Duke of York. The Yorkists were descended from the third and fifth sons of Edward III while the Lancastrians were descended from the fourth son. After various battles during one of which Richard of York was killed, the Lancastrians were defeated and the Duke's son was crowned as Edward IV. On his death in 1483, his son should have been crowned as Edward V, but his uncle, who became Richard III, claimed that his nephews were illegitimate and took over the throne. Henry Tudor used his tenuous claim to invade England and defeated Richard at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485 and ruled as Henry VII. Richard was the last Yorkist king although Henry married the king's sister, Elizabeth, so his son, Henry VIII, had Yorkist ancestry.
(Question by Calpurnia09)
Truth is elusive. We can only define it by our own understandings. 
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