On 1455-05-22, Yorkist forces defeated a royal (Lancastrian) army at St Albans and captured King Henry VI. Historians often treat this as the first major outbreak of open fighting in the Wars of the Roses. The clash grew out of a power struggle around a weak monarchy and rival claims among leading nobles.
On 1459-09-23, the Yorkist Earl of Salisbury won at Blore Heath during a renewed round of fighting. The battle showed that the political dispute had moved from court maneuvering toward sustained armed conflict. It also helped keep the Yorkist leadership and military network intact for the next phase.
On 1459-10-12, the Yorkists faced the king’s army at Ludford Bridge but collapsed with little fighting. Key Yorkist leaders fled or went into exile, creating a temporary Lancastrian advantage. The episode mattered because it showed how quickly loyalty could shift when the king’s authority was invoked.
On 1460-07-10, Yorkist forces defeated the king’s army at Northampton and took King Henry VI into their custody. Holding the king gave the Yorkist party major leverage over government decisions. It pushed the conflict toward a direct argument about who should inherit the crown.
On 1460-10-25, Parliament passed the Act of Accord, allowing Henry VI to remain king for life but naming Richard, Duke of York (and his heirs) as successor. This effectively disinherited Henry’s son and raised the stakes from factional politics to a dynastic struggle. It also made attacks on York legally treason, deepening the split.
On 1460-12-29, Lancastrian forces defeated York’s army at Wakefield, and Richard, Duke of York was killed. His death did not end the conflict; instead, leadership passed to his son Edward, who now pressed the Yorkist claim more directly. The fighting also became harsher as prominent nobles died in combat or were executed.
On 1461-02-17, Lancastrian forces won the Second Battle of St Albans and regained physical control of Henry VI. However, their army’s poor discipline and the politics of London mattered: the city did not welcome them, and the Yorkists soon re-entered the capital. The struggle for London helped decide who could claim legitimate rule.
On 1461-03-29, the Yorkists won the Battle of Towton, widely described as the largest and bloodiest battle of the wars. The victory effectively secured the crown for Edward IV against the Lancastrian faction. It marked a shift from a contested claim to a new working government under Yorkist control.
By 1465-06-01, Henry VI was a captive in the Tower of London, where he remained for years until a brief restoration. His imprisonment reduced the Lancastrians’ ability to rally around a reigning king, but it did not erase the claim of his supporters. The conflict continued through shifting alliances among powerful nobles.
In 1470, the Earl of Warwick changed sides and helped return Henry VI to the throne in an episode called the “Readeption.” Warwick’s move showed how personal alliances could overturn governments even after major battles. Henry’s restoration was unstable because real power lay with competing magnates and armies.
On 1471-04-14, Edward IV defeated Warwick at the Battle of Barnet; Warwick was killed while fleeing. The result removed the most important broker of changing loyalties and helped Edward recover his throne. It set up the final confrontation with the remaining Lancastrian leadership.
On 1471-05-04, Edward IV’s army defeated Lancastrian forces at Tewkesbury. The Lancastrian heir, Edward of Westminster (Prince of Wales), was killed, along with or followed by the deaths of other key Lancastrian leaders. This dramatically weakened the Lancastrian cause for the next decade.
On 1471-05-21, Henry VI died in the Tower of London shortly after Edward IV regained power; the circumstances were widely viewed as suspicious even at the time. His death effectively ended the direct Lancastrian royal line and reduced the chance of another “restoration” around him. Political conflict continued, but now without Henry as a living focus.
On 1483-04-09, Edward IV died, leaving the crown to his young son Edward V. The change of ruler reopened factional rivalries at court and raised urgent questions about who would control the government. These tensions set the stage for Richard, Duke of Gloucester, to seize power.
On 1484-02-20, the statute known as Titulus Regius confirmed Richard III’s title and declared Edward IV’s children illegitimate based on an alleged flaw in Edward IV’s marriage. This legal move aimed to strengthen Richard’s rule by undermining rival claims. Instead, it intensified resistance and kept dynastic legitimacy at the center of politics.
On 1485-08-22, Henry Tudor defeated and killed Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field. The outcome ended the reign of the last Plantagenet king and began the Tudor dynasty under Henry VII. It was a turning point because it changed the claimant on the throne, but fighting was not fully over.
On 1486-01-18, Henry VII married Elizabeth of York, joining the leading lines associated with Lancaster and York. The marriage helped broaden political support for the new regime by symbolically and dynastically linking rival claims. It also prepared the ground for the idea of a more settled Tudor succession.
On 1487-06-16, Henry VII’s forces won the Battle of Stoke Field against Yorkist challengers, including supporters of the pretender Lambert Simnel. The battle is often treated as the last major engagement of the Wars of the Roses. Its result strengthened Tudor rule and marked a clearer end point to decades of dynastic civil war.
Wars of the Roses (1455-1487)