Plantagenet

King Henry V (left) in a late-16th- or early 17th-century portrait by an unknown artist; and his son Henry VI (right) in a c1500s portrait (Photos by Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

Why Henry VI’s reign was such a disaster

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HistoryExtra Monarchy Masterclass with Tracy Borman The Plantagenets (1216–1485) . This is a premium piece of content available to registered users.

An oil on panel portrait of Elizabeth Woodville

Elizabeth Woodville: Edward IV’s controversial queen consort

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Part ten in our 20-part series looking at decisive moments of the last 1,000 years in British history explores 1450–1499

Turning points 1483: Richard grabs the throne . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Chaucer reading his work to the court of Richard II

Katherine Swynford: the scandalous duchess and ancestress of royal dynasties

Pragmatist or heartless? A portrait of the young Elizabeth Woodville (1437-1492). The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)

The power behind the throne: women in the Wars of the Roses

A portrait of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York

Like father, like son: Richard Plantagenet and Richard III

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5 things you (probably) didn’t know about the Plantagenets

A 20th-century fresco 'Plucking the Red and White Roses in the Old Temple Gardens' by Henry Payne. It depicts a scene by Shakespeare, showing Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset being challenged by Richard, 3rd Duke of York to choose between the white rose of York and the red rose of Lancaster. (Photo by Artefact / Alamy Stock Photo)

7 things you (probably) didn’t know about the houses of Lancaster and York

Portrait of Sarah Gristwood for BBC History Magazine

History explorer: Tewkesbury Abbey and four more places linked to the Wars of the Roses

Richard 3 Quiz

Quiz Richard III: how much do you know about the last Plantagenet king?

The battle of Towton during the War of the Roses, 1461. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

The Wars of the Roses: the 15th-century clash of kings that heralded the dawn of the Tudor dynasty

Portrait of John of Gaunt

John of Gaunt: father of England’s medieval monarchy and self-styled Spanish king

Battle of Barnet: This lively, if inaccurate, 15th- century illustration of the shows a coronet- wearing Edward skewering Warwick with his lance

The battle of Barnet, 1471: the Wars of the Roses clash that killed the Kingmaker