Original subtitles

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as far as we know medieval England was

never invaded by ice zombies or

terrorized by dragons but it was shaken

by a power struggle between two noble

families spanning generations and

involving a massive cast of characters

with complex motives and shifting

loyalties if that sounds familiar it's

because the historical conflicts known

as the Wars of the Roses served as the

basis for much of the drama in Game of

Thrones the real-life seeds of war were

sown by the death of King Edward the

third in 1377 Edwards oldest son had

died before his father but his

ten-year-old son Richard the second

succeeded to the throne ahead of Edwards

three surviving sons this skipping of an

entire generation left lingering claims

to the throne among their various

offspring particularly the Lancaster's

descended from Edwards third son and the

York's descended from his fourth son the

name of the ensuing wars comes from the

symbols associated with the two families

the White Rose of York and the red rose

of Lancaster

the Lancaster's first gained the throne

when Richard the second was deposed by

his cousin Henry the fourth in 1399

despite sporadic unrest there rain

remains secure until 1422 when henry v

death in a millet

campaign left an infant Henry the sixth

as teeny weak willed and dominated by

advisers Henry was eventually convinced

to marry Margaret of Anjou to gain

French support Margaret was beautiful

ambitious and ruthless in persecuting

any threat to her power and she

distrusted Richard of York most of all

York had been the King's close advisor

and loyal general but was increasingly

sidelined by the Queen who promoted her

favorite supporters like the Earl's of

Suffolk and Somerset York's criticism of

their inept handling of the war against

France led to his exclusion from court

and transferring to Ireland meanwhile

mounting military failures and corrupt

rule by Margaret and her allies caused

widespread discontent and in the midst

of this chaos Richard of York returned

with an army to arrest Somerset and

reform the court initially unsuccessful

he soon got his chance when he was

appointed protector of the realm

after Henry suffered a mental breakdown

however less than a year later Henry

suddenly recovered and the Queen

convinced him to reverse York's reforms

York fled and raised an army once more

though he was unable to directly seize

the throne he managed to be reinstated

as protector and have himself and his

heirs designated to succeed

but instead of a crown York's head

acquired a pipe after he was killed in

battle with the Queen's loyalists his

young son took up the claim and was

crowned Edward the fourth Edward enjoyed

great military success against the

Lancaster's Henry was captured while

Margaret fled into exile with their

reportedly cruel son Edward of

Westminster but the newly crowned King

made a tragic political mistake by

backing out of his arranged marriage

with a French princess to secretly marry

the widow of a minor noble this

alienated his most powerful ally the

Earl of Warwick Warwick allied with the

Lancaster's turned Edwards jealous

younger brother George against him and

even briefly managed to restore Henry as

king but it didn't last

Edward recaptured the throne the

Lancaster Prince was killed in bow and

Henry himself died in captivity not long

after the rest of Edward the fourth

sreyas peaceful but upon his death in

1483 the bloodshed resumed though his

12-year old son was due to succeed him

Edward's younger brother Richard the

third declared his nephews illegitimate

due to their father's secret marriage

he assumed the Regency himself and threw

the boys in prison though no one knows

what ultimately became of them after a

while the princes disappeared and

Richards powers seemed secure but his

downfall would come only two years later

from across the Narrow Sea of the

English Channel Henry Tudor was a direct

descendant of the first Duke of

Lancaster raised in exile after his

father's death in a previous rebellion

with Richard the thirds power grabbed

causing a split in New York faction

Henry won support for his royal claim

raising an army in France he crossed the

channel in 1485 and quickly defeated

Richard's forces and by marrying

Elizabeth of York elder sister of that

disappeared princes the newly crowned

Henry the seventh joins the two roses

finally ended nearly a century of war we

often think of historical wars as

decisive conflicts with clearly defined

winners and losers but the Wars of the

Roses like a fiction they inspired show

us that victories can be uncertain

alliances unstable and even the power of

Kings as fleeting as

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