22nd May 1455: Wars of the Roses begin at the First Battle of St Albans

The Wars of the Roses were fought between the Houses of Lancaster and York, both of whom had claims to the English throne. Although the Lancastrians had ruled England since 1399, Henry VI had come to the throne in 1422 when he was just 9 months old. England had therefore been ruled by regents for 15 years, during which time the monarchy was weakened.

The situation didn’t improve after Henry took full control of the country in 1437, since he experienced periods of mental illness and instability that affected his behaviour and decisions. Having experienced a long period of mental instability from August 1453 the ‘kingmaker’ Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, made Richard, Duke of York, protector of the realm.

When Henry recovered 18 months later, Richard was excluded from the royal court. In response he led an army to London, but encountered the King’s forces 22 miles north of the city in St Albans. After many hours of failed negotiations between the two sides Richard ordered his troops to attack. The battle was fought in the streets, lanes and gardens of St Albans and lasted for less than an hour before the Lancastrians were outflanked by the Yorkists who stormed the market square and killed a number of key Lancastrian nobles.

Henry was taken prisoner and was escorted back to London where Richard was declared Protector of England just a few months later. The Wars of the Roses raged for another three decades.