Hello and welcome to this new series on the Historic Royal Palace's podcast.

I'm Charles Farris and I'm a curator and historian at the Tower of London.

In this new series we'll be exploring the conflict that's known as the Wars of the Roses,

a time of bloody battles, heroes and villains alike,

and legendary acts of vengeance and betrayal that have inspired centuries of writers.

Unpicking any history is no easy task, and that is certainly true with the Wars of the Roses.

So in this series, we're going to lay out the facts

and interrogate the key characters and major events of this time. Our aim is to better

understand the stormy and often polarised narratives around the Wars of the Roses. We're going

to question the context behind why the crown was able to be usurped

multiple times, how women wielded power at a time when men fought on the battlefield, and ultimately,

we want to examine how a new dynasty was able to rise from the ashes of such violence and turmoil.

Joining us for this five-part series is an amazing line-up of expert historians who are intimately connected with the sources. This history is woven into the very stones of the Tower of London. And as you may know, I'm a medievalist myself, so I can't wait to explore this history with you.

Join me as we step into the world of the Wars of the Roses.

Please be aware that these episodes contain discussions of themes which listeners may find distressing or triggering, including violence,

prejudice and mental health.

Hello listeners and welcome back to episode three of this very exciting series.

Today we're going to be covering what is generally viewed as the middle and final stages

of the Wars of the Roses.

Here we are talking about the reinss of Edward IV and Richard III,

ending with the Battle of Bosworth and the ascendance of Henry the 7th.

We've said from the beginning that the Wars of the Roses were always going to be a challenging subject to unpack,

...