The Wars of the Roses lasted for more than 32 years, although the fighting was not constant. The House of Lancaster and the House of York, both of which had claims to the throne of England. They eventually ended with the triumph of Henry Tudor (a scion of the House of Lancaster), who became the next king of England as Henry VII. Seeking to reunify his fractured kingdom (and strengthen his somewhat shaky claim to the throne), Henry quickly married Elizabeth of York (who actually had a better claim to the throne than him, but was disqualified on the grounds of being a woman, because patriarchy).
Upon his marriage, he also adopted what came to be called the Tudor Rose, a combination of the white rose of York and the red rose of Lancaster (although historically, many Lancastrians preferred a gold rose as their emblem, or wore no rose at all). Henry was forcing things somewhat here, as the recently ended conflict would not even be called the Wars of the Roses for many years, and neither rose was the symbol the opposing forces fought under in battle. Henry was sparing in his use of the Tudor Rose, mostly using it as a symbol of unity – when his son Arthur died, he was buried under this symbol to indicate his descent from from both houses. It was not until Henry’s second son and eventual heir, Henry VIII, ascended to the throne that it become the common symbol of the House of Tudor (and thus, the English Royal Family).
