Britain's Bloody Crown

Henry VI was one of England’s weakest kings. After he lost the last of the Plantagenet lands in France, he fell into a catatonic stupor, unable to rule. Two people fought for control in Henry’s place: his French wife, Margaret of Anjou, and his cousin, Richard, Duke of York.

Six years into the Wars of the Roses, Henry VI had his throne snatched away by Edward IV. The man who helped Edward was Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick. But Warwick soon became consumed by greed for power and turned on Edward, plunging the country into anarchy.

One of the most famous events of the Wars of the Roses was the killing of 12-year-old King Edward V and his younger brother, Richard: the so-called “Princes in the Tower.” Their deaths were almost certainly orchestrated by their uncle, Richard III. What led him to descend from a military leader to a tyrant?

For almost three decades, Margaret Beaufort took control of her destiny to protect herself and her son from the anarchy that consumed England. She arranged smart marriages, swapped sides, and did whatever it took to remain safe and put her son, Henry VII, on the throne.