Henry VI was a key player in the Wars of the Roses. In fact, the roots of the war began a century earlier with Henry VI’s grandfather, Henry IV. Henry IV overthrew his cousin, Richard II, from the throne. They both shared a grandfather in King Edward III, each being a son of a different child of Edward. The root of the conflict of the war was which branch of the family had a better claim to the throne. While the line of succession passed peacefully from Henry IV to his son, Henry V, and to his son, Henry VI, it was during Henry VI’s reign that the rival branch of Edward III’s descendants came forward and stated they had the better claim to the throne. This was the beginning of the war...
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