Evaluate the impact of the Wars of the Roses on royal authority in England.

Candidates are required to appraise the effects of the Wars of the Roses in terms of their impact on royal authority in England. Candidates may evaluate the authority of individual monarchs at different stages of the wars, for example royal authority was weak under Henry VI due to the threat from “over-mighty” subjects such as Warwick. It was not until the second reign of Edward IV that royal authority was restored to some extent. Royal authority was again undermined by the minority of Edward V and the dubious legitimacy of Richard III’s reign. Some may argue that the failure of successive monarchs to end the conflict between York and Lancaster undermined Royal authority over the whole period and that the conflict was resolved by the marriage of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York.