In 1455, a civil war was begun to decide who should be king of England. It was fought between the Supporters of two families: the House of Lancaster and the House of York. This war was called the War of the Roses, because the symbol of Lancaster was a red rose and the symbol of York was a white rose. The war ended with the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. King Richard lll of the House of York was killed in the battle and HenryTudor, the leader of the House of Lancaster, became King Henry Vll. Henry then married King Richard's niece, Elizabeth of York, and united the two families. Henry was the first king of the House of Tudor. They symbol of the House of Tudor was red rose with a white rose inside it as sign that the Houses of York and Lancaster were now allies.