Tudor rose Tudor rose The Tudor rose (sometimes called the Union rose) is the traditional floral heraldic emblem of England and takes its name and origins from the House of Tudor, which united the House of York and House of Lancaster. The Tudor rose consists of five white inner petals, representing the House of York, and five red outer petals to represent the House of Lancaster. When Henry VII took the crown of England from Richard III in battle (1485), he brought the end of the retrospectively dubbed "Wars of the Roses" between the House of Lancaster (one monarch of which had
The Merry Monarch sister to the 1829 Derby winner Frederick. His sire, Slane, was runner-up in the Ascot Gold Cup and, thanks largely to The Merry Monarch's Derby win, was Champion sire in 1845. The Merry Monarch was sent into training with John "Daddy" Forth who, at the age of sixty, had trained and ridden Frederick in the Derby. Gratwicke's horses were based at Goodwood at a stable owned by the Duke of Richmond. Following a disagreement with the Duke, Gratwicke moved his horses to Newmarket, Suffolk. On his first racecourse appearance, The Merry Monarch ran in the Ham Stakes at Goodwood in