Wars of the Roses Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York. By 1453, issues had come to a head: though Margaret of Anjou was pregnant, Henry VI was descending into increasing mental instability, by August becoming completely non-responsive and unable to govern. A Great Council of nobles was called, and through shrewd political machinations, Richard had himself declared Lord Protector and chief regent during the mental incapacity of Henry. In the interlude, Margaret gave birth to a healthy son and heir, Edward. By 1455, Henry had regained his faculties, and open warfare came at the First Battle of St Albans. Several prominent Lancastrians died
Kingdom of England also laid claim to the crown of France, but after the Hundred Years' War and the outbreak of the Wars of the Roses in 1455, the English were no longer in any position to pursue their French claims and lost all their land on the continent, except for Calais. After the turmoils of the Wars of the Roses, the Tudor dynasty ruled during the English Renaissance and again extended English monarchical power beyond England proper, achieving the full union of England and the Principality of Wales in 1542. Henry VIII oversaw the English Reformation, and his daughter Elizabeth I (reigned