TheTudor rose (sometimes called theUnion rose) is the traditional floralheraldic emblem ofEngland and takes its name and origins from theHouse of Tudor, which united theHouse of Lancaster and theHouse of York. 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.
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In theBattle of Bosworth Field (1485),Henry VII, of the House of Lancaster, took the crown of England fromRichard III, of the House of York. He thus brought to an end the retrospectively dubbed "Wars of the Roses". Kings of theHouse of Lancaster had sometimes used a red or gold rose as a badge; and theHouse of York had used a white rose as a badge. Henry's father wasEdmund Tudor, and his mother wasMargaret Beaufort from the House of Lancaster; in January 1486 he marriedElizabeth of York to bring the two factions together. (In battle, Richard III fought under the banner of the boar,[1] and Henry under the banner of the dragon of his native Wales.) The white rose versus red rose juxtaposition was mostly Henry's invention, created to exploit his appeal as a 'peacemaker king'.[2] The historian Thomas Penn writes:
The "Lancastrian" red rose was an emblem that barely existed before Henry VII. Lancastrian kings used the rose sporadically, but when they did it was often gold rather than red;Henry VI, the king who presided over the country's descent into civil war, preferred his badge of theantelope. Contemparies certainly did not refer to the traumatic civil conflict of the 15th century as the "Wars of the Roses". For the best part of a quarter-century, from 1461 to 1485, there was only one royal rose, and it was white: the badge of Edward IV. The roses were actually created after the war by Henry VII.[2]
On his marriage, Henry VII adopted the Tudor rose badge conjoining theRed Rose of Lancaster and theWhite Rose of York. The Tudor rose is occasionally seen divided in quarters (heraldically as "quartered") and vertically (inheraldic termsper pale) red and white.[3] More often, the Tudor rose is depicted as adouble rose,[4] white on red and is always described, heraldically, as "proper" (that is, naturally-coloured, despite not actually existing in nature).
Henry VII was reserved in his usage of the Tudor rose. He regularly used the Lancastrian rose by itself, being the house to which he descended. His successorHenry VIII, descended from the House of York as well through his mother, would use the rose more often.[5]
WhenArthur, Prince of Wales, died in 1502, his tomb inWorcester Cathedral used both roses; thereby asserting his royal descent from both the houses of Lancaster and York.[5]
During his reign, Henry VIII had the legendary "Round Table" atWinchester Castle – then believed to be genuine – repainted.[6] The new paint scheme included a Tudor rose in the centre. Previous to this, his father Henry VII had built theHenry VII Chapel atWestminster Abbey (it was later used for the site of his tomb) and it was decorated principally with the Tudor rose and theBeaufort portcullis – as a form of propaganda to define his claim to the throne.
The Tudor rose badge may appearslipped and crowned: shown as a cutting with a stem and leaves beneath a crown; this badge appears inNicholas Hilliard's "Pelican Portrait" of Elizabeth I and since an Order in Council (dated 5 November 1800), has served as theroyal floral emblem of England.
The Tudor rose may also appeardimidiated (cut in half and combined with half another emblem) to form a compound badge. TheWestminster Tournament Roll includes a badge of Henry and his first wifeCatherine of Aragon with a slipped Tudor rose conjoined with Catherine's personal badge, the Spanishpomegranate;[7] their daughterMary I bore the same badge.[8] Following his ascent to the English throne,James VI of Scotland and I of England used a badge consisting of a Tudor rose dimidiated with aScottish thistle and surmounted by a royal crown.[9]
The old iconicastronomical symbol for the asteroid8 Flora, discovered in 1847, has been identified as the Rose of England.[10]
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The crowned and slipped Tudor rose is used as the plant badge of England, as Scotland uses thethistle, Wales uses theleek, and Ireland uses theshamrock (Northern Ireland sometimes usingflax instead). As such, it is seen on the dress uniforms of theYeomen Warders at theTower of London, and of theYeomen of the Guard. It features in the design of the20-pence coin minted between 1982 and 2008, and in theroyal coat of arms of the United Kingdom. It also features on thecoat of arms of Canada.
As part of the badge of theSupreme Court of the United Kingdom, the Tudor rose represents England alongside the floral badges of the other constituent parts of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
The heraldic badge of theRoyal Navy's current flagship aircraft carrierHMSQueen Elizabeth uses a Tudor rose with colours divided vertically (per pale), inheriting the heraldry of the early twentieth centurysuper-dreadnought oil-firedfast battleshipHMSQueen Elizabeth. The Tudor rose makes up part of thecap badge of theIntelligence Corps of theBritish Army. The Tudor rose is used as the emblem ofThe Nautical Training Corps, a uniformed youth organisation founded inBrighton in 1944 with 20 units inSouth East England. The corps badge has the Tudor Rose on the shank of an anchor with themotto "For God, Queen and Country". It is also used as part of the Corps' cap badge.
The Tudor rose is also prominent in a number of towns and cities. The Royal Town ofSutton Coldfield, uses the emblem frequently, due to the town being givenRoyal Town status by Henry VIII. The Tudor rose appears on thecoat of arms of Oxford. It is also notably used (albeit in a monochromatic form) as the symbol ofVisitEngland, England'stourist board.[11] A half-and-half design was used as the "Border Rose" in some parts ofTodmorden, a conurbation that was historically bisected by the Yorkshire-Lancashire border.[12]
The borough and county ofQueens inNew York City uses a Tudor rose on itsflag and seal.[13] The flag and seal ofAnnapolis, Maryland, features a Tudor rose and a thistle surmounted with a crown. The city ofYork, South Carolina is nicknamed "The White Rose City", and the nearby city ofLancaster, South Carolina is nicknamed "The Red Rose City".York, Pennsylvania andLancaster, Pennsylvania are similarly nicknamed, using stylized white and red roses in their emblems, respectively.
There are ten tudor roses present on the crest of theEngland national football team.
In Europe the boar is one of the four heraldic beasts of the chase and was the distinguishing mark of Richard III, king of England.
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