Lancaster

Lancaster, English royal family. Edmund Crouchback (1245–96), second son of Henry III, was first earl of Lancaster (1267); his son Thomas (d. 1322) led baronial opposition to Edward II. John of Gaunt (1340–99) became duke of Lancaster by marriage in 1362, and his son and grandson became Henry IV (1399) and Henry V (1413). The Lancastrians were deposed by the house of York during the Wars of the Roses (1455–85), which began during the reign of Henry VI, but the heir to Lancaster claims, Henry Tudor, reestablished the line (as the house of Tudor) in 1485, becoming HenryVII.

See also: England.