Wars of the Roses Crossword Puzzle for Kids
Free printable educational crossword puzzle. Every clue is a plain-English sentence from the Simple English Wikipedia article on Wars of the Roses, with the key word blanked out.
Wars of the Roses Crossword
Name: ____________________ Date: ______________
| 13B | |||||||||||||||||
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| 5P | O | L | I | T | I | C | S | ||||||||||
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| 10B | R | A | N | C | H | E | S | ||||||||||
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| 11P | R | I | 9S | O | N | ||||||||||||
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| 2B | P | 1I | |||||||||||||||
| 4L | A | O | R | ||||||||||||||
| 12R | E | T | R | E | |||||||||||||
| 8I | M | P | O | R | T | A | N | T | 3C | O | N | T | R | O | L | ||
| S | D | L | O | E | A | ||||||||||||
| 6R | U | L | E | R | 7E | X | E | C | U | T | E | D | N | ||||
| R | L | D | |||||||||||||||
| D |
Across
- 3. After Towton, Edward was in _____ of England and was crowned as Edward IV in June 1461. (7 letters)
- 5. He was shy and did not like _____ and war. (8 letters)
- 6. Henry VI was considered a poor _____ by some of his people for several reasons. (5 letters)
- 7. They ordered that York and Warwick were to be _____ if they were found. (8 letters)
- 8. The wars began for several reasons, and historians have debated the one that was most _____. (9 letters)
- 10. Both houses were _____ of the Plantagenet royal house and were related through King Edward III. (8 letters)
- 11. Richard was put into _____, where he died, and Henry became King Henry IV of England. (6 letters)
Down
- 1. Henry later returned while Richard was away in _____ and took over the country. (7 letters)
- 2. They were stopped at the _____ of Ludford Bridge and fled England. (6 letters)
- 3. Henry and Margaret knew that they _____ not get rid of York easily. (5 letters)
- 4. His son Edward the became _____ of the Yorkists. (6 letters)
- 9. Warwick soon let Edward go and then _____ making Henry king again. (9 letters)
- 12. He then ruled until 1461, six years after the Wars of the _____ began. (4 letters)
- 13. The young Edward and his _____ disappeared a few months later while they were living in the Tower of London. (7 letters)
Clues are sentences from the Simple English Wikipedia article “Wars of the Roses” (revision 10813887, CC BY-SA 4.0). crosswordprint.com/printable-crosswords/post-classical-history/wars-of-the-roses-for-kids/
Wars of the Roses Word Search
Name: ____________________ Date: ______________
Words to Find
crosswordprint.com/printable-crosswords/post-classical-history/wars-of-the-roses-for-kids/
Pick the word that completes each sentence from the Simple English Wikipedia article.
Is the sentence correct? Some sentences have one word altered.
Click a clue, then click the word it belongs to.
Unscramble each word. The clue is the sentence it was taken from.
How to Solve & Use the Answer Key
This is a fill-in crossword. Each clue is a sentence from the Simple English Wikipedia article on Wars of the Roses, with the key term blanked out. The number in parentheses shows the letter count. Solve interactively on screen or check Show answers to view the answer key. To print a clean student worksheet, press Print Puzzle.
Wars of the Roses Crossword Answer Key & Definitions
Show Complete Answers & Word Definitions
- 3 Across: CONTROL
- 5 Across: POLITICS — Politics (from Ancient Greek πολιτικά (politiká) 'affairs of the cities') is the way that people living in groups make planned decisions. Simple English Wikipedia: Politics
- 6 Across: RULER — A ruler (or 'rule') is an instrument of measurement. Simple English Wikipedia: Ruler
- 7 Across: EXECUTED — Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. Wikipedia: Capital punishment
- 8 Across: IMPORTANT — Importance is a property of entities that matter or make a difference. Wikipedia: Importance
- 10 Across: BRANCHES — A branch is the part of a tree that grows out from the trunk of a tree. Simple English Wikipedia: Branch
- 11 Across: PRISON — A prison or jail is a facility where people are held against their will as a punishment or in pretrial detention. Simple English Wikipedia: Prison
- 1 Down: IRELAND — Ireland is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean. Simple English Wikipedia: Ireland
- 2 Down: BATTLE — A battle is a fight between two or more groups where each group is trying to defeat (beat) the others. Simple English Wikipedia: Battle
- 3 Down: COULD — The English modal auxiliary verbs are a subset of the English auxiliary verbs used mostly to express modality, properties such as possibility and obligation. Wikipedia: English modal auxiliary verbs
- 4 Down: LEADER — A leader is somebody whom people follow. A leader has authority. Simple English Wikipedia: Leader
- 9 Down: SUPPORTED
- 12 Down: ROSE — A rose is a type of flowering shrub. Its name comes from the Latin word Rosa. Simple English Wikipedia: Rose
- 13 Down: BROTHER — A brother (brothers or brethren) is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. Wikipedia: Brother
Definitions adapted from Simple English Wikipedia and Wikipedia articles (week 2026-W41), CC BY-SA 4.0.
Read about Wars of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487) were a series of civil wars fought over the throne of England between supporters of the House of Lancaster, the Lancastrians, and supporters of the House of York, the Yorkists. Both houses were branches of the Plantagenet royal house and were related through King Edward III.
The wars began for several reasons, and historians have debated the one that was most important. King Henry VI was seen as a poor ruler by many of his people because of his lack of interest in politics and his mental illness (his French queen, Margaret of Anjou, often made key decisions instead). Also, England's defeat in the Hundred Years' War in France, economic problems after the war and problems with the feudal system of government were other causes.
The name of the Wars of the Roses, which was first used only in the 19th century, comes from the white rose symbol for the House of York and the red rose symbol for the House of Lancaster. However, the red rose symbol was not used until after the wars had ended, and most soldiers fought under the symbol of their local nobleman. At the time, they were called the "Civil Wars". The houses were named after the cities of Lancaster and York, but neither city played a big role during the war, and both houses owned land all over England and Wales.
Background
King Edward III had many sons, as is shown in the family tree below. His oldest son, known by his nickname "The Black Prince" died first, and the throne passed to the Black Prince's son, Richard, who became King Richard II of England in 1377 although he was only ten. He grew up to be a weak and unpopular king, and one of his actions was to send his cousin Henry into exile.
Henry later returned while Richard was away in Ireland and took over the country. When Richard returned, Henry tricked him into giving himself up. Richard was put into prison, where he died, and Henry became King Henry IV of England.
Henry IV reigned until his death and was followed by his son, King Henry V (in 1413). Henry V died in 1422 and was followed by his son King Henry VI, who was only a baby. Henry VI did not run the government until 1437. He then ruled until 1461, six years after the Wars of the Roses began.
Henry VI was considered a poor ruler by some of his people for several reasons. He was shy and did not like politics and war. He was easily led by a small number of friends, such as his French queen Margaret of Anjou and his advisor Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset.
Henry VI's reign also saw England's defeat in the Hundred Year's War. England had done well in the war while he was still a child, and by 1428, the English appeared to be close to defeating their House of Valois enemies. However, they soon had problems, including Joan of Arc's rebellions in 1429-1430 and Burgundy's decision to switch sides in 1435. Because of these problems, England's control in France was already weakened when Henry VI started to run the government in 1437. Henry VI tried to end the war with a peace agreement, but his French enemies realised that they could win a complete victory. In 1453, England had lost all their lands in France apart from Calais.
War
York decided that he could protect himself only by defeating the king in battle. He raised an army of many people who were unhappy with Henry and Margaret, which led to the First Battle of St Albans in 1455. That was the first to be fought between the Yorkists, who supported York, and the Lancastrians (who supported Henry). York won with the help of the Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick. Henry was found hiding in a leather shop, taken prisoner and was again overcome with mental illness. Somerset and some of the king's other key supporters were killed in the battle. York was again made Lord Protector.
The next year, Henry recovered. York let him go back to running the country and was put in charge of running Ireland. Henry and Margaret knew that they could not get rid of York easily. For the next few years, both sides wanted to stop a war from breaking out but could not agree on several things. York wanted to be the next king after Henry died, rather than Henry and Margaret's newborn son, Edward. Margaret would not allow that and so Henry moved to Coventry, where he had more support.
A more serious war broke out in 1459 and started because Warwick had attacked other country's ships during his time in charge of Calais. Henry asked Warwick to meet to explain what he doing, but Warwick refused. Soon enough, York and Warwick started putting together an army. They were stopped at the Battle of Ludford Bridge and fled England. Henry and the Lancastrians now had control. They ordered that York and Warwick were to be executed if they were found.
The peace did not last long. York and Warwick returned and raised an army and won the Battle of Northampton. For the second time, Henry was captured after he was overcome with mental illness. York was made Lord Protector for the third time.
York then announced that he wanted to take the throne for himself. Many of his supporters thought that was a step too far and so they agreed that Henry would still be king, but York, not Henry's son, would be the next king.
Afterwards
The Battle of Bosworth Field is often seen as the end of the war. However, there was another great battle two years later, but Henry VII stopped a rebellion and brought peace to the country.
Henry married Edward IV's daughter Elizabeth of York and told people that he was bringing the two houses together. He also started the Tudor rose symbol, with a red rose and white rose joined.
Other websites
The Wars of the Roses Has a large article on 'Soldiers and Warfare during the Wars of the Roses' with interesting information on the fighting and tactics of the day, plus battles and people
warsoftheroses.com includes a map, timeline, info on major players and summaries of each battle
A complicated but comprehensive diagram of the Wars of the Roses is at threetwoone.org
An extensive chronological account is at Wars Of The Roses. The historical interpretation which accompanies it is the personal view of the author
Text adapted from the Simple English Wikipedia article “Wars of the Roses” (revision 10813887, 2026-04-10), authors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.