Hereford Military History Festival

Mothers-in-War: How Women Shaped the Wars of the Roses

25 September 2026, 1:30pm. The Green Dragon Ballroom, Hereford, HR4 9BG

I’m delighted to partner with historian Matt Lewis to talk about the women of the Wars of the Roses.

Though often cast simply as a 15th-century struggle between the houses of Lancaster and York. The truth about the Wars of the Roses is much more complex, tangled by vicious family dynamics that caused or crossed the political divides. Each faction had men on the battlefield, each also had a matriarch at the helm, from Queen Marguerite for Lancaster and Cecily Neville for York, to Margaret Beaufort, mother of the Tudors. Matt and I will unravel the familial complexities of this mother-of-all-fights, and introduce the women who championed their men’s causes to victory or destruction.

In case you don’t know Matt, he’s one of the country’s most eminent authorities on the Wars of the Roses, and has written seminal biographies of Richard Duke of York and his son, Richard III. He also hosts the Echoes of History podcast, co-hosts the Gone Medieval podcast, and presents documentaries for History Hit, as well as appearing as a contributor in documentaries on the medieval period.

Get full details and book your place here

See the full programme here