The Tudor rose is the traditional floral heraldic emblem of England and takes its name and origins
from the Tudor dynasty.
Origins
When Henry VII took the crown of England from Richard III in battle, he brought the end
of the Wars of the Roses between the House of Lancaster and the House of York. Henry's
father was Edmund Tudor from the House of Richmond, and his mother was Margaret Beaufort
from the House of Lancaster; in January 1486 he married Elizabeth of York to bring all
factions together. The white rose/red rose idea was a Tudor invention. 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 the antelope. Contemporaries 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.
On his marriage, Henry VII adopted the Tudor rose badge conjoining the white rose of York
and the red rose of Lancaster. The Tudor rose is occasionally seen divided in quarters and
vertically red and white. More often, the Tudor rose is depicted as a double rose, white
on red and is always described, heraldically, as "proper".
Historical uses
During his reign, Henry VIII had the "Round Table" at Winchester Castle – then believed
to be genuine – repainted. The new paint scheme included a Tudor rose in the centre.
The Tudor rose badge may appear slipped and crowned: shown as a cutting with a stem and
leaves beneath a crown; this badge appears in Nicholas Hilliard's "Pelican Portrait"
of Elizabeth I and As of 2014 serves as the Royal Floral emblem of England.
The Tudor rose may also appear dimidiated to form a compound badge. The Westminster
Tournament Roll includes a badge of Henry and his first wife Catherine of Aragon with
a slipped Tudor rose conjoined with Catherine's personal badge, the pomegranate; their daughter
Mary I bore the same badge. James I of England and VI of Scotland used a badge consisting
of a Tudor rose dimidiated with a thistle and surmounted by a royal crown.
Contemporary uses The crowned and slipped Tudor Rose is used
as the plant badge of England, as Scotland uses the thistle, Ireland uses the shamrock,
and Wales uses the leek. As such, it is seen on the dress uniforms of the Yeomen Warders
at the Tower of London, and of the Yeomen of the Guard. It features in the design of
the British Twenty Pence coin minted between 1982 and 2008, and in the royal coat of arms
of the United Kingdom. It also features on the coat of arms of Canada.
The Tudor rose makes up part of the cap badge of the Intelligence Corps of the British Army.
It is also notably used as the symbol of the English Tourist Board. and as part of the
badge of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. The Tudor Rose is used as the emblem of the
Nautical Training Corps, a uniformed youth organisation founded in Brighton in 1944 with
20 units in South East England. The Corps badge has the Tudor Rose on the shank of an
anchor with the motto "For God, Queen and Country". It is also used as part of the Corps's
cap badges. The borough of Queens in New York City uses
a Tudor Rose on its flag and seal. The Tudor rose is also used in the badges
of some Portuguese Army units, after William, Count of Schaumburg-Lippe, namely Lisbon Classification
and Selection Cabinet and Graça Fort.
See also Flag of England
Red Rose of Lancaster Tudor dynasty
Wars of the Roses White Rose of York
Royal Badges of England Notes
References Boutell, Charles; A.C. Fox-Davies, R B Utting.
The Handbook to English Heraldry. London: Reeves and Turner. OCLC 2034334.
Fox-Davies, A.C.. The Art of Heraldry. London and Edinburgh: T C and E C Jack http:archive.orgartofheraldryenc00foxd
. Fox-Davies, A.C.. Heraldic Badges|. London:
John Lane. OCLC 4897294. Fox-Davies, A.C.. A Complete Guide to Heraldry.
London and Edinburgh: T C and E C Jack. OCLC 474004850. Starkey, David. Henry – Virtuous Prince.
London: Harper. ISBN 0-00-729263-5. Wise, Terence; Richard Hook; William Walker.
Medieval Heraldry. Osprey. ISBN 0-85045-348-8. External links
Tudor Rose in SF Presidio, CH+D Magazine