War is coming to Warwick Castle with an all-new horseback jousting spectacle which runs to the 3rd September. Families must pledge allegiance to either the House of York or the House of Lancaster and join a 2,000-strong cheering crowd in the jousting arena as the pummeling of horses’ hooves and the splintering of lances reverberates throughout Wars of the Roses LIVE. .
In the Wars if the Roses, two sides of the same fractured royal family battled, besieged and betrayed each other for three bloody decades of the fifteenth century. Across England, brother fought brother, cousin slayed cousin, all vying for the English crown. History books tell which side triumphed and who was slain, but now families visiting Warwick Castle this May half-term can feel the heat of battle for themselves as their hearts pump for the glory of England!
An all-new live action horseback battle with jaw-dropping special effects, the Wars of the Roses LIVE is set in a specially-constructed riverside arena and promises to be a fist-thumpingly spectacular show of knightly heroism, demanding bold battle strategy and fearless fighting from both sides. The spectacle is included in castle admission at no extra cost.
The arena holds a crowd of 2,000 and evokes magnificent mediaeval jousts recorded in historical sources. Wars of the Roses LIVE breathes new life into the extraordinary events that ripped apart England six hundred years ago. Key players in the wider Wars of the Roses story with direct links to Warwick Castle include Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick - known as The Kingmaker, who switched sides from York to Lancaster and imprisoned Edward VI (whom he had helped to ascend the throne) at the castle; and The Kingmaker’s daughter, Anne Neville – born at Warwick – who became Queen of England upon marriage to Richard III.
