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Traditionally, male perspectives and figures have dominated the narrative of this epic conflict, or civil war, between two branches of the Plantagenet dynasty in the later fifteenth century. Shakespeare’s history plays still have a huge impact on how this period and its royal women are viewed. Inspired by recent academic trends in the growth of women’s history and queenship studies along with the increase in interest within popular culture (such as Philippa Gregory’s novels and the television series based on them), the focus has shifted to illuminate the role of women in the Wars of the Roses. The turbulence of the period not only resulted in queens like Margaret of Anjou and Elizabeth Woodville being in and out of office, but also brought up ‘quasi-queens’, such as the kings’ mothers Cecily Neville and Margaret Beaufort. There have also been attempts to revise negative perceptions of the women and to draw out figures who have often been overlooked.