Just how similar are War of the Roses and ASOIAF?

[Darryk]

I suspect ASOIF will end in the same way, with an unlikely candidate sitting on the throne after most of the other contenders have wiped each other out. But that's just speculation. Even if it does end the same way, we have no idea who the "Henry Tudor" of ASOIF will be.

I also think the end of ASOIF will mean the end of the stagnation in Westeros and the dawn of a new age, just as the end of the War of the Roses was the end of feudalism and the beginning of England's renaissance period. But again, that's just speculation.

There's no way that reading about the War of the Roses could give away plot details for ASOIF. GRRM is influenced by characters and events throughout history, with the War of the Roses being a primary inspiration. There may be parallels between Tyrion and Richard III, between Robert Baratheon and Edward IV and so on, but it's not like their fates ever match up exactly. For example, no one knows whether Richard III ordered the death of his nephews, whereas Tyrion was definitely framed for Joffrey's death, and Richard III died at the Battle of Bosworth whereas Tyrion fled into exile.

And although people point out that York sounds like Stark and Lancaster sounds like Lannister, I don't think Stark and Lannister are the York and Lancaster of ASOIF. Again there are parallels, but the York-Lancaster of ASOIF could be Stark-Targaryen, could be Baratheon-Targaryen, could be Baratheon-Lannister or none of them at all.

I like to see ASOIF as a mythological version of the War of the Roses. Same way the Iliad may be based on an actual war that happened, but Homer exaggerated it, added supernatural elements and made it an event that changed the course of all human history rather then the history of just one nation.

[Pikachu101]

So basically the similarities:

Sansa - Elizabeth I and Elizabeth of York

Cersei - Elizabeth Woodville and Margaret of Anjou

Robert - Henry VIII and Edward IV

Stannis, Tyrion and Ned - Richard III

Renly - Duke of Clarence

Melisandre - Mary I

Dany or Aegon - Henry VII

Bran and Rickon - the princes in the tower

LF - Thomas Seymour