The symbol combines the Red Rose emblem of House Lancaster with the White Rose emblem of House York, and was created in the 1480's to celebrate the marriage of Henry Tudor, who became King Henry VII of England, and Elizabeth of York.

The previous decades of English history had been marked by civil war between these two houses (dubbed the "War of the Roses"). At the war's conclusion, the houses were united through this marriage, and the Tudor Dynasty, which ruled England until the death of Queen Elizabeth I in 1603, was founded.