GRR Martin was inspired by several historical periods to construct his intrigues: the War of the Roses, Scottish and French history as well as that of the Roman Empire.
He also admitted to having been totally fascinated by the Capetian and Plantagenet dynasties in all their monstrosity thanks to the novelistic sequel The Cursed Kings adapted into a series in 1972 (see response from Didier Ernotte [1]).
Here, I will instead talk about the mini-series The White Queen (WQ) and its sequel The White Princess (WP), which I preferred by the way, based on the books by Philippa Gregory. They relate the War of the Roses which took place between 1455 and 1487 which is a succession of conflicts between two large cousin families for access to power: the Lancasters and the Yorks. An answer has already been written on the subject [2] so I will try to innovate.
Houses Stark and Lannister / York and Lancaster
Edward III dies and it is his grandson Richard II, first male heir of his eldest son who becomes king. The third and fourth sons of Edward III respectively gave birth to the Lancasters and the Yorks. Henry IV, of the House of Lancaster, deposes Richard II, a cruel and unpopular young king (a little Joffrey Baratheon in short), thus provoking a war which will last several decades. The Yorks accuse the Lancasters of having seized the throne by force.
Unlike the Yorks, the Starks do not seek to seize the throne but try to prevent the Lannisters from claiming it, causing betrayal and war with the death of Ned Stark. Like the Yorks, the Starks are Northerners and the Lannisters, like the Lancasters, are extremely wealthy.
Robb Stark / Edward IV
The Red Wedding is strongly inspired by the Black Dinner of Scotland (1440) however we can find some similarities there too between GoT and WQ.
Although the two protagonists have very different personalities, both fall in love with a woman of a much lower rank than themselves and decide to marry them on a whim.
Promised to one of the daughters of House Frey, Robb will anger the patriarch Walder Frey by breaking his oath and marrying Talisa, a commoner. Walder Frey will ally himself with the Lannisters and the Boltons by orchestrating the massacre of the Purple Wedding during which Robb, his wife, his mother as well as most of their bannermen and their men-at-arms will succumb.
Edward IV will also arouse the discontent of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, by renouncing Bonne de Savoie, sister-in-law of King Louis XI, and by marrying Elisabeth Woodville, the widow of an enemy sympathizer. The earl, also nicknamed the kingmaker, had long negotiated with the French royal family and this alliance would have strengthened the influence of the Yorks. Added to this, Edward refused to let his younger brothers marry the earl’s daughters. This is too much for the earl who, neither one nor two, raises an army with Clarence, Edward’s younger brother. Edouard will be taken prisoner, Elisabeth Woodville’s father and younger brother will be executed.
The brothers Bran and Rickon Stark / Edward V and Richard of York
In GoT, the two youngest members of the Stark siblings are missing and considered dead by everyone for a good part of the saga. The same thing happens to Elizabeth of York’s little brothers. Moreover, spectators will only really know at the end of the series what happened to the two male heirs of House York.
Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow/Henry VII
Daenerys was raised by her brother in Essos following their exile before reconquering power with her army and dragons.
Jon Snow is a bastard who can only establish his legitimacy by marrying a woman of royal blood. Eventually, we learn that they are from the same family.
The last heir of the Lancastrian family, Henry VII spent a large part of his life in exile in France when the Yorks came to power. He grew up with his uncle Jasper Tudor and it was his mother, Margaret Beaufort, who organized his takeover from a distance. He marries his distant cousin, Elizabeth of York, because it is the only way for him to gain legitimacy. He thus became the founder of the Tudor dynasty.
Unlike his son, the very famous Henry VIII, he is known to have been an intelligent king, a fine strategist but a bit paranoid. At the same time, we can only understand it. In the WP series, the writers chose to avoid the battles leading to his access to the throne to concentrate on his life once king. We present a Henry VII prey to melancholy attacks, tormented by his past and also rather suspicious like Daenerys. We see him endure countless betrayals, face the hatred of the people who are still fervent supporters of the Yorks, thwart plots, etc. Personally, I found that the adaptation was very credible and the interpretation of the very charming Jacob Collins-Levy is just brilliant (yes, yes I am completely objective ^^).
The couples Cersei and Jaime / Margaret Beaufort and Jasper Tudor
The secret that revolves around the incestuous couple of GoT resembles the one that Margaret tries to preserve in relation to her relationship with Jasper. Certainly, the latter is not his brother but his brother-in-law, however in the WP series, we insist on the taboo of their relationship. Note that in real life, there is nothing to confirm that anything happened between them. Plus, at that time, it wouldn’t have been shocking for Jasper to marry his late brother’s widow.
Margaery Tyrell / Elizabeth of York
Margaery Tyrell will have known three Baratheons: Renly, Joffrey and Tommen. In WQ and WP, ​​Elizabeth of York will succumb to her uncle, King Richard III and marry King Henry VII. Both are gentle and sincere women with those close to them but also know how to use their intelligence and be fierce to ensure their survival. They have both been strongly influenced by a female figure: Margaery benefited from the advice of her grandmother Olenna while Elisabeth maintains a very strong bond with her mother Elisabeth Woodville.
Tyrion Lannister / Richard III
Shakespeare contributed to the bad image of King Richard III, presented by the author as a small, hunchbacked man with a monstrous appearance but with a lively mind. He is believed guilty of the murder of his nephews Edward V and Richard of York in the same way that Tyrion is accused of killing Joffrey.
However in WQ, Richard III is rather handsome but he remains the most intelligent of his siblings.
Cersei Lannister / Jane Shore
Found guilty of adultery, Cersei must undergo the walk of shame. She is forced to walk naked through the streets of the citadel, to the cries of the wild crowd. Cersei’s ordeal resembles that of Jane Shore, one of Edward IV’s countless mistresses.
Condemned by Richard III, Edward’s brother, the young woman must wander around Saint-Paul’s Esplanade in London, in her underwear. His proximity to the late sovereign and several nobles of the Court will be criticized, but suspicions are also raised about his possible help with the opposition. After this humiliation, the young woman will be sent to prison for a time.