Biography of elizabeth of york

Cecily Neville, Duchess of York Joan Beaufort 1. Elizabeth of York Richard Wydeville 6. Richard Woodville Joan Bittlesgate 3. Elizabeth Woodville Peter I, Count of Saint-Pol 7. Jacquetta of Luxembourg Margaret of Baux. Further reading [ change change source ]. References [ change change source ]. Elizabeth seems to have played little part in politics, after coming to the throne.

Her marriage appears to have been a successful and happy one, [ 3 ] [ 4 ] although her eldest son, Arthur, Prince of Wales , died aged 15 in , and three other children died young. In , aged three, she was briefly betrothed to George Neville , who was created the Duke of Bedford in anticipation of the marriage. In , however, Louis XI reneged on his promise.

Her brother Edward, still a child, ascended the throne as Edward V , and her uncle, her father's younger brother, Richard, Duke of Gloucester , was appointed regent and protector of his young nephew. Gloucester acted quickly to intercept Edward V while the latter was travelling from Ludlow , where he had been living as Prince of Wales, to London to be crowned king.

Edward V was placed in the royal residence of the Tower of London , ostensibly for his protection, while his uncle Anthony Woodville , and half-brother Richard Grey , who had both been escorting him, were arrested and sent to Pontefract Castle. Gloucester asked Thomas Bourchier , the Archbishop of Canterbury , to take Richard with him, so that the boy could reside in the Tower and keep his brother Edward company.

Elizabeth Woodville, under duress, eventually agreed. Two months later, on 22 June , Edward IV's marriage was declared invalid. Parliament issued a bill, Titulus Regius "Royal Title" , in support of this position. Elizabeth's uncle, Anthony Woodville, and her half-brother Richard Grey, were executed on Gloucester's orders on 25 June. Rumours began to spread that they had been murdered, and these appear to have been increasingly widely credited, even though some undoubtedly emanated from overseas.

Whether these Letters Patent had force of law is disputed. Whatever the merits of Henry's claim, according to Vergil, his mother and Elizabeth Woodville agreed he should move to claim the throne and, once he had taken it, marry Elizabeth of York to boost his feeble claim. In December , in the cathedral of Rennes , Henry Tudor swore an oath promising to marry her and began planning an invasion.

In March , Elizabeth Woodville and her daughters were persuaded, according to the Crowland Chronicle , to withdraw from sanctuary under "frequent intercessions and dire threats". Henry Tudor and his army landed in Wales on 7 August and marched inland. Richard III had the larger army, but was betrayed by one of his most powerful nobles, William Stanley , and became the last English king to die in battle.

Though initially slow to keep his promise, [ 21 ] Henry VII acknowledged the necessity of marrying Elizabeth of York to ensure the stability of his rule and weaken the claims of other surviving members of the House of York. It seems Henry wished to be seen as ruling in his own right, having claimed the throne by right of conquest and not by his marriage to the de facto heiress of the House of York.

He had no intention of sharing power. Henry and Elizabeth required a papal dispensation to wed because of Canon Law frowning upon affinity : Henry and Elizabeth were descended from, respectively, John of Gaunt and his younger brother Edmund in the 4th degree, an issue that had caused much dispute and bloodshed as to which claim was superior.

Ultimately, however, the marriage was approved by papal bull of Pope Innocent VIII dated March one month after the wedding stating that the Pope and his advisors " Approveth confirmyth and stablishyth the matrimonye and coniuncion made betwene our sou[er]ayn lord King Henre the seuenth of the house of Lancastre of that one party And the noble Princesse Elyzabeth of the house of Yorke.

Because the journey to Rome and back took many months, and because Henry as king wanted to be certain that nobody could claim that his wedding to Elizabeth was unlawful or sinful, the more local application was obeyed first—it was sent to the papal legate for England and Scotland, which returned in January Elizabeth of York was crowned queen on 25 November She gave birth to several more children, but only four survived infancy: Arthur, Margaret , Henry and Mary.

Despite their marriage being a political arrangement, records indicate both partners appear to have slowly fallen in love with each other.

Biography of elizabeth of york

This was a marriage of 'faithful love', of mutual attraction, affection and respect, from which the king seems to have drawn great strength. In order to maintain stability and peace after ending a civil war that had lasted 32 years, the new Tudor dynasty needed to put an end to the quarrelling Yorkist and Lancastrian families. Elizabeth's sisters, Cecily and Anne of York , and her cousin, Margaret Pole , were married to Lancastrian men who were loyal to Henry.

Similar strategies had been used before by Richard III of England , though in that case the Titulus Regius had marred the status of Elizabeth and all of her sisters as illegitimate, and Richard had no intention of making it difficult for the two sides of the conflict to return to factionalism when two were married into one — his actions showed he was more interested in loyalty and eliminating rival claims by wedding them off to the inconsequential.

Richard did this directly to Elizabeth's sister, Cecily, by wedding her to Richard Scrope. Elizabeth, therefore, had a motive to see to the successful welfare of her female relatives, but by no means could she foresee whether it would guarantee peace at last. Further complicating things is that the public image of Henry Tudor, handed down through time only accords with the last years of his reign.

Where, when, and how he spent his money is traceable by surviving documents, some written by the king himself and many more having his signature "Henry R" to indicate his oversight of entries, both his personal and the realm's finances, documented in careful detail. Elizabeth was a very pious woman and one of her life passions was charity, one of the three theological virtues of the Catholic Church.

She gave away money and alms in very large quantities, to the point she indebted herself on many occasions. The records state that Elsyng Palace was one of two nurseries for Henry and Elizabeth's children and they are both places where Elizabeth spent much of her time when not at court. Within a year of the Battle of Bosworth , a friend of Henry Tudor, Thomas Lovell, began expanding and improving upon the Elsyng property to make it fit for Elizabeth, her husband, and her children-to-be, completed by the time of the birth of Prince Henry with inner and outer courts and ample places to play for the royal children.

This was largely done as a gift, but it was completed in the newer Renaissance style and in time was suitable enough for Henry and Elizabeth's grandchildren and proves it was a much loved refuge for the king and his wife. Elizabeth received a grand coronation where she was carried on a royal barge down the Thames. Henry VII was as much a builder as his son and granddaughter and Elizabeth had a hand in designing the new Greenwich Palace.

The rebuilding at Greenwich commenced in In , the master mason Robert Vertue was paid for working to a plan described as the "new platt of Greenwich which was devised by the Queen". Henry also frequently bought gifts for Elizabeth and their children. Elizabeth of York did not exercise much political influence as queen due to her strong-minded mother-in-law Lady Margaret Beaufort.

Elizabeth was reported to be gentle, kind and generous to her relations, servants and benefactors. One report does state that Henry VII chose to appoint Elizabeth's choice for a vacant bishopric over his mother's choice, showing Henry's affection for, and willingness to listen to, Elizabeth. She also kept greyhounds. She corresponded with Queen Isabella I of Castile before their children's marriage.

The pair were sent to Ludlow Castle , the traditional residence of the Prince of Wales. Arthur died in April The early labor was a surprise as she was expected to deliver at Richmond. The birth was difficult. The child was named Katherine. Both the baby and Elizabeth were weak and by February 9th, Elizabeth became very sick. She possibly developed puerperal fever and her iron deficiency may have made her condition worse.

On the 10th, the king was calling for physicians to come to the aid of the queen. But it was all in vain. Elizabeth died in the early morning of February 11th, her 37th birthday. The King was devastated. He assigned some officers and his mother to arrange the funeral, took a boat to Richmond and shut himself up in a private place to mourn.

Elizabeth was loved by her husband, her children and the people of England. Her baby daughter died on February 18th. Henry paid for a lavish and magnificent funeral. Construction had just begun on the Lady Chapel in Westminster Abbey where there was to be a tomb for Elizabeth and Henry. Until this was built, Elizabeth was buried in a vault specially made for her in the crossing of the abbey, between the high altar and the choir.

You can also follow Susan on Twitter SusanAbernethy2. Subscribe to Medievalverse. By Susan Abernethy Elizabeth of York symbolized the epitome of the perfect medieval queen. Subscribe to Medievalverse Email address. First name. Last name. I consent to receiving your weekly newsletter via email. Previous Post Previous Post. Next Post Next Post. As illegitimate children they were exempt from the succession.

She became close to Margaret Beaufort , mother of Henry Tudor and together they agreed that when Henry took the throne he would marry Elizabeth. The two sides clashed at Bosworth Field on 22nd August and Richard was defeated and killed on the battlefield. At the time of her marriage Elizabeth was described as tall and blonde and very beautiful.

The name Arthur was chosen to symbolise a new strong dynasty. Elizabeth and Henry had a total of seven children, Arthur born in , Margaret in , Henry in , Elizabeth in , Mary in , Edmund in , Edward in and Katherine in Of these Arthur, Margaret, Henry and Mary survived to adulthood. After the wedding celebrations were over, the young couple left London to make their home at Ludlow Castle in the Welsh Marches.

In the Spring of they were both taken ill with an infection and on 2nd April Arthur died. Elizabeth and Henry were deeply upset at the death of their eldest son and heir.