Elizabeth Woodville or Wydville (c. 1437 – 7/8 June 1492) was the Queen consort of King Edward IV of England from 1464 until his death in 1483. Image File history File links ElizabethWoodville. ... Image File history File links ElizabethWoodville. ... June 7 is the 158th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (159th in leap years), with 207 days remaining. ... June 8 is the 159th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (160th in leap years), with 206 days remaining. ... 1492 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... King George V of the United Kingdom and his consort, Queen Mary A queen consort is the wife and consort of a reigning king. ... Edward IV (April 28, 1442 – April 9, 1483) was King of England from March 4, 1461 to April 9, 1483, with a break of a few months in the period 1470–1471. ... Events February - Christian I of Denmark and Norway who was also serving as King of Sweden is declared deposed from the later throne. ... Events The São Tomé settlement is founded. ...

Early life and first marriage

Elizabeth was born circa 1437 at Grafton Regis, Northamptonshire, the daughter of Sir Richard Woodville (later made first Earl Rivers) and Jacquetta of Luxembourg. She was a maid of honour to Margaret of Anjou, Queen of Henry VI. In about 1452, she married Sir John Grey, 7th Baron Ferrers of Groby, who was killed at the Second Battle of St Albans in 1461, fighting for the Lancastrian cause. (This was ironic, as Edward IV was the Yorkist claimant to the throne.) Elizabeth had two sons from the marriage, Thomas (later Marquess of Dorset) and Richard. // Events foundation of All Souls College, University of Oxford. ... Grafton Regis is a village located in the south of the English county of Northamptonshire. ... Northamptonshire (abbreviated Northants or Nhants) is a landlocked county in central England with a population of 629,676 (2001 census). ... Richard Woodville, 1st Earl Rivers born Richard Wydeville in 1412 at Maidstone, Kent, England was an English nobleman, best remembered as the father of Elizabeth Woodville, wife of Edward IV. He was the son of another Sir Richard Wydevill, chamberlain to the Duke of Bedford. ... Jacquetta de Luxembourg (1415/1416 - May 30, 1472) was daughter of Pierre de Luxembourg, Comte de Saint Pol, Conversano et Brienne and his wife Margaret de Baux (Margherita del Balzo of Andria). ... Margaret of Anjou (March 23, 1429 - August 25, 1482) was the Queen consort of Henry VI of England from 1445 to 1471, and a major proponent in the Wars of the Roses. ... Henry VI (December 6, 1421 – May 21, 1471) was King of England from 1422 to 1461 (though with a Regent until 1437) and then from 1470 to 1471, and King of France from 1422 to 1453. ... Events October - English troops under John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, land in Guyenne, France, and retake most of the province without a fight. ... The Second Battle of St Albans was a battle of the English Wars of the Roses fought February 22, 1461 near the town of St Albans. ... Events February 2 - Battle of Mortimers Cross - Yorkist troops led by Edward, Duke of York defeat Lancastrians under Owen Tudor and his son Jasper Tudor, Earl of Pembroke in Wales. ... The House of Lancaster is a dynasty of English kings. ... Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset (1457 – September 20, 1501) was the eldest son of Elizabeth Woodville and consequently a stepson of Edward IV of England. ... Dorset (pronounced DOR-sit or [dÉ”.sÉ™t], and sometimes in the past called Dorsetshire) is a county in the south-west of England, on the English Channel coast. ... Richard Grey (1458? – June 13(?), 1483) was son to John Grey, 2nd Baron Ferrers of Groby, and Elizabeth Woodville, later Queen Consort to King Edward IV of England. ...

Queen Consort

Edward IV had many mistresses, the most notorious being Jane Shore, but Elizabeth insisted on marriage, which took place secretly (with only the bride's mother and two ladies in attendance) on May 1, 1464, at her family home in Northamptonshire. At the time, Edward's adviser, Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick (aka Warwick the Kingmaker), was negotiating a marriage alliance with France. When the marriage to Elizabeth Woodville became common knowledge, it was the cause of considerable rancour on Warwick's part, and when Elizabeth's relatives, especially her brother, Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers, began to be favored over him, he changed sides. Jane Shore (c. ... May 1 is the 121st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (122nd in leap years). ... Events February - Christian I of Denmark and Norway who was also serving as King of Sweden is declared deposed from the later throne. ... Northamptonshire (abbreviated Northants or Nhants) is a landlocked county in central England with a population of 629,676 (2001 census). ... Richard Neville, jure uxoris 16th Earl of Warwick and suo jure 6th Earl of Salisbury (22 November 1428 – April 14, 1471), is known as Warwick the Kingmaker. Warwick was the richest man in England outside of the Royal Family. ... Anthony Rivers, 2nd Earl Rivers (1442?- June 25, 1483) was an English nobleman, courtier, and writer. ...

Nor was Warwick the only one who resented the way the queen's relatives scooped up favours and lucrative opportunities; in 1480, for example, when Elizabeth's obscure brother-in-law Sir Anthony Grey died, he was interred in St Albans Cathedral with a brass marker to rival the one for that abbey's greatest archbishop. Events March 6 - Treaty of Toledo - Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain recognize African conquests of Afonso of Portugal and he cedes the Canary Islands to Spain Great standing on the Ugra river - Muscovy becomes independent from the Golden Horde. ... St Albans Cathedral from the west. ...

That was nothing compared to the marriages the queen arranged for her family, the most outrageous being when her 20-year-old brother John Woodville married Lady Katherine Neville, daughter of Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland by Joan Beaufort, widow of John Mowbray, 2nd Duke of Norfolk and dowager Duchess of Norfolk. The wealthy Katherine had been widowed three times and was probably in her sixties. Katherine Neville or Catherine de Neville (c. ... Sir Ralph de Neville (c. ... Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmorland, (c. ... A widow is a woman whose husband has died. ... John Mowbray, 2nd Duke of Norfolk (1392 - 19 October 1432), was an English nobleman, who succeeded his father as Duke of Norfolk and became Earl Marshal of England. ... Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk holding the baton of the Earl Marshal. ...

The queen also married her sister, Catherine Woodville, to her 11-year-old ward Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham. Another sister, Mary Woodville, married William Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke. Catherine (or Katherine) Woodville (died about 1513) was an English medieval noblewomen, best known for marrying a number of influential husbands and producing several illustrious children. ... Henry Stafford Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham (4 September 1454–2 November 1483) played a major role in Richard III of Englands rise and fall. ... Mary Woodville (c. ... William Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke (March 5, 1451 - July 16, 1491), was the son of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke, whom he succeeded to the earldom in 1469. ...

Queen Mother

Elizabeth and Edward's marriage had produced ten children, including two sons who were still living at the time of the king's sudden death in 1483. The elder, Edward, had been born in sanctuary at Westminster Abbey in 1470, during the period when Edward IV was out of power during the Wars of the Roses. Elizabeth now, briefly, became Queen Mother, but on June 25, 1483, her marriage was declared null and void by Parliament in the act Titulus Regius on the grounds that Edward had previously promised to marry Lady Eleanor Butler, which was considered a legally binding contract that rendered any other marriage contract invalid as bigamous. (It was said that Eleanor Butler had done the same thing Elizabeth Woodville did later: A widow who caught Edward's eye, she refused to give in to him until he promised to marry her.) This information came to the fore when a priest (believed to be Robert Stillington, Bishop of Bath and Wells), testified that he had carried out the ceremony. Events The São Tomé settlement is founded. ... Edward V (4 November 1470 – 1483?) was the King of England from 9 April 1483 until his deposition two months later. ... Ajax prepares to violate the sanctuary of Athena by abducting Cassandra by force: red-figure vase, c. ... The Abbeys western façade The Collegiate Church of St Peter, Westminster, which is almost always referred to by its original name of Westminster Abbey, is a mainly Gothic church, on the scale of a cathedral (and indeed often mistaken for one), in Westminster, London, just to the west... Events May 15 - Charles VIII of Sweden who had served three terms as King of Sweden dies. ... Lancaster York For other uses see Wars of the Roses (disambiguation) The Wars of the Roses (1455 - 1485) was a series of civil wars fought over the throne of England between adherents of the House of Lancaster and the House of York. ... June 25 is the 176th day of the year (177th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 189 days remaining. ... Events The São Tomé settlement is founded. ... Titulus Regius (the Title of King in Latin) is a famous act of the English Parliament, issued in early 1484, by which the title of King of England was given to Richard III of England. ... Lady Eleanor Talbot (died 1468) was a daughter of John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury. ... Robert Stillington was Bishop of Bath and Wells and Lord Chancellor of England. ...

On the basis of his evidence, all Elizabeth's children by Edward, including King Edward V, were declared illegitimate, and her brother-in-law, Richard III, accepted the crown. Edward and his brother Richard, Duke of York, were kept in the Tower of London, where they had already been lodged to await the coronation. The exact fate of the so-called Princes in the Tower is unknown but both were dead in this or the next reign. Edward V (4 November 1470 – 1483?) was the King of England from 9 April 1483 until his deposition two months later. ... Richard III (2 October 1452–22 August 1485) was King of England from 1483 until his death. ... Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York and 1st Duke of Norfolk (17 August 1473–1483?) was the second son of King Edward IV of England and Elizabeth Woodville and, thus, the younger brother of King Edward V. In January 1478, when he was about 4 years old, he married... The Tower of London, seen from the River Thames, with a view of the water gate called Traitors Gate. ... The Princes in the Tower, Edward V of England (1470–1483?) and Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York (1473–1483?), were the two young sons of Edward IV of England and Elizabeth Woodville who were declared illegitimate by the Act of Parliament known as Titulus Regius. ...

Elizabeth now lost the title of Queen Mother and was referred to as Dame Elizabeth Grey. She and her other children were in sanctuary again, fearing for their safety. This may have been to protect themselves against jealous courtiers who wanted their own back on the entire Woodville clan. Ajax prepares to violate the sanctuary of Athena by abducting Cassandra by force: red-figure vase, c. ...

Elizabeth and Richard III

On the 1 March 1484 Elizabeth and her daughters came out of sanctuary and returned to court. Rumours even spread that the now-widowed King Richard was going to marry his niece Elizabeth of York. Richard issued a denial, but according to the Crowland Chronicle he was pressured to do so by the Woodville's enemies. Events January 25 - Peter Arbues, chief of the Spanish Inquisition, is assassinated when he is praying in the cathedral at Saragossa, Spain July 6 - Portuguese sea captain Diogo Cão finds the mouth of Congo River December 5 - Pope Innocent VIII gives the inquisition a mission to hunt heretics and... Elizabeth of York (February 11, 1466–February 11, 1503) was the Queen Consort of King Henry VII of England, whom she married in 1486, and the mother of King Henry VIII. She was born at Westminster, the eldest child of King Edward IV and his Queen consort Elizabeth Woodville (who...

Elizabeth's behaviour has been a source of frustration to historians. They reason that she would never have recognised Richard as King unless she knew for sure that both her sons were dead and that she would have to resort to other means to keep her family in power. There was also the fact that Richard had had her brother Earl Rivers executed. Anthony Rivers, 2nd Earl Rivers (1442?- June 25, 1483) was an English nobleman, courtier, and writer. ...

The War of the Roses is notorious for the number of times that leading figures changed sides whenever it suited them (examples include the Earl of Warwick and the Duke of Clarence), and it is possible that Elizabeth was no exception. But would she have been heartless or thoughless enough to side with a man who had quite likely killed her own sons and could thus arrange the deaths or herself and her daughters? Richard Neville, jure uxoris 16th Earl of Warwick and suo jure 6th Earl of Salisbury (22 November 1428 – April 14, 1471), is known as Warwick the Kingmaker. Warwick was the richest man in England outside of the Royal Family. ... George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence (21 October 1449 – 18 February 1478) was the third son of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, and Cecily Neville, and the younger brother of King Edward IV of England. ...

There are two possible explanations for this:

1. The Princes had died of natural causes for which Richard could not be held responsible (but then why did he not make this public, especially since rumours about their fate were already circulating?)

2. That they had been killed by a third party, and that Richard convinced Elizabeth that he was not involved. (In his biography of Richard III, Paul Murray Kendall suggests that the Duke of Buckingham may have been responsible.) Paul Murray Kendall (1 March 1911 - 21 November 1973) was an American academic and historian. ... Henry Stafford Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham (4 September 1454–2 November 1483) played a major role in Richard III of Englands rise and fall. ...

It is also known that by this time Elizabeth had been plotting with agents of Henry Tudor, another claimant to the throne, and it is possible that she was getting closer to Richard in case Henry's attempt failed. Henry VII (January 28, 1457 – April 21, 1509), King of England, Lord of Ireland (August 22, 1485 – April 21, 1509), was the founder and first patriarch of the Tudor dynasty. ...

In the end, Richard was defeated and killed at the Battle of Bosworth. Henry Tudor became King Henry VII and married Elizabeth of York. Elizabeth Woodville's marriage to Edward IV was declared to have been valid, and thus their children were once again legitimised (because Henry wanted his wife to be the Yorkist heir to the throne, to cement his hold on it). Elizabeth was accorded the title of Queen Dowager. The Battle of Bosworth or Bosworth Field was an important battle during the Wars of the Roses in 15th century England. ... Elizabeth of York (February 11, 1466–February 11, 1503) was the Queen Consort of King Henry VII of England, whom she married in 1486, and the mother of King Henry VIII. She was born at Westminster, the eldest child of King Edward IV and his Queen consort Elizabeth Woodville (who...

Later life

In February of 1487 Henry VII accused Elizabeth of being involved in the Lambert Simnel rebellion. Apparently at the behest of his mother, Margaret Beaufort, Henry banished his mother-in-law to Bermondsey Abbey and confiscated all her properties. Lambert Simnel (circa 1477 – circa 1534) was a child pretender to the throne of England. ... Margaret Beaufort, Mother of Henry VII, at prayer, by an anonymous artist, about 1500 Margaret Beaufort (born May 31, 1443 at the Kingston Lacy estate in Dorset – June 29, 1509) was the daughter of John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset and Margaret Beauchamp of Bletso. ...

At the abbey, Elizabeth was treated with all the respect due to a Queen Mother and lived a regal life, but received no pension and was banned from returning to court. She was not permitted to attend her daughter's coronation or the births of any of her subsequent grandchildren. The Queen rarely visited her, although Elizabeth's younger daughter, Cecilia Welles, who had secretly married Viscount Welles, came to see her as often as she could

Henry VII remained suspicious of her mother-in-law and briefly contemplated marrying her off to King James III of Scotland, when Queen Marguerite, James' wife, died in 1488. Elizabeth welcomed the alliance and made preparations to depart to Scotland. Unfortunately, James was killed in battle later that year, leaving the Queen Mother desperate and depressed. James III of Scotland (1451/ 1452 – June 11, 1488), son of James II and Mary of Gueldres, created Duke of Rothesay at birth, king of Scotland from 1460 to 1488. ...

Convinced that she would die in exile, Elizabeth became progressively ill and even welcomed death. On the morning of June 7, 1492, she took ill and sent for all of her daughters, with the exception of the Queen who was awaiting the birth of her fourth child. Cecilia (Viscountess Welles), Anne (the future Countess of Surrey), Catherine (the future Countess of Devon) and Bridget (the future Abbess of Dartford Priory) were at their mother's side when she died in the early afternoon of June 8, 1492 at Bermondsey. Her son-in-law, Henry VII, arranged as simple a funeral as possible for her, and did not even order mourning clothes for the requiem singers. This act angered many ardent Yorkists, who considered themselves slighted by the ordinary and very simple burial of Edward IV's Queen on June 12, 1492. Elizabeth was laid to rest in the same chantry as her husband King Edward IV in St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle. June 7 is the 158th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (159th in leap years), with 207 days remaining. ... 1492 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... June 8 is the 159th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (160th in leap years), with 206 days remaining. ... Bermondsey is a place in the London Borough of Southwark. ... June 12 is the 163rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (164th in leap years), with 202 days remaining. ... Edward IV (April 28, 1442 – April 9, 1483) was King of England from March 4, 1461 to April 9, 1483, with a break of a few months in the period 1470–1471. ... St Georges Chapel, Windsor St. ... Windsor Castle: The Round Tower or keep dominating the castle, as seen from the River Thames. ...

Despite her unhappy later years, Elizabeth Woodville did have the satisfaction of knowing that her daughter was securely on the throne and would become the progenitress of a dynasty that would rule England for the next hundred years. Through her grand-daughter, Margaret of Scotland, Elizabeth became an ancestress of the Stuart, Hanover, and the Windsor dynasties, whose descendants still rule England, Scotland and Wales today. The Tudor dynasty or House of Tudor (Welsh: Tudur) was a series of five monarchs of Welsh origin who ruled England and Ireland from 1485 until 1603. ...

Children of Elizabeth Woodville

By Sir John Grey

• Thomas Grey, Earl of Huntingdon, Marquess of Dorset and Lord Ferrers de Groby
• Richard Grey

Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset (1457 – September 20, 1501) was the eldest son of Elizabeth Woodville and consequently a stepson of Edward IV of England. ... Earl of Huntingdon is a title which has been created several times in the Peerage of England. ... The title Marquess of Dorset has been created three times in the Peerage of England. ... The peerage title Baron Ferrers of Groby (or Baron Ferrers de Groby) was created in the Peerage of England in 1300 when William Ferrers was summoned to parliament. ... Richard Grey (1458? – June 13(?), 1483) was son to John Grey, 2nd Baron Ferrers of Groby, and Elizabeth Woodville, later Queen Consort to King Edward IV of England. ...

By King Edward IV

• Elizabeth of York (1466-1503), Queen Consort of England
• Mary of York (1467-1482), buried in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle
• Cecily of York (1469-1507), Viscountess Welles
• Edward V of England (1470-1483/5), one of the Princes in the Tower
• Margaret Plantagenet (Princess of York) (Apr. 1472-Dec. 1472), buried in Westminster Abbey
• Richard, Duke of York (1473-1483/5), one of the Princes in the Tower
• Anne of York (1475-1511), Countess of Surrey
• George Plantagenet (1477-1479), Duke of Bedford; buried in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle
• Catherine of York (1479-1527), Countess of Devon
• Bridget of York (1480-1517), nun at Dartford Priory, Kent

Elizabeth of York (February 11, 1466–February 11, 1503) was the Queen Consort of King Henry VII of England, whom she married in 1486, and the mother of King Henry VIII. She was born at Westminster, the eldest child of King Edward IV and his Queen consort Elizabeth Woodville (who... King George V of the United Kingdom and his consort, Queen Mary A queen consort is the wife and consort of a reigning king. ... Mary of York (August 11, 1467 - May 23, 1482) was the second daughter of Edward IV of England and his Queen consort Elizabeth Woodville. ... St Georges Chapel, Windsor St. ... Windsor Castle: The Round Tower or keep dominating the castle, as seen from the River Thames. ... Cecily of York (March 20, 1469 - August 24, 1507) was the third daughter of Edward IV of England and his Queen consort Elizabeth Woodville. ... A viscount is a member of the European nobility whose comital title ranks usually, as in the British peerage, above a baron, below an earl (in Britain) or a count (his continental equivalent). ... Edward V (4 November 1470 – 1483?) was the King of England from 9 April 1483 until his deposition two months later. ... The Princes in the Tower, Edward V of England (1470–1483?) and Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York (1473–1483?), were the two young sons of Edward IV of England and Elizabeth Woodville who were declared illegitimate by the Act of Parliament known as Titulus Regius. ... Margaret Plantagenet (April 10, 1472 - December 11, 1472) was the fifth child and fourth daughter of Edward IV of England and Elizabeth Woodville. ... The Abbeys western façade The Collegiate Church of St Peter, Westminster, which is almost always referred to by its original name of Westminster Abbey, is a mainly Gothic church, on the scale of a cathedral (and indeed often mistaken for one), in Westminster, London, just to the west... King Edward V and the Duke of York in the Tower of London by Paul Delaroche This article is about Richard, Duke of York, son of King Edward IV who was imprisoned in the Tower of London. ... The title Duke of York is a title of nobility in the British peerage. ... The Princes in the Tower, Edward V of England (1470–1483?) and Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York (1473–1483?), were the two young sons of Edward IV of England and Elizabeth Woodville who were declared illegitimate by the Act of Parliament known as Titulus Regius. ... Anne of York (November 2, 1475 - November 23, 1511) was the seventh child and fifth daughter of Edward IV of England and Elizabeth Woodville. ... Arms of the Warrens of Surrey The Earldom of Surrey was first created in 1088 for William de Warenne. ... George Plantagenet, Duke of Bedford (March, 1477 - March, 1479) was the eighth child and third son of Edward IV of England and Elizabeth Woodville. ... The titles of Earl or Duke of Bedford were created several times in the peerage of England. ... St Georges Chapel, Windsor St. ... Windsor Castle: The Round Tower or keep dominating the castle, as seen from the River Thames. ... Catherine of York (August 14, 1479 - November 15, 1527) was the ninth child and sixth daughter of Edward IV of England and Elizabeth Woodville. ... The title of Earl of Devon was created several times in the Peerage of England, and was possessed first by the de Redvers (de Reviers) family, and later for the Courtenay. ... Bridget of York (November 10, 1480 - 1517) was the tenth child and seventh daughter of Edward IV of England and Elizabeth Woodville. ...

External links

• Queens' College website:Brief notes and the portrait