Elizabeth of York – 11 February 1466 to 11 February 1503

I love the story of Princess Elisabeth of York and of her mother Elisabeth Woodville. I think that our Elisabeth, mother of Henry VIII and Prince Author had a great nature, but she was also a strong woman and this part of her is not often highlighted. All the York women had to be strong; that is the wife of Edward IV and her daughters; they spent half of their lives in and out of santurary; hiding from enemy troops or the plots to remove them from power. It is a story of survival as much as it is of a woman who is often accused of putting her family into places of power. Elisabeth Woodville was also from the other side, from a knightly family supporting the House of Lancaster, made a widow by the House of York. It took a lot of courage for her to defend her young sons and as a widow to seek aid from the King who se father had caused the death of her husband. And with that King she fell in love.

Edward and Elisabeth, despite their secret wedding were clearly devoted to each other and had numerous children. She was certainly fertile coming from a large family herself and had two sons already. It is clear that Edward did not mind that he had three daughters before the birth of his eldest son Prince Edward. He was looking on the marriage as long term and the children would follow one after the other. The pattern was to follow with Elisabeth, who had eight children, three of whom lived to full adulthood and four into teens. Four sons were amongst them; two living into their teens: Author and Henry and one living to become King. There was every reason to hope that the Tudor dynasty would continue to be fertile. Why it was not remains one of the most debated subjects of hisorians today and probably is still a mystery? Fertile Henry and his wives were; the children for some reason, sadly did not survive infancy or where born stillborn. SIDS is a possible cause of some infant deaths at this time; but all sorts of complications in childbed and infections as well as rare blood disorders could also have been to blame; many of these people were also inter-related and that can in itself cause problems.

Elisabeth was doted on by her father and her mother and she herself seems to have been a devoted wife to Henry Tudor and to her children. It has been assessed by handwriting comparrison that Elisabeth was the first tutor of her sons, and that she had a close relationship with Prince Henry. Elisabeth was also a woman who knew the meaning of duty and necessity; as did her mother when she arranged for her daughter and namesake to marry Henry Tudor. It was not merely to ensure that her child got onto the throne; it was to attempt to bring peace to the still waring and hostile remains of the dying houses of York and Lancaster. With Richard on the throne and a possible threat to Elisabeth of York and her family, she needed a safety net. By 1484 she assumed that her sons where dead, possibly killed by Richard or others at his command; they had vanished from sight and history; and she had gained a guarantee from King Richard for the safety of Princess Elisabeth and her other daughters, in sanctuary with her.

Once out Princess Elisabeth went to court where she was in favour by Richard and Queen Anne Neville and rumours started that he fancied her. It is probably untrue, but he still had to make a public promise that he did not have any desire to marry Elisabeth who was his neice. It would have made political sense for a marriage with Elisabeth or one of her sisters on the death of his own wife as their own son, another Edward had died aged 10. Anne Neville herself died in mid 1485 and rumours again linked Richard to Elisabeth of York. By now she was promised to Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond who was massing an army to invade England and claim the throne from Richard. An agreement with Margaret Beaufort and Elisabeth Woodville had arranged for this marriage to support Henry’s claim to the throne. It was also a survival strategy by Eliabeth Woodville who would not trust Richard as far as she could throw him. What her daughter made of it all is conjecture, but as a Princess of the blood royal, she knew where her duty lay and she would of courss be Queen.

Well as we know Elisabeth and Henry were married after his victory and a dispensation from the Pope in January 1486, there first child being born a little less than nine months later. This has led to speculation as to whether or not they had relations before the wedding or if Arthur was premature. What is known is that Henry seems to have treated her with honour and did nothing to dishonour her in any way; if they had relations it must have been as they wanted to and the couple seem to have come to love each other. I do not think that Henry Tudor was the stud and drop dead gorgeous tall hunk that his son was when he was young; but he was handsome enough and Elisabeth was attracted to him. They were a couple that seem to have been fond of each other and very close. Henry cared for his wife and Elisabeth was a good help to her husband. She was praised by all who knew and met her and she was involved in her children’s raising and wellbeing. Henry was devastated when she died after her last child was born in 1503 and did not marry again. He also did not have a known mistress at this time or during the marriage; he may have been that rare thing; a faithful royal husband.

Prince Henry (VIII) must also have been close to his mother for one of the first things that he wrote says that he was sad at the passing of his dear mother. There are many biographies on this little known Queen but I believe the Amy Linicre one to be the best. She gives us many of the quotes from her and from sources about her; the real Elisabeth becomes known in this book. It is here that the stronger Elisabeth comes through, the confident Elisabeth and the devoted Elisabeth. There is nothing of the fictional character seen in the White Queen; but we see a woman who had her own destiny in mind and yet, knew that only by marrying Henry Tudor could that destiny be fulfilled. She gave Henry his legitimacy as King and without her the Tudor claim would have been almost one that would have disintergrated, even with his victory at Bosworth.

Finally, it is sad that she did not live longer to have more of an influence on her adult sons ad daughters; and even sadder to die on her birthday. RIP Elisabeth, mother of the Tudor Dynasty.