BIRTH & DEATH OF ELIZABETH OF YORK

BIRTH & DEATH OF ELIZABETH OF YORK

A daughter of a king, a sister to a king, a niece of a king, wife to a king, a mother to a king, and grandmother of a king & queens!

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Elizabeth of York was the eldest child of King Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville.

Elizabeth was born at the Palace of Westminster on 11th February 1466.

On 9th April 1483, Elizabeth’s father, King Edward IV, unexpectedly died and her younger brother Edward V, ascended to the throne.

Elizabeth’s uncle Richard~Duke of Gloucester, was appointed regent and protector of his nephews.

However, Richard quickly took steps to isolate his nephews from their Woodville relations, and their influence – including their own mother.

Elizabeth and her siblings were declared illegitimate by the Act of Titulus Regius.

Richard took the throne as Richard III, on 6th July 1483.

Elizabeth’s young brothers disappeared inside the Tower of London, they were never seen again.

Meanwhile Elizabeth and her other sisters were in sanctuary with their mother at Westminster Abbey.

Rumours spread that Richard III was planning to marry Elizabeth himself.

Elizabeth’s mother, in secret correspondence with Margaret Beaufort, agreed to the marriage of Elizabeth to Margaret’s son, the exiled heir to the House of Lancaster, Henry Tudor~Earl of Richmond.

Henry Tudor defeated Richard III at The Battle of Bosworth, and was crowned King Henry on 30th October 1485.

Three months later, Henry VII married his York Princess on 18th January 1486.
Their first son, Arthur, was born on 20th September 1486, eight months after their marriage.

Elizabeth of York was crowned queen on 25th November 1487.
As the eldest daughter of King Edward IV with no surviving brothers, Elizabeth of York had a strong claim to the throne in her own right.

Elizabeth would never rule as Queen Regnant.
The rule of a queen regnant would not be accepted in England for another sixty-seven years until the ascension of Elizabeth’s granddaughter, Mary I.

Despite being a political arrangement, the marriage proved successful, and both Henry and Elizabeth appear to have genuinely cared for each other.

Elizabeth did not exercise much political influence as queen, due to her strong-minded mother-in-law Lady Margaret Beaufort.

Elizabeth was generous to her relations, servants and benefactors, she enjoyed music and dancing, as well as playing dice.

Elizabeth gave birth to several more children, but only four survived infancy: Arthur, Margaret, Henry and Mary.

On 14th November 1501, Henry and Elizabeth’s 15-year-old son Arthur, married Katharine of Aragon.

The pair were sent to Ludlow Castle, the traditional residence of the Prince of Wales.

Sadly, Arthur died in April 1502.
The prince is said to have died of the sweating sickness, that was ravaging the area at the time.

His young Spanish Princess Katharine, also contracted the disease, but survived.

Elizabeth and Henry were distraught at the loss of their eldest son and heir.

The couple attempted to console each other.
With only one male heir to the Tudor throne, the young Prince Henry, Duke of York, the couple decided to try for another son – Elizabeth quickly became pregnant.

The child, a girl named Katherine, was born on 2nd February 1503, at the Tower of London, and died on the same day.

Tragically, Elizabeth of York followed her to the grave nine days later, dying of a post-pregnancy infection on her 37th birthday.

Her body was removed from the chamber where she died, to the chapel within the Tower.
Underneath where she lay in state, were the possible bodies of her brothers, Edward V and Richard Duke of York.
They would be discovered nearly two centuries later.

Her family seems to have been devastated by her death, and mourned her deeply.

According to one biographer, the death of Elizabeth “broke the heart” of her husband and “shattered him.”

Elizabeth was buried at Westminster Abbey.
Her magnificent effigy by the Renaissance sculptor Pietro Torrigiano, which lies beside that of her husband, can still be seen in the Henry VII Chapel at Westminster Abbey today.

? Jodie Comer as Elizabeth in ‘The White Princess’ 2017.