Elizabeth Tilney – the Grandmother of Queens Anne Boleyn & Catherine Howard

Elizabeth Tilney – the Grandmother of Queens Anne Boleyn & Catherine Howard

Elizabeth Tilney, Countess of Surrey was an English heiress and lady-in-waiting to two queens.

She served as a lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth Woodville, and later as Lady of the Bedchamber to the Queen’s daughter Elizabeth of York, consort of King Henry VII of England.

She was joint godmother to Princess Margaret Tudor.

Through her daughter Elizabeth she was the maternal grandmother of Anne Boleyn, and through another son, Edmund, the paternal grandmother of Catherine Howard, both queens of King Henry VIII.

Elizabeth’s granddaughters included not only Katherine Howard and Anne Boleyn, but she was also grandmother to three of Henry VIII’s mistresses!

Elizabeth Carew.
Mary Boleyn.
Mary Howard, Duchess of Richmond.

Another granddaughter Mary Howard married Henry FitZroy, the illegitimate son of Henry VIII and Bessie Blount.

Through her half sister Anne Say, Elizabeth Tilney was also the great-aunt of Queen Jane Seymour.

Elizabeth’s great-granddaughter was Queen Elizabeth I of England.
Pretty impressive for just one woman!

Elizabeth Tilney was born at Ashwellthorpe Hall sometime before 1445, the only child of Sir Frederick Tilney and Elizabeth Cheney.

Elizabeth married her first husband, Sir Humphrey Bourchier, in about 1466.
The marriage produced a son, John Bourchier, 2nd Baron Berners and two daughters.

Following her marriage, Elizabeth went to court where she served as lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth Woodville, whose train she had carried at her coronation in May 1465 at Westminster Abbey.

Elizabeth would accompany the queen and her children into sanctuary at Westminster Abbey, when King Edward IV had been ousted from the throne.

She was present at the birth of the future King Edward V, and remained with the queen until Edward IV was
restored to the throne.

Elizabeth’s husband Sir Humphrey, was killed fighting for the Yorkist cause at the Battle of Barnet on 14th April 1471.

Elizabeth then married Thomas Howard, future Earl of Surrey.

Her second husband was a close friend and companion of Richard, Duke of Gloucester who was crowned king Richard III in 1483.

Elizabeth was one of Anne Neville’s attendants at Richard’s coronation, while her husband bore the Sword of State.

Elizabeth’s marriage to Thomas Howard produced eleven children, including Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, Elizabeth Howard, mother of Anne Boleyn, and Lord Edmund Howard, father of Catherine Howard.

Thomas Howard was wounded at Bosworth and imprisoned in the Tower for several years.
After Thomas was released from prison, he entered the service of Henry VII.

In November 1487, Thomas and Elizabeth attended the coronation of Henry’s consort Elizabeth of York, who appointed Elizabeth a Lady of the Bedchamber.

Elizabeth was further honoured by being asked to stand as joint godmother to the Princess Margaret Tudor in 1489.

Elizabeth Tilney died on 4th April 1497, and it is commonly stated that she was buried in the nun’s choir of the Convent of the Minoresses outside Aldgate.

However, this has since been considered incorrect, and it’s unknown where she was actually buried.

Her family lived at the time of her death in Sheriff Hutton Castle near York, so she could have been buried there.