The Treasures of the Tudor Dynasty ~ Elizabeth of York’s Tumultuous Reign
Elizabeth of York was the beloved daughter of Queen Elizabeth Woodville and King Edward IV — destined for a bright future. However, during the reign of King Richard III, she and her siblings were declared illegitimate. She’d eventually marry King Henry VII, who seized the crown by force at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. Elizabeth of York is described by contemporaries as being kind and gentle, but is there more to this queen than meets the eye?
Her younger brothers, Prince Richard and Prince Edward,disappeared from the face of the earth at some point in 1483. When it comes to what really happened to the Princes of the Tower, there are as many theories are there are flavors of ice cream at Baskin-Robbins. Unfortunately, there’s no way to prove any theories as valid given the extreme lack of evidence. Here is what we do know: King Henry VII decided to legitimize Elizabeth of York so he could marry her in 1486. He did this to secure the crown by uniting the divisions between the houses of York and Lancaster.
All was not calm and rosy in the Tudor court. Henry had to crush many uprisings which threatened his kingdom. Meanwhile, the headstrong and pious Margaret Beaufort ruled England as “My Lady, The King’s Mother.” It could have not have been easy for Elizabeth, and things were about to get even worse. In 1499, Perkin Warbeck came to England with a claim of being the long-lost Prince Richard. This man had a striking resemblance to King Edward IV.
Elizabeth was not allowed to see Warbeck, who would be labeled as a pretender after they tortured him into a confession. He was accused of treason and later hung — but not after being beaten beyond recognition. Henry went to great lengths to snuff out his rival.
Henry was clearly terrified, and for good reason. After all, who didn’t want the crown? I do wonder what Elizabeth thought about the whole thing.
Regardless, they were both very much in love. Elizabeth gave birth to two healthy sons — Arthur and Henry. Prince Arthur, groomed to be the next King of England, would later die of the sweating sickness in 1502. The loss was a terrible one, and all of their hopes now rested on Prince Henry — a young man who had not been expected to inherit the crown.
Though a queen, even Elizabeth was not immune to death — she would succumb to childbed fever a year later. Poor Elizabeth died on her own birthday — February 11th, 1503, at the young age of 37 years. The grief was tremendous for her husband, King Henry VII. Though he was notoriously stingy, he would give her a spectacular funeral and bury her in Westminster Abbey. After his death in 1509, he would be placed beside her.
We know so little of the real Elizabeth of York, which tells me that she played the game quite well. She knew well how to navigate in a hotbed of politics and intrigue. I have to wonder: what was she really thinking, under her carefully pinned gable hood?
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