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Elizabeth of York was the wife of Henry VII and the first queen consort of England of the Tudor dynasty. The daughter of King Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville, Elizabeth of York was born in medieval England in 1466. Elizabeth was a kind woman and led a happy and peaceful life until her father’s death, sparking a bitter dispute over the throne.
Childhood and early life
Elizabeth of York was born on February 11, 1466 in the family of King Edward IV of England and Queen Elizabeth Woodville, in the royal palace of Westminster. During her childhood and youth she received lessons in dancing, singing, embroidery, and social behavior. She learned to read and write in English and French. She was a kind young woman, who loved her parents and siblings and believed in God.
When Isabel was three years old, as part of a political agreement, her marriage to Jorge Neville was arranged, but the betrothal was canceled due to his death. The agreement had been established because Jorge’s father, Juan Neville, had declared himself against Eduardo during an uprising.
Years later, in September 1470, the conflict for the throne of England began, which has gone down in history as “The War of the Roses.” In that year the king had to flee the country to save his life, which was being threatened by the Earl of Warwick and Margaret of Anjou, who supported the house of Lancaster in the battle for the throne. Meanwhile, Queen Elizabeth Woodville took refuge in Westminster Abbey to protect her children. A period of utter chaos ensued, due to the bloody confrontation between the houses of York and Lancaster.
As Elizabeth was King Edward’s eldest daughter, she was appointed Queen Regent by supporters of the House of York during Edward IV’s absence. At that same time, Isabel Woodville gave birth to a son. That birth instilled courage and courage in King Edward, who regained the throne from him shortly after.
In 1475, the King of France Louis XI made a bid for the throne of England. King Edward retaliated, invading the neighboring country with a large army. Louis XI then decided to try to resolve the confrontation without war, and asked Edward to grant the hand of his daughter Elizabeth to Prince Charles Orlando, the first Dauphin of France. An agreement was reached, which was later called off when the French nobility forced the royal house to undo it. The failure was a major setback for King Edward who, however, decided not to react with a warlike confrontation.
Death of Edward IV
Elizabeth was orphaned as a 17-year-old teenager after King Edward died in obscure circumstances in April 1483. His death left the throne of England open to disputes among various power-hungry noble houses. Meanwhile, influenced by the wishes of the Duke of Gloucester and in grief at the death of her husband, Queen Elizabeth Woodville hid her youngest children in a safe place, but not her eldest, Edward and Richard.
Duke Richard, the queen’s brother-in-law, turned out to be a traitor. He claimed that all the children of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville were bastards, so the children had no right to the crown. Of course, the duke created this situation and took advantage of it to crown himself king. Some time after Richard III became king, Elizabeth’s older brothers disappeared from the tower where he was supposed to keep them safe.
After the alleged murder of her brothers and being left as the only daughter, supporters of the House of York named Elizabeth as the rightful heir to the throne after her father Edward IV. On the other hand, Richard III’s act of treason aroused Lady Woodville’s hatred of her husband’s brother. For this reason, she joined Margarita Beaufort, of the House of Lancaster, marrying Isabel with Enrique Tudor, son of Beaufort.
Henry Tudor attacked Richard III’s troops and was victorious at the Battle of Bosworth. Thanks to this he occupied the throne of England as King Henry VII. Subsequently, he declared Lady Woodville’s children to be the legitimate children of Edward IV and Lady Isabel Woodville. In January 1486 Henry VII married Elizabeth in a grand ceremony, thus ending the Wars of the Roses.
The reign of Elizabeth of York
The marriage of Henry and Elizabeth unified the Houses of York and Lancaster, which did much to consolidate civil peace in England. According to some records, it is believed that although Henry VII did not love Elizabeth, he respected her for being kind and generous at court and with her subjects, a reason that also led her to be loved and respected by the common people.
Isabel, although far from politics, supported her husband in all his companies. She preferred to remain in the background, despite the fact that some loyal to the house of York still considered her the rightful heir to the throne, above her even the king.
The queen spent much of her time traveling, sometimes alone and sometimes accompanied by her husband. On one of her trips with King Elizabeth she became pregnant, and in September 1486 she gave birth to Arthur, who was subsequently crowned prince, becoming heir to the throne. Over time Elizabeth gave birth to seven more children. However, most of them were not healthy children, and died shortly after birth.
Arthur, their eldest son, died in 1502, causing a wave of grief and shock in the lives of Elizabeth and Henry, which hit the king particularly hard, to the point of causing him depression. It is said that King Henry’s love and respect for his wife Elizabeth grew when she faithfully accompanied him during his mourning for his child, expressing to him that they were young and that they could have more children if they wanted, words that deeply comforted the king.
The following year, beginning in 1503, the queen became pregnant and gave birth to a girl whom they named Catherine. Unfortunately, Isabel was already very weak and she was unable to overcome a postpartum infection contracted in February of the same year.
Death and legacy of the queen
Queen Elizabeth’s illness led to her death shortly after falling ill. Her death plunged the royal family, leaving King Henry in a pitiful state of depression. In fact, his family and his closest friends advised him to remarry, but Enrique did not listen to them. He mourned his late wife until 1509, the year she died. Her body was buried next to the remains of Queen Elizabeth, just as they requested before they died.
Four of the eight children survived from the marriage, who always praised the love of their parents and the deep respect that the king had for his wife even after his death.
For her part, Elizabeth of York is remembered as one of the most influential and powerful women in the history of the English royal lineage. Over time, she became a character in several plays, among which William Shakespeare’s play The Tragedy of King Richard III stands out , where although her character does not appear represented, her name is mentioned. of her many times. A good way to learn about the life and reign of Elizabeth of York is to follow the 2013 BBC drama series The White Queen , in which Elizabeth plays the lead and her story is told from start to finish . .
The queen also appears in novels such as The White Queen (2009), by Phillippa Gregory. The marriage of Isabel and Enrique has been the basis of the script for some television miniseries.
Fountain
Oliver, C.M. (2012). Elizabeth Woodville and Margery Kempe, Female Agency in Late Medieval England .
