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| Portrait by unknown artist (c. 1490) |
- King Henry VII of England (m. 1486 - 1503)
- With King Henry VII of England
- Arthur, Prince of Wales (1486 - 1502)
- Margaret, Queen of Scotland (1489 - 1541)
- King Henry VIII of England and Ireland (1491 - 1547)
- Princess Elizabeth (1492 - 1495)
- Mary, Queen of France then Duchess of Suffolk (1496 - 1533)
- Prince Edmund, Duke of Somerset (1499 - 1500)
- Princess Katherine (1503 - 1503)
Appearance:
She was described as tall, standing at about 168cm (5'6''), and beautiful. She had long, light blonde or strawberry blonde hair, and grey eyes. Her skin was clear and very pale, and she was described as having a charming smile and having inherited a lot of her mother's famous beauty.
Character:
Elizabeth was well-known for her gentle nature and kindness. She was generous to those she loved, as well as to her servants.
She loved reading, music, dancing, and gambling, as well as possessing a love for greyhound dogs, which she was known to keep.
Elizabeth was a very devoted mother, and took a keen interest in her children's education, likely playing a large role in teaching them to read and write. She was loyal to her husband, and the two of them held great respect for each other.
However, Elizabeth was also resilient, surviving through the Wars of the Roses, becoming emotionally strong as she experienced the deaths of many close friends and family members. She was also the first one to comfort her husband upon the death of her son, only finally breaking down once she was alone, demonstrating she would often put the comfort and emotional wellbeing of others before herself.
Biography:
Elizabeth was born in Westminster, England, in 1466, and was the eldest child of King Edward IV of England, and his wife, Elizabeth Woodville. She was born during the height of the Wars of the Roses, as her father had seized the throne from the previous king, Henry VI. The marriage between her parents had also been a scandalous one due to her mother not being a member of royalty or nobility. She would go on to have nine other siblings, as well as two older brothers from her mother's previous marriage, and illegitimate siblings from her father's mistresses.
Not much is known about Elizabeth's early life, other than that she was betrothed to George Neville, Duke of Bedford, at the age of 3. However, this betrothal was called off when Neville's father joined a rebellion against her own father. Instead, Elizabeth was then betrothed to Charles, Dauphin of France, but the King of France would break this promise. Her father would also lose the throne of England in 1470, and Elizabeth was forced to flee into sanctuary with her mother. But luckily for her, her father managed to recapture the throne, and Henry VI was murdered, meaning that he could never pose a threat to her father's reign again.
In 1483, her father died suddenly, and her younger brother became King Edward V of England when he was just 12 years old. Due to his age, their uncle, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, was made the Lord Protector of the realm, and many of Elizabeth's mother's relatives were accused of plotting against him. Once again, Elizabeth was forced to flee into sanctuary with her mother and other siblings, while her brothers, Edward V and Richard, were sent to the Tower of London to await Edward's coronation.
Around this time, the marriage of her parents was declared invalid on the grounds of a pre-contract between her father and another woman, therefore making Elizabeth and her siblings illegitimate. People petitioned for her uncle to take the crown, which he accepted, and became King Richard III of England, all while her brothers remained in the Tower. Eventually, her brothers would disappear under mysterious circumstances.
During the reign of Richard III, Elizabeth's mother began to plot against him and allied herself with Lady Margaret Beaufort of the Lancastrian faction, who had put forth her son, Henry Tudor, as the rightful ruler of England. It was agreed between her mother and Lady Beaufort that Elizabeth and Henry should marry once he claimed the throne, strengthening Henry's own claim, as well as officially uniting the Houses of York and Lancaster. Henry agreed, and swore an oath to marry her upon his victory, and invasion plans began.
By 1484, Elizabeth and her family were finally persuaded to come out of hiding, with her uncle promising that no harm would come to them. There were also rumours at the time that Richard III was planning to marry Elizabeth after the death of his wife, but there is no substantial evidence for this. Instead, Richard III began negotiating to marry Elizabeth to King Manuel I of Portugal. However, this would never go ahead, as Henry Tudor finally invaded in 1485, and Richard III was defeated at the Battle of Bosworth Field. Henry Tudor was declared King Henry VII of England.
Though Henry had promised to marry Elizabeth upon his victory, he instead took his time establishing his rule, ensuring that people knew he obtained the throne by right of conquest instead of his marriage to Elizabeth. Elizabeth of York was re-legitimised, alongside her siblings, and a papal dispensation was granted for her marriage to Henry, since they were distant cousins.
It's possible that by this point, Elizabeth and Henry had already fallen in love and had possibly even slept together before their wedding in 1486, since their first son, Prince Arthur, was born premature with no complications. Both she and Henry would go on to initially have six children together, though only four of them would survive infancy. They enjoyed a close family relationship, and Elizabeth settled into a role that mainly focused on raising her children; she did not hold much interest in government affairs, leaving that mainly to her husband and mother-in-law.
However, Elizabeth would come to play a large role in the negotiations of her eldest son's marriage to Princess Katherine of Aragon. She was frequently in contact with Katherine's mother, Queen Isabella I of Castile. The marriage of Prince Arthur and Princess Katherine went ahead in 1501 upon her arrival in England. After the wedding, Elizabeth would never see her eldest son again, as he was sent to live in Wales to preside over the area, only to die of Sweating Sickness in 1502.
Upon finding out about their son's death, Henry VII broke down, and Elizabeth comforted him, reassuring him that the Tudor Dynasty would remain safe, since they had another son, and that they were both still young and able to have more children. However, upon leaving the room, Elizabeth collapsed and broke down herself, and her servants had to send for her husband to come and comfort her. The two of them grieved deeply over the loss of their eldest child.
Later that same year, Elizabeth was pregnant once again, and confined herself to the Tower of London. In 1503, Elizabeth gave birth to a baby girl, who they named Katherine, but the baby would unfortunately die just a few days later.
Unfortunately, Elizabeth herself would also die a few days after this, likely as a result of a postpartum infection.
Rule:
During her reign, Elizabeth did not exercise much interest in politics and was often pushed aside by her more politically astute and dominating mother-in-law, Lady Beaufort.
However, she played a more active role as a patron of education, and developed an interest in the printing press, which was a new invention at the time. The few diplomatic roles she played mainly involved the futures of her children, as she would aid in arranging their politically advantageous marriages.
Her marriage to her husband also served to end the Wars of the Roses, finally uniting the two warring factions, and she was successful in producing heirs for the new Tudor dynasty.
- She is believed to be the model for the image of the queen typically seen in a deck of cards.
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