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| Portrait copy by unknown artist (c. 1500) |
- Sir John Grey (m. 1452 - 1461)
- King Edward IV of England (m. 1464 - 1483)
- With Sir John Grey
- Thomas Grey, Marquess of Dorset (1455 - 1501)
- Sir Richard Grey (1457 - 1483)
- With King Edward IV of England
- Elizabeth of York, Queen of England (1466 - 1503)
- Princess Mary of York (1467 - 1482)
- Princess Cecily, Viscountess Welles (1469 - 1507)
- King Edward V of England (1470 - c. 1483)
- Princess Margaret of York (1472 - 1472)
- Prince Richard, Duke of York (1473 - c. 1483)
- Princess Anne, Duchess of Norfolk (1475 - 1511)
- Prince George, Duke of Bedford (1477 - 1479)
- Princess Catherine, Duchess of Devon (1479 - 1527)
- Princess Bridget of York (1480 - 1507)
Appearance:
She was described as 'the most beautiful woman on the island of Britain'. She was tall, slender, and met all the medieval standards of beauty. This included fair hair, an oval shaped face, and a high forehead. Her eye colour is not fully known, and has been reported as brown, grey, or green. Her eyelids were noted to be heavy-lidded 'like those of a dragon'.
Character:
Elizabeth was often viewed as arrogant and disrespectful, as well as demonstrating a high degree of nepotism.
She appears to have shown little interest in politics, and was viewed as untrustworthy, due to her switching sides during the Wars of the Roses; the Lancastrians regarded her as a traitor, and the Yorkists regarded her as fickle.
However, she was a devoted mother, and was loyal to her husband, King Edward IV.
She demonstrated an interest in education, even maintaining the Queen's College which had initially been founded by her rival for the title of Queen Consort of England, Margaret of Anjou.
Biography:
Elizabeth was born in Northamptonshire, England, some time around 1437, and was the eldest child of Richard Woodville, and his wife, Lady Jacquetta of Luxembourg. The marriage of her parents had caused a huge scandal throughout England, since her mother was a member of the nobility, and her father was a commoner. This marriage incurred heavy fines as a result. Thus, Elizabeth grew up as part of the gentry class, alongside her fourteen other siblings.
Not much is known about Elizabeth's upbringing. In the year 1452, when Elizabeth was 15, she married her first husband, Sir John Grey, and the two of them would have two sons together. However, the marriage would last just 9 years before John, a Lancastrian supporter, was killed in the Second Battle of St Alban's.
It's not known when the now widowed Elizabeth first came into contact with King Edward IV of England, but in 1464, the two of them married in secret. Like her parents before her, Elizabeth's marriage to Edward caused both a national and international scandal. As a member of the gentry class, Elizabeth was viewed as far beneath her husband and unworthy of marrying him. It also offended the members of royal families across Europe, as they had been in marriage negotiations with Edward in order to secure political alliances. The marriage would also insult the powerful Earl of Warwick, and would help lead towards him switching sides during the Wars of the Roses, and Edward IV's deposition in the years to come. Elizabeth would come to be greatly disliked within the royal court as a result of all of this.
Regardless, Elizabeth set about securing powerful marriages for her family members, something which made her even more unpopular. Her brother-in-law, George, Duke of Clarence, would even accuse her of using witchcraft to murder his wife, Lady Isabel Neville, though in reality, she most likely died from a postpartum infection. Her mother, Jacquetta, would also be accused of witchcraft, but would eventually be acquitted. Her relatives would insert themselves into the King's government, which further pushed both Warwick and Clarence into rebelling against Edward IV.
In 1470, this rebellion would be successful, and Edward IV was deposed and forced to flee to France. Henry VI was restored as the King of England. Meanwhile, Elizabeth sought sanctuary in Westminster Abbey with her daughters, where she would go into labour and give birth to her and Edward's eldest son, also named Edward.
However, just a few months later in 1471, Edward IV was able to reclaim the throne, resulting in the deaths of many prominent Lancastrians, including Henry VI himself, his son, and the Earl of Warwick who had previously betrayed them. Elizabeth and Edward would then go on to have more children, producing ten together in total.
Elizabeth's time as Queen Consort would last eleven years until her husband died suddenly in 1483, resulting in her becoming the Queen Dowager. Her son became King Edward V of England at the age of just 12 years old, and the Woodville family immediately began conspiring to seize power. However, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who had been appointed Lord Protector of the new underage king, realised what was happening and quickly had many members of Elizabeth's family arrested.
Richard then went on to escort Edward V to London himself, where the young king was lodged in the Tower of London to await his coronation. Elizabeth's middle son, also named Richard, would eventually join him to keep him company. Elizabeth herself was once again forced to seek sanctuary alongside her daughters, as she was accused of plotting to destroy Richard of Gloucester. The youngest son of Elizabeth from her first marriage, would also be arrested and ultimately executed.
The English government soon also began to uncover rumours and proof that Edward IV had been in a pre-contract with another woman, which meant his marriage to Elizabeth was invalid. Her children were declared illegitimate, and Richard of Gloucester was declared the rightful ruler of England, which resulted in him becoming King Richard III of England. Her sons, Edward and Richard, remained in the Tower of London before they would eventually disappear under mysterious circumstances. Elizabeth was stripped of all her titles, her lands were seized, and was now only allowed to be referred to as Dame Elizabeth Grey.
Left with nothing, Elizabeth began to conspire with the Lancastrian faction against her former brother-in-law, and allied herself with Lady Margaret Beaufort, who proposed that her son, Henry Tudor, should be king instead of Richard. The two women came to an agreement that upon Henry being victorious against Richard, he would marry Elizabeth's eldest daughter, Elizabeth of York, to further solidify his claim, and officially unite the Houses of York and Lancaster. Henry also agreed with this, and swore an oath to marry Elizabeth's daughter should he succeed. By 1483, invasion plans were underway.
Eventually in 1483, Elizabeth and her daughters were persuaded to come out of their sanctuary after Richard III promised that no harm would come to them, especially her children. He gave Elizabeth a pension and also promised to find suitable marriages for her daughters. Elizabeth bided her time until Henry Tudor finally invaded in 1485. Richard III was defeated in the Battle of Bosworth Field, and Henry was declared King Henry VII of England.
Though he was slower than expected to do so, Henry eventually married Elizabeth of York, and she, along with all her siblings were re-legitimised. Elizabeth's previous marriage to Edward was declared valid again, and her title of Queen Dowager was returned to her, along with her other titles and land.
By 1487, Elizabeth officially retired from court life, and left for a more peaceful life in Bermondsey Abbey. She went on to witness the births of her grandchildren and would remain in contact with her daughter and son-in-law. The idea of marrying her to King James III of Scotland was briefly considered, but this ultimately did not go ahead, especially when he was killed in battle in 1488.
In 1492, Elizabeth contracted the plague and died.
Rule:
Throughout her reign, Elizabeth remained largely unpopular. She was often looked down upon due to her being a commoner, but was also viewed as arrogant and disrespectful in her actions. The positioning of her relatives into roles of power was also very unpopular with the people of England, making her and her family be viewed as ambitious and power hungry. She was frequently accused of witchcraft due to her unpopularity.
Elizabeth was also viewed as a national embarrassment due to her previous commoner status, and because potential marriages to other royals and nobles within Europe had to be abandoned due to her and her husband's secret marriage. However, she was courageous, as she met all of this criticism, and continued on regardless.
She was a patron of the Queen's College at the University of Cambridge.
Even after her reign, she was able to demonstrate political aptitude by marrying her daughter to Henry VII, bringing an end to the Wars of the Roses.
- She became the first English royal consort who was born a commoner.
- Her sons were the infamous 'Princes in the Tower.'
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