Elizabeth of York (born February 11, 1466, in Westminster Palace, and died on February 11, 1503, in the Tower of London) was an English princess from the House of York and the eldest daughter of King Edward IV and his wife Elizabeth Woodville.
After the fall of her uncle Richard III, she married the new King Henry VII and became the mother of the future English King Henry VIII, the future Queen of Scotland Margaret Tudor and the future Queen of France Mary Tudor.
She survived her children Edmund, Elizabeth, and the fifteen-year-old heir to the throne, Arthur, and died in 1503 when her youngest daughter Katherine was born.
Quick Facts: Elizabeth of York
- Known for: Queen of England, mother of Henry VIII
- Born: February 11, 1466, in London, England
- Parents: Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville
- Died: February 11, 1503, in London, England
- Education: Education in the palace as future queen
- Spouse: Henry VII (.M 18, January 1486)
- Children: Arthur, Prince of Wales (September 20, 1486, to April 2, 1502); Margaret Tudor (November 28, 1489 – October 18, 1541, married to King James IV of Scotland); Henry VIII, King of England (June 18, 1491 – January 28, 1547); Elizabeth (July 2, 1492 – September 14, 1495); Mary Tudor (March 18, 1496 – June 25, 1533) married King Louis XII of France; Edmund, Duke of Somerset (February 21, 19 1499-June 1500); and Katherine (February 2, 1503)
The Early Life of Elizabeth of York
Elizabeth of York was the firstborn daughter of King Edward IV of England and his wife Elizabeth Woodville on February 11, 1466. It was baptized in Westminster Abbey. She was the oldest of the nine children of Edward IV, King of England (ruled 1461-1483), and his wife Elizabeth Woodville (sometimes spelled Wydeville).
Before her parents had trouble, and her father was briefly deposed in 1470 from 1471, her father’s challenger’s throne had probably been defeated and killed. Elizabeth’s early years were spent quietly in the comparative, despite the disagreements and struggles around her.
She probably started her formal education in the palace after ages 5 or 6 and learned history and alchemy from her father and his library. She and her sisters were taught by ladies-in-waiting and observed by Elizabeth Woodville in action to adequately view the skills and accomplishments for future queens.
This included reading and writing in English, math, and household management, as well as needlework, horse riding, music, and dance. She spoke a little French, but not fluently. In 1469, at the age of 3, Elizabeth was engaged to George Neville, but it was called off when his father supported Edward VII’s rival, the Earl of Warwick.
On August 29, 1475, Elizabeth was 11, and, under the Picquigny Treaty, they became engaged to Louis XI’s son, the Dauphin Karl, who was 5 years old at the time. Louis reneged on the contract in 1482.
Death of Edward IV
In 1483, with the sudden death of her father Edward IV, Elizabeth of York was in the middle of the storm when the eldest child of King Edward IV declared her younger brother Edward V, but because he was 13, the brother of his Father Richard Plantagenet was named Regent Protection.
Before Edward V can be crowned, Richard locked him and his younger brother Richard in the Tower of London. Richard Planta took the English crown as Richard III and had the marriage of Elizabeth invalidated by York’s parents, Edward IV claimed to be engaged before the marriage had taken place.
Although Elizabeth of York was made of this declaration an illegitimate child, Richard III was rumored to have had plans to marry her. Elizabeth’s mother, Elizabeth Woodville, and Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry Tudor, a Lancastrian claiming to be heir to the throne, planned a different future for Elizabeth of York: marriage to Henry Tudor when he defeated Richard III.
The two princes, the only surviving male heirs to Edward IV, disappeared. Some have assumed that Elizabeth must have known Woodville, or at least suspected that her sons, the “princes in the tower”, were already dead because of their efforts in their daughter’s marriage to Henry Tudor.
Henry Tudor
Richard III was killed on the battlefield in 1485 and Henry Tudor (Henry VII) succeeded in declaring himself King of England by the right of conquest. He delayed several months in marrying the Yorkist heiress, Elizabeth of York, only after his own coronation.
They were married in January 1486, gave birth to their first child, Arthur, in September, and they were crowned Queen of England on November 25, 1487. Their marriage was founded on the Tudor dynasty of the British crown.
Her marriage to Henry VII brought the Lancaster House, which represented Henry VII (although he grounded his claim to the Crown of England in Conquest, not Birth), and the House of York, which Elizabeth represented.
The symbolism of a Lancastrian king marrying a Yorkist queen brought the red rose from Lancaster and the white rose from York that ended the Wars of the Roses. Henry took the Tudor Rose as his symbol, both colored red and white.
Elizabeth of York Children
Elizabeth of York apparently lived peacefully in her marriage. She and Henry had seven children, four surviving through adulthood – a fairly decent percentage for the time. Three of the four kings were married or queens in their own right:
Margaret Tudor (November 28, 1489 – October 18, 1541, married to King James IV of Scotland); Henry VIII, King of England (June 18, 1491 – January 28, 1547); Elizabeth (July 2, 1492 – September 14, 1495); Mary Tudor (March 18, 1496 – June 25, 1533) married King Louis XII of France; Edmund, Duke of Somerset (February 21, 19 1499-June 1500); and Katherine (February 2, 1503).
Her eldest son, Arthur, Prince of Wales (September 20, 1486, to April 2, 1502) married Catherine of Aragon, a third-degree cousin of both Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, 1501 Catherine and Arthur became ill with sweating illness soon after and Arthur died in 1502.
Elizabeth of York Death and legacy
It is believed that Elizabeth became pregnant again trying to have another male heir to the throne after Arthur’s death in case the surviving son, Henry died. After all, camp heirs were one of the most important tasks of a queen, especially to the hopeful founder of a new dynasty, the Tudors.
If so, it was a mistake. Elizabeth of York died in the Tower of London on February 11, 1503, at the age of 37 after the birth of her seventh child, a girl named Katherine, who died on February 2 at birth, only three of Elisabeth’s children survived on her death: Margaret, Henry, and Mary. Elizabeth of York buried at Henry VII ‘Lady Chapel‘, Westminster Abbey.
The relationship between Henry VII and Elizabeth of York is not well documented, but several surviving documents suggest a tender and loving relationship. Henry was said to have retired in grief at her death; he never remarried, although it might have been diplomatic to do so; and he spent lavishly on her funeral, although he was usually very tight with money.
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