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Elizabeth Woodville was probably one of the most controversial, if not hated English Queen Consorts. She was the first English-born Queen Consort to marry into the Plantagenet dynasty. Not only that, but she was also considered a “commoner” because her father was a knight. Despite being painted as a villain by her enemies, she was a shrewd politician who came out on top in most situations, with a few significant exceptions.
Becoming Dame Lady Grey
Elizabeth Woodville was the first-born child to Sir Richard Woodville and Jacquetta of Luxembourg. This marriage was incredibly scandalous. Jacquetta was sister to the Count of Luxembourg and married the Duke of Bedford prior to his death. The Duke of Bedford was the most powerful man in England and France as the primary regent and eldest uncle to Henry VI, making Jacquetta the most powerful woman in England and France. Since Bedford had no heirs, his significant estate was left to his widow. Legally, Jacquetta needed the permission of the king to remarry, so when she married Richard in secret, shit hit the fan.
Luckily, around the time Elizabeth was born, Henry VI had forgiven Jacquetta and Richard. Jacquetta and Elizabeth spent a significant amount of time at court, especially after Henry VI married Margaret of Anjou, who was related to Jacquetta. Elizabeth had front row seats to the political strife that led to the outbreak of the War of the Roses.
Unfortunately, Elizabeth’s first marriage was not very advantageous. Due to the rampant sexism of the time, a child’s social status was determined by their father’s status, not their mother’s. While Henry VI gave Sir Richard Woodville the title, Baron Rivers, due to his marriage to Jacquetta, he was not considered nobility. This meant that his children, including Elizabeth, were considered to be of lower birth than their contemporaries (which, in my humble opinion, was bullshit).
Despite being the daughter of the king’s aunt by marriage, Elizabeth married Sir John Grey, heir to the Barony Ferrers of Groby. She had two sons with her first husband. Unfortunately, her husband died during the first part of the War of the Roses, fighting on the Lancastrian side. As a Lancastrian widow, Elizabeth and her children were in a very precarious situation when she met Edward IV.
The Secret Queen Consort
There was no definitive record about Elizabeth and Edward’s first meeting. In fact, their marriage was kept secret for months afterwards. Edward only revealed that he married Elizabeth when his close ally, Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, presented Edward and Parliament with a potential marriage alliance with a French princess. At this point, Edward was forced to admit that he was already married.
The most popular story for how Elizabeth and Edward met was that she, with her young sons at her side, “ambushed” him on the side of the road while he was travelling (as much as a young woman with two young children could ambush a king). In the wake of her husband’s death and the Lancastrian defeat, her sons were denied their inheritance. She approached Edward to plead for aid.
For Edward, it was love at first sight. He first tried to seduce her, but she refused to become his mistress. He then (in typical toxic masculinity fashion) attempted to force her, but she held him off until he agreed to marry her. They married in secret, with only Jacquetta present, according to legend. Elizabeth quickly became pregnant with their first child, the spectacular Elizabeth of York.
To say that this was a scandal was a massive understatement. Warwick was so insulted that he threw a hissy fit and switched alliances. He, with Edward’s brother, George of Clarence, briefly overthrew Edward and placed Henry VI back on the throne. Elizabeth fled into sanctuary with her children and mother, until Edward took back his throne.
The Queen Mother in Sanctuary
The next several years were relatively peaceful; at least, until Edward IV died suddenly. His son, Edward V, was still a child and Richard III, Edward IV’s youngest brother, became primary regent. In an effort to consolidate power, Elizabeth had her brother, Anthony Woodville, and her son from her first marriage, Richard Grey, escort Edward V to London. However, Richard III intercepted them and arrested Anthony and Grey. He took custody of Edward V, under the guise of ensuring that he arrive at London for his coronation safely.
Elizabeth, seeing the writing on the wall, once again fled to sanctuary. While many saw this action as an overreaction (as women tended to do when their family members were arrested without cause), her fears were soon proven right as Richard III had Anthony and Grey executed. Edward V resided in the Tower of London for “his protection.” Richard III forced Elizabeth to release her second son, Richard (named after his grandfather and uncle), into Richard III’s custody, to join Edward V in the Tower of London. Soon after, Edward V and his brother disappeared, becoming the infamous “Princes in the Tower.”
Dame Lady Grey, Once Again
The key to Richard III claiming the throne, despite his brother’s multiple legitimate children, was to “prove” that the marriage between Elizabeth and Edward was illegitimate. Richard III claimed that Edward had participated in an engagement ceremony with Lady Eleanor Butler, which, at that time, was equivalent to a legally binding marriage, prior to his marriage to Elizabeth. He passed an Act of Parliament that declared that the marriage between Elizabeth and Edward was invalid, making all their children illegitimate. Richard III used this to declare himself Edward IV’s heir and crowned King of England.
Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire
With her youngest sons missing and presumed dead, any sort of power and protection for herself and her daughters seemed well out of reach as long as Richard III remained in power. So, Elizabeth switched sides once again and aligned herself with Margaret Beaufort, the mother of the last Lancastrian heir, Henry VII. They communicated secretly using a physician and arranged for Henry VII to marry her eldest daughter, Elizabeth of York, after Henry VII usurped the throne from Richard III. The first invasion ultimately failed; however, this alliance ultimately set the stage for the Tudor dynasty.
After the failed invasion by Henry VII, Elizabeth was forced to come to an agreement with Richard III. At this point, Elizabeth and her daughters had been in sanctuary for over a year and there was no end in sight. Accepting the new status quo, Elizabeth agreed to leave sanctuary with her daughters only if Richard III made a public oath to do no harm to her daughters and secure their futures (AKA marriages, because that was all women were good for, according to the jerks in charge). Richard III did so, and Elizabeth finally left sanctuary. She retired from court and her daughters split their time between living with her and attending court.
And Introducing the Queen Mother… Once Again
Things seemed to calm down for Elizabeth for a time. Her daughters were safe-ish (I mean, as safe as they could be) and while she did not have any power, she was also not in constant fear for her life. In typical War of the Roses fashion, shit hit the fan once again.
Henry VII, once again, invaded England to claim the throne from Richard III. He defeated him in the famous Battle of Bosworth, changing the political landscape once again. Much of Henry VII’s support came from the promise that he would marry Elizabeth of York, uniting the Lancasters and Yorks and hopefully, ending the War of the Roses once and for all. Many important nobles viewed Elizabeth of York as Edward IV’s true heir, putting Elizabeth in the potentially powerful position of Dowager Queen.
Now, I am sure that you are wondering why Margaret Beaufort was not considered Dowager Queen. After all, she was the mother of the new king, Henry VII. The issue with Margaret claiming the title of Dowager Queen was that she had never been Queen Consort. The Dowager Queen had always been a previous Queen Consort. Instead, Henry VII created a new title for his mother, the King’s Mother. Frankly, since Margaret held immense power (more so than the current Queen Consort or the Dowager Queen) As Elizabeth was the mother of the current Queen Consort, whom many considered to be the actual heir to the throne, she regained the title of Dowager Queen.
Despite her title, there was no room for Elizabeth to hold power in court. Her daughter, Elizabeth of York, while being Queen Consort, wielded very little power in her own right. It was clear from the get-go that Margaret was the female power in the English court, and while she made a little room for the Queen Consort, she was not about to yield any of her power to Elizabeth Woodville.
Elizabeth ended up retiring to a convent, much like many other Dowager Queens before her. She was stripped of most of her wealth prior to retiring. The circumstances surrounding her retirement was unclear and there has been much debate on whether Henry VII ordered her to retire or if it was her choice. Either way, Elizabeth spent her final years shut away in a convent, away from her beloved family and the seat of power that she worked so hard to gain for her children.
Whether you love her or hate her, Elizabeth Woodville’s impact on history is undeniable.
Further Reading/Sources:
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| Author Name | Book Name |
|---|---|
| Dan Jones | The War of the Roses: The Fall of the Plantagenets and the Rise of the Tudors. |
| Alison Weir | War of the Roses |
| Elizabeth Norton | England’s Queens: A Biography |
| Lisa Hilton | Queens Consort: England’s Medieval Queens from Eleanor of Aquitaine to Elizabeth of York. |
| Sarah Gristwood | Blood Sisters: The Women Behind the War of the Roses. |
| Arlene Okerlund | Elizabeth: England’s Slandered Queen |
| David Baldwin | Elizabeth Woodville: Mother of the Princes in the Tower |
| David McGibbon | Elizabeth Woodville: A Life – The Real Story of the “White Queen” |
| Alicia Carter | The Women of the War of the Roses: Elizabeth Woodville, Margaret Beaufort, & Elizabeth of York |
| Phillipa Gregory, David Baldwin & Michael Jones | The Women of the Cousins’ War: The Duchess, The Queen & The King’s Mother |
| Gemma Hollman | Royal Witches: Witchcraft and the Nobility in Fifteenth-Century England |
