illustration by Percy Anderson for Costume Fanciful, Historical and Theatrical, 1906, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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Elizabeth of York survived one of the most turbulent periods in English history and had one of best outcomes of the Yorkist faction (except maybe her father who was a beloved king until his death). This period was littered with powerful women and despite first impressions, Elizabeth was one herself and left legacy that is often overlooked (and not just because medieval chroniclers were sexist pigs).
The Last York Princess
Despite several pretenders, Elizabeth of York was the last remnant of the York dynasty. By the time Richard III died at the Battle of Bosworth, the York dynasty had pretty much imploded.
- Elizabeth of York’s brothers were missing, presumed dead.
- Her only male cousin was executed for “treason” by her husband.
- While her sisters outlived her, they were married off for the betterment of the Tudor dynasty and held very little power.
- Many look to Margaret de la Pole (George of Clarence’s daughter and Elizabeth’s cousin) as the final York, but she had been excluded from the line of succession long before even Richard III became king and was never in a position to claim the throne for herself or her sons. And the revolt that she was connected to (and executed for) was against Henry VIII and was about the break with the Roman Catholic Church.
Essentially, the York line died with Elizabeth. But she also gave birth to the next kings and queens of England.
The First Tudor Queen
The Tudor dynasty is perhaps the most famous English dynasty in history and it would not have been possible without Elizabeth (and not just because she gave birth to the 2nd generation).
- Without Elizabeth, Henry VII would not have been able to get the support that he needed to take the throne from Richard III.
- Elizabeth was the mother of Henry VIII (the English king who had six wives and killed a third of them), Mary Tudor (the Queen Consort of France who married her brother’s best friend behind his back), and Margaret Tudor (the Queen Consort of Scotland who had two scandalous, unhappy marriages after the death of the King of Scotland).
- Elizabeth was also the grandmother of two Queens of England in their own rights, Mary I (Bloody Mary) and Elizabeth I (the Virgin Queen).
- Her great-granddaughter was Lady Jane Grey, who was named Edward VI’s heir but was never crowned and was overthrown by Mary I within nine days of Edward VI’s death.
While Elizabeth of York herself was not a powerful queen, her daughters, granddaughters, and great-granddaughters were all badass women and queens.
Reimaging the Role of the Queen
Over the medieval period, the expectations for the role of the Queen Consort was always in flux; however, the queens always held some semblance political power, even if it was just asking the King for mercy in moments of judgement. Elizabeth’s reign as Queen Consort was very different. This stems from the fact that she had more of a claim to the English throne than her husband. In order to solidify the power of his reign, Henry VII severely limited Elizabeth’s power in the political spectrum. Any political power that Elizabeth exerted would have been a threat to Henry VII’s reign and dynasty, even though she was his queen consort. While it was necessary for Elizabeth to take a back seat in order for Henry VII to assert his authority, it clearly affected the mindset that her son Henry VIII had regarding the role of the Queen Consort later in life. The rate that he swapped wives and their lack of power to protect themselves (even Catherine of Aragon whose family was another powerful royal family who you did not want to piss off was not able to prevent the end of their marriage) indicated that the reduced role of the Queen continued on after Elizabeth’s death.
Now, I can already see the arguments about how both of her daughters (Mary and Margaret) were women who exercised a lot of agency so Elizabeth’s passivity as Queen could not have affected Queen Consorts moving forward. Henry VIII, Mary and Margaret had two major female influences in their lives, their mother, Elizabeth, and their grandmother, Margaret Beaufort. The key part was that only one of them was Queen and while Henry VIII definitely had a fondness for strong women (AKA Anne Boleyn), the ideal Queen was always going to have to measure up to Elizabeth, not Margaret.
Sources
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| Author | Source Name |
| Alison Weir | The War of the Roses. |
| Alison Weir | Elizabeth of York: A Tudor and Her World. |
| Dan Jones | The War of the Roses: The Fall of the Plantagenets and the Rise of the Tudors. |
| 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. |
| Roland Hui | The Turbulent Crown: The Story of the Tudor Queens. |
| Leanda de Lisle | Tudor: Passion. Manipulation. Murder. The Story of England’s Most Notorious Family. |