Top 4 Reasons Why Edward IV Marrying Elizabeth Woodville Was A Good Idea

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In a time when nobility, especially royalty, married for political power, lands, and money, a king marrying for love was both unheard of and unacceptable. But, to this day, most people believe that Edward IV married Elizabeth Woodville for love (or lust) and that this decision caused the War of the Roses to once again explode. According to some, the blood of thousands of English men coated Elizabeth Woodville’s hands and the blame was laid solely at her feet. But, did Edward choose to marry Elizabeth based completely on love or was there a political motivation behind this move? Was this marriage as much of a political clusterfuck as many want you to believe? 

As much as Edward was led around by his little brain (he was well known to be a horndog who slept with lots of women before and during his marriage to Elizabeth), he also was not stupid. Here are the top 4 reasons why Edward IV marrying Elizabeth Woodville was a good idea.

1. Elizabeth Woodville was English

Elizabeth was the first English born Queen since the Norman Conquest. Every Queen of England before her was a foreigner, which, depending on the queen, was a good or a bad thing. It was a good thing for Catherine of Valois while she was the Queen because her dowry was the French throne, but as Dowager Queen, it made her untrustworthy and stripped her of almost all of her power. The last Queen before Elizabeth, Margaret of Anjou, came with no dowry and, in fact, cost England much of their French lands. While she had her good moments, her favoritism of the Beauforts and the fact that she was on the losing side of the War of the Roses have made her one of the most reviled Queens in English history. Having another French Queen (which is what Warwick wanted) was very likely to blow up in Edward IV’s face, so it was no surprise that he went looking for an English Queen.

2. Elizabeth Woodvile Was a Lancaster

Elizabeth’s mother, Jacquetta of Luxembourg was Henry VI’s aunt by marriage and Margaret of Anjou’s cousin by marriage. She was an influential member of the Lancaster court. Due to her mother’s connections, Elizabeth’s first husband was a staunch Lancaster supporter and died during the first round of the War of the Roses. Her connections made her one of the more high ranking nobles on the Lancaster side left in England (aside from the Beauforts, who would have been more likely to kill Edward in his sleep than rule as Queen by his side).

England was still reeling from the Yorkist victory and Edward knew that his reign was on shaky ground. Taking a Lancaster bride, especially one whose mother had been as high ranking as Jacquetta, bridged some of the gaps between the Lancasters and the Yorkist supporters. At this point in his reign, Edward needed peace more than he needed the foreign lands, support, and funds that a French bride would have given him.

3. Elizabeth and Jacquetta Were Very Fertile

Fertility was always a concern for nobility but especially for Edward. The two kings before him had only had one child each and there were rumors that Henry VI’s only son was not actually his son. Not to mention, the direct Lancaster line essentially died out because out of Henry VI’s four sons, they produced only one grandson, Henry VI. The more children Edward had, the more secure his reign would be. Jacquetta had safely given birth to 14 children (that poor woman. Oh my God, no drugs or anything.) Elizabeth already had two sons of her own from her first marriage. There was little doubt that Elizabeth could and would provide Edward with the children that he would need.

4. Elizabeth Had Lots of Siblings that Edward Could Use for Political Gain

In an ideal world, Edward, at this point, would have only been Prince of Wales. His father, Richard, Duke of York, should have been made king upon winning the first part of the War of the Roses. It was only after his father’s brutal death and the desecration of his body that Edward took charge of the rebellion which led him to being crowned King. That made his relationships with his supporters complicated. Warwick took credit for putting him on the throne and since Edward was young, Warwick wanted him to essentially be his puppet. Cecily Neville, his mother, also wielded a significant amount of power. If Edward was ever going to stand on his own two feet as a king, he needed to get out from underneath their thumbs.

Since the Woodvilles held little power in the early days of the Yorkist regime, any and all of their eventual power was given to them by Edward and could be taken away at any point. Edward was able to marry Elizabeth’s siblings off to suit his political and financial needs, effectively taking power back from his over-reaching supporters, such as Warwick.

Here are 4 pretty significant political reasons why Edward IV married Elizabeth Woodville. Next time, I will outline 4 reasons why marrying Elizabeth was a bad political move.

Let me know what you all think! Do you agree or disagree with my arguments?F

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