Image Attribution: Biagio Rebecca, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Disclaimer: The content, images, materials, and information provided on this website is only intended to be general summary information to the public. It is not intended to take the place of either the written law or regulations. It should not be viewed as medical, financial, legal, or professional advice of any sort. We will do our best to confirm the accuracy of all information that appears on our website but cannot guarantee accuracy, reliability, or timeliness. All recommendations are made without guarantee or warranty. We make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In my last post (Top 4 Reasons Why Edward IV Marrying Elizabeth Woodville Was A Good Idea), I outlined all of the reasons why Edward IV marrying Elizabeth Woodville was actually a smart political move. However, at the very same time, it was also a really bad decision with some significant consequences. The marriage alienated many important allies and backfired in a pretty big way. So, why was marrying Elizabeth Woodville a really stupid political move for Edward IV to make?
Elizabeth Was English
While being English was a plus in many ways for Edward IV (especially given the Yorkist propaganda about Margaret of Anjou), there were some pretty negative side effects. Foreign brides often had big dowries of both land and wealth. (See Catherine of Valois: The KISS Edition for the best example of this. Catherine’s dowry was literally France! Still blows my mind every time I think about it.) Marriages between foreign royalty were often a condition to a treaty, either to end a war or gain allies to fight one. (Again, see Catherine of Valois: The KISS Edition. Her marriage to Henry V was meant to end the Hundred Years’ War.) Edward IV’s contemporaries saw his marriage as, at best, a missed opportunity and, at worst, a betrayal.
Possibly the biggest misstep that Edward IV made in his marriage to Elizabeth was that, despite being married to Elizabeth, he allowed Warwick to travel to France to begin to negotiate a marriage between Edward IV and a French princess. When Edward IV finally came clean, Warwick looked like an idiot. This humiliation at the hands of Edward IV was directed at Elizabeth and fueled Warwick’s rebellions.
Elizabeth Woodville Was a Lancaster
This was likely the only similarity that Edward and Elizabeth’s marriage had to other royal marriages. Their marriage was intended to unite the Lancasters and Yorks and end the war. Sounds like a great idea, right? Considering that was exactly what Elizabeth and Margaret Beaufort did years later when they organized the marriage between Elizabeth of York and Henry Tudor (see Elizabeth of York: The KISS Edition for info on the spectacular Elizabeth of York).
While the marriage between Elizabeth of York and Henry Tudor was relatively successful (aside from a few pretenders to the throne, rebellions, etc.), the marriage between Elizabeth Woodville and Edward IV did not unite the two warring houses. In fact, many of Edward’s critical allies felt so alienated by his choice in wife that they defected to the Lancaster side and Henry VI ended up as a puppet king for a short period. In his effort to bring the country back together under his reign, Edward ended up driving it further apart.
Elizabeth Had Lots of Siblings that Edward Could Use for Political Gain
Sounds like a good thing, right? In many ways, it was. Warwick and Cecily Neville (Edward IV’s mother) held significant influence at the beginning of Edward’s reign. Warwick gained the nickname “the Kingmaker” as he was credited with winning the throne for Edward and he fully believed that his shit didn’t stink. He felt that Edward essentially owed Warwick for everything and wanted Edward to be his puppet. Cecily Neville, on the other hand, had expected to be Queen. Richard of York, Edward’s father, had been the one to start the rebellion and had been killed in the second to last battle of the first wave of the War of the Roses. While Edward was unmarried, she was the most powerful woman in the royal court and acted as though she were the Queen instead of just the King’s mother.
In his early twenties, Edward was itching to break out from under Warwick and Cecily’s control. By marrying a woman who had entirely way too many younger siblings, he was able to arrange marriages that created the power structure in court that he wanted. In doing so, he ended up alienating many of his allies. The nobles that were married to the Woodvilles were often highly desired matches and other nobles were bitter that they lost out. Warwick was not the only noble who felt that he was owed more power than he was given once Edward was on the throne. The Woodvilles’ consolidation of power through marriage was an easy target.
Elizabeth Was A Commoner
Despite Jacquetta’s royal connections, by contemporary standards, Elizabeth was a commoner. Her father was a knight whose status was raised when he married Jacquetta and a child’s social status was determined by the status of their father. While the Woodvilles had some land, they had very little wealth, so Elizabeth came to the marriage with no dowry. The most valuable thing she brought was her mother’s connections, which in the eyes of many prominent Yorkist nobles, meant very little.
So… Was It A Good or Bad Idea for Edward IV to Marry Elizabeth Woodville?
If you read the previous post, “Top 4 Reasons Why Edward IV Marrying Elizabeth Woodville Was A Good Idea“, you may have noticed that many of the reasons why marrying Elizabeth Woodville was a good idea are the same as why it was a bad idea. That is because this was a moment of chaos. The political situation at the beginning of his reign was unstable. To be frank, it likely did not matter who Edward married. There were always going to be rebellions. Edward was always going to be too dominant for Warwick to be satisfied with his power. Cecily was always going to have a power struggle with the new queen. Medieval queens in general were an easy target for anyone who had an issue with the king. Elizabeth just became one of the most notorious.
What do you think? Was it really Elizabeth Woodville that was the problem? Did Edward make a mistake? Was marrying Elizabeth a good political move or a bad one?
RECOMMENDED SOURCES
Link Disclaimer: Some links within this website may lead to other sites that we believe may be useful or informative. The Snarky History Nerd Blog does not incorporate any materials appearing in such linked sites by reference. These links to third party sites or information are not intended as, and should not be interpreted by you as, constituting or implying our endorsement, sponsorship, or recommendation of the third party information, products, or services found there. We do not maintain or control these sites and accordingly make no guarantee concerning the accuracy, reliability, or currency of the information found there.
| 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 |