apartments in the Tower under the reign of his uncle Richard III. Henry VII
kept him in the Tower, but as a prisoner. When Perkin Warbeck was
imprisoned in the Tower, the two attempted to escape (possibly at the
instigation of Henry’s agents) and both were executed in 1499.
Edward IV, King of England, 1442–1483
By the Grace of God, King of England and France and Lord of Ireland
The eldest son of Richard, Duke of York and Cecily Neville, Edward was
born in Rouen, France, on April 28, 1442. He was educated at Ludlow Castle,
along with his younger brother Edmund, Earl of Rutland. He inherited the
title of Earl of March. Edward. was raising forces in the Welsh borders for
the Yorkist cause when his father and younger brother Edmund were killed at
the Battle of Wakefield in 1460. Acting speedily and decisively, Edward
routed the Lancastrians at the battles of Mortimer’s Cross and Towton, and
claimed the throne. Henry VI was then acclaimed a usurper and a traitor.
Edward was crowned in June 1461. He was an extremely popular ruler,
although well-known for his licentious behaviour. During his reign,
printing and silk manufacturing were introduced into England.
Edward’s secret marriage to Elizabeth Woodville, a widow of a Lancastrian
knight, angeed the old nobility and alienated his cousin Richard Neville,
Earl of Warwick (also known as "The Kingmaker"), who had previously been a
major power during the early days of Edward’s reign. In 1469, Edward was
deposed by Warwick, and was drien out of England and to Burgundy. Warwick
reinstated Henry VI. Two years later, backed by his brother-in-law, Charles
("The Bold"), Duke of Burgundy, returned to England with a large army and
defeated the Lancastrians at the battles of Barnet and Tewkesbury.
The remaining years of his reign were, for the most part, peaceful. There
was, however, a short war with France in 1475, after which Louis XI agreed
to pay Edward a yearly subsidy. Edward died on April 8 1483 and was buried
at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor.
As King, Edward’s arms were: Quarterly, France modern and England, and
his crest On a chapeau gules turned up ermine, a lion statant guardant
crowned or. As badges, he used the white rose of York, the sun in
splendour, and the white rose en soliel, as well as the lion, the bull and
the hart, the falcon and fetterlock of the dukes of York, and a white rose
incorporating red petals, a forerunner of the Tudor rose.
Elizabeth Woodville, 1437–1492, Queen of England
Elizabeth was the eldest child of Sir Richard Woodville and Jacquetta of
Luxembourg. She was maid of honor to Margaret of Anjou. She was married to
Sir John Grey of Groby, who was killed in battle in 1461, leaving her with
two small sons. Elizabeth married Edward IV secretly in April 1464 and was
crowned Queen in May 1465. She was also a patroness of Queens’ College,
Cambridge and gave the College its first Statues in 1475. Her ten brothers
and sisters, who were as avaricious and unpopular as herself, were raised
to high rank by the king. Elizabeth and Edward had three sons and seven
daughters.
Following her husband’s death in 1483, their marriage was declared
invalid by Parliament and their children illegitimate. In 1485, however,
Elizabeth’s eldest daughter, Elizabeth of York, married Henry VII and
became Queen of England. Elizabeth Woodville was subsequently banished to
Bermondsey Abbey, where she died in 1492.
Elizabeth Woodville’s seal displayed a shield of her husband’s arms
impaling her own, which were Quartlerly, first argent, a lion rampant
double queued gules, crowned or (Luxemburg, her mother’s family), second
quarterly, I and IV, gules a star if eight points argent; II and III,
azure, semйe of fleurs de lys or; third, barry argent and azure, overall a
lion rampant gules; fourth, gules, three bendlets argent, on a chief of the
first, charged with a fillet in base or, a rose of the second; fifth, three
pallets vairy, on a chief or a label of five points azure, and sixth, a
fess and a canton conjoined gules (Woodville).
Children of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville
Elizabeth of York, 1466–1503, Queen of England
Born 11 February, 1466 at Westminster Palace, Elizabeth was the first
born child of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville. She was betrothed to
George Neville, Duke of Bedford, and then engaged to the Charles, the
Dauphin of France (later Charles VIII). Elizabeth married Henry Tudor in
1486 and became Queen of England, thus uniting the Houses of York and
Lancaster. As. Queen, she was completely dominated by Henry VII and his
mother Margaret Beaufort.
She bore Henry eight children: (1) Arthur, Prince of Wales, b. 1486; (2)
Margaret (later Queen of Scotland) b. 1489; (3) Henry (later Henry VII) b.
1491; (4) Elizabeth b.1492; (5) Mary (later Queen of France and Duchess of
Suffolk) b. 1496; (6) Edmund (died young) 1499; (7) Edward (died young);
and (8) Katherine (died young) b. 1503. Elizabeth died in childbirth in on
her birthday in 1503, at the age of 37 years. She is buried beside her
husband in the Henry VII Chapel in Westminster Abbey.
Mary of York, 1467-1482
Mary was the second daughter, born 11 August, 1467 at Windsor Castle. She
was promised in marriage to the King of Denmark, but died in 1482 before
the marriage could take place. She is buried in St. George’s Chapel,
Windsor.
Cicely of York, 1469–1507, Viscountess Welles
Cicely was born on 20 March 1469 at Westminster Palace. She was
originally promised in a marriage treaty to the heir of James III of
Scotland but instead married John, Lord Welles, by whom she had two
daughters Elizabeth and Anne, both of whom died without issue. By her
second marriage, to Thomas Kyme of Isle of Wight, she had Richard and
Margaret. She died at Quarr Abbey, Isle of Wight on 24 August 1507.
Edward V, 1470–?
The eldest son of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville, Edward was born in
sanctuary at Westminster on 4 November 1470. He was created Prince of
Wales, Duke of Cornwall, Earl of Chester, March and Pembroke. As Prince of
wales, Edward was educated at Ludlow Castle by his uncle Anthony, Earl
Rivers.
Following his father’s death, he was brought to London to be crowned.
Parliament, however, declared him to be illegitimate and Richard of
Gloucester became king. Edward and his brother Richard lived in the Tower
of London during the summer of 1483. Their fate is unknown.
Edward’s arms as king were: Quarterly, France modern and England, and his
crest on his Great Seal; on a chapeau gules turned up ermine encircled by a
royal coronet, a lion statant guardant crowned or.
Margaret of York, b. and d. 1472
This child of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville (not to be confused with
her aunt of the same name) was born 10 April 1472 at Windsor Castle and
died on 11 December of the same year. She is buried in Westminster Abbey.
Richard, Duke of York, 1473–?
Born at Shrewsbury, the second son of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville,
Richard was created Duke of York in 1474. In 1478, at the age of four
years, Richard was married to six-year-old Anne Mowbray, who had inherited
the estates of her father John Lord Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk in 1475. They
married at St Stephen’s Chapel, Westminster, but Anne Mowbray died while
still a child. When his brother, Edward V, was deposed, young Richard, who
had been in sanctuary with his mother, was taken by the Archbishop of
Canterbury to live with his brother in the Royal Apartments in the Tower of
London. Their fate remains a mystery, but many contemporary heads of state
including (in secret correspondance, but not publicly) the Spanish King and
Queen, believed the claimant Perkin Warbeck, executed by Henry VII, to be
Richard.
His arms were: Quarterly, France modern and England, a label of three
points, argent on the first point a canton gules; his crest was On a
chapeau gules turned up ermine, a lion statant guardant crowned or, gorged
with a label as in the arms, and his badge a falcon volant argent, membered
or, within a fetterlock unlocked gold.
George of York, Duke of Bedford, 1477-1479
The seventh child and third youngest son of Edward IV and Eizabeth
Woodville, he was created Duke of Bedford, but died very young. He is
buried at Windsor.
Anne of York, 1475-1510
Anne was married to Thomas Howard, third Duke of Norfolk. She died in
1510 without surviving issue.
Catherine of York, 1479–1527
The sixth daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville, Catherine
married William Courtenay, Earl of Devon, and had one child, Henry, who
succeeded his father as Earl. Despite being made Marquis of Exeter, Henry’s
Yorkist blood doomed him, and he was beheaded in 1538 for being implicated
in a plot with Cardinal Pole. Henry’s only son, Edward Courtenay, died
without issue, and the descendants of this family are from the younger
brother of an earlier generation.
The arms of Catherine were her husband’s arms impaling her own:
Quarterly, first and fourth, or, three torteaux; second and third, or a
lion rampant azure; impaling quarterly, first, quarterly, France modern and
England, second and third, de Burgh, and fourth Mortimer.
The arms of Henry Courtenay were: Quarterly, first, France and England
quarterly, within a bordure quarterly of England and France, second and
third, or, three torteaux; fourth, or a lion rampant azure,; and his crest,
