Spotlight: Elizabeth of York


Name: Elizabeth of York / Elizabeth Plantagenet

Title/s: Queen of England, Ireland and France, Princess of England.

Birth / Death: 11 February 1466 – 11 February 1503.

Spouse: Henry VII 1457 – 1509.

Children: Arthur Prince of Wales 1486 – 1502, Margaret Queen of Scotland 1489 – 1541, Henry VIII of England 1491 – 1547, Elizabeth Tudor 1492 – 1495, Mary Duchess of Suffolk 1496 – 1533, Edmund Duke of Somerset 1499 – 1500, Katherine Tudor 1503.

Parents: Edward IV 1442 – 1483 and Elizabeth Woodville 1437 – 1492.

Siblings: Mary of York 1467 – 1482, Cecily of York Viscountess Welles 1469 – 1507, Edward V King of England 1470 – 1483?, Margaret of York 1472, Richard Duke of York 1473 – 1483?, Anne of York Lady Howard 1475 – 1511, George Duke of Bedford 1477 – 1479, Catherine of York Countess of Devon 1479 – 1527, Bridget of York 1480 – 1517 (full siblings), Thomas Grey Earl of Huntington 1453 – 1501, Richard Grey 1457 – 1483 (half-siblings)

Noble Connections: Some said that Elizabeth of York was the rightful heir to the throne, with the death of her brother Edward V. Her marriage to Henry VII secured the dynasty and ended the Wars of the Roses.

Events of their Lifetime: Marriage of Arthur Tudor to Katherine of Aragon 1501, end of the Wars of the Roses 1485, deaths of the Princes in the Tower 1483?, overthrow of the Earl of Warwick 1471, accession of Richard III 1483, Battle of Bosworth Field 1485.

Works of Fiction:
Brookman Stanier, Plantagenet Princess (1981)
Gregory, Philippa, The White Princess (2013)
Gregory, Philippa, The Constant Princess (2005)
Peters, Maureen, Elizabeth the Beloved (1965)
Plaidy, Jean, Uneasy Lies the Head (1982)

Portrayals on Screen:
Freya Mavor, The White Queen, 2013, 3 episodes
Norma West, The Shadow of the Tower, 1972, 8 episodes

Further Reading:
Carter, Alicia, The Women of the Wars of the Roses: Elizabeth Woodville, Margaret Beaufort and Elizabeth of York (2013)
Harvey, Nancy Lenz, Elizabeth of York (1973)
Higginbotham, Susan, The Woodvilles: the Wars of the Roses and England’s Most Infamous Family (2013)
Hilton, Lisa, Queens Consort: England’s Medieval Queens (2008)
Laynesmith, J.L., The Last Medieval Queens: English Queenship 1445-1503 (2004)
Lenz-Harvey, N., Elizabeth of York, Tudor Queen (1973)
Licence, Amy, Elizabeth of York: the Forgotten Tudor Queen (2013)
Loades, David, The Tudor Queens of England (2009)
Okerlund, Arlene Naylor, Elizabeth of York (2009)

Arms:

The arms of Elizabeth of York as Queen Consort.
The arms of Elizabeth of York as Queen Consort.

Portraits:

18th century copy of Elizabeth of York as queen; she holds the white rose of the House of York.
18th century copy of Elizabeth of York as queen; she holds the white rose of the House of York.
Elizabeth of York c.1500.
Elizabeth of York c.1500.

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