Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville’s marriage was the first time that an English king had married a commoner without a foreign wife first. Edward III’s son, John of Gaunt, had married Katherine Swynford but they already had children before their marriage, who were legitimised after the marriage. The descendents of this marriage became the Tudors, and it was these complicated marriage alliance which led to the Wars of the Roses, into which Elizabeth Woodville and Edward IV were key players because of their marriage, and their many offspring. Their eldest daughter, Elizabeth, married the future Henry VII, and their two eldest sons, Edward and Richard, became the ill-fated Princes in the Tower.

The Mystery of the Princes in the Tower

The mystery of the Princes in the Tower has dogged historians for centuries. When two small skeletons were found under a Tower staircase it was assumed these were their bones but no evidence has actually been found and no DNA testing was conducted. Continue reading “Significance of the Marriage Between Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville.” →