Tantalised by her refusal, he instead offered to make her his queen. Appalled by this suggestion, she pulled a dagger on him and threatened to slit her own throat should she be forced to do so. When he did indeed pass, he was reportedly so enamoured by her beauty that he insisted on making her his mistress right then and there. In desperation, she sought to petition him for the reinstatement of their lands, yet got far more than she bargained for. Legend tells that following her husband’s death, the future queen stood waiting beneath an oak tree with her two young boys, hoping that the king would pass by. The story of Elizabeth Woodville’s meeting with Edward IV is something of a mystery. Legend surrounds her first meeting with the king What caused the 30 year period of internecine violence in medieval England? Dan Snow narrates this animated short documentary on the events that led to - the First Battle of Saint Albans. Desperately seeking support for her young sons, she could never have imagined what would happen next. In 1461, the bloody Second Battle of St Albans claimed Grey’s life whilst fighting on the Lancastrian side, and Elizabeth was now a widow aged 24. In 1452, aged only 15, she married her first husband Sir John Grey of Groby, who too was a Lancastrian supporter. Through her parents’ strong links to the House of Lancaster, Elizabeth began much of her life on the side of the red rose during the Wars of the Roses. She was married before Edward IV – to a Lancastrian! Jacquetta had for a brief period been married to Henry VI’s uncle, therefore marriage to a knight was outrageous for one considered the king’s aunt! When Elizabeth was born, the Woodville name must still have been a sore topic of discussion in most of England’s eminent circles. When news of this broke, a court scandal ensued and Henry VI forced them to pay a hefty fine of £1,000. Her mother, the eminent noblewoman Jacquetta of Luxembourg, had secretly married lowly knight Richard Woodville after the pair fell in love when he was ordered to escort her to England. Unlike most of her predecessors as Queen of England however, her family name was not always ‘great’, and at the time of her birth was even beset by scandal. Her parents’ marriage caused a scandal at courtĮlizabeth Woodville was born in Grafton Regis, Northamptonshire around the year 1437. Here are 10 facts about the captivating ‘White Queen’. Largely consigned to history as a scheming temptress and social-climber, Elizabeth was realistically an incredibly intelligent and powerful figure in the Wars of the Roses, and joins a host of women side-lined in its history. Her marriage to the Yorkist king, Edward IV, in 1464 sent shockwaves through the English court, intensifying political strife that would last for decades between the houses of York and Lancaster. Elizabeth Woodville was Queen of England during one of the country’s most volatile periods, the Wars of the Roses.
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