Today is the birthday of Elizabeth of York at the Palace of Westminster, in 1466. It is also, eerily, the day she died in 1503. The daughter of Edward IV, she gave the Tudors the legitimacy they lacked when she married Henry Tudor after he beat Richard III at Bosworth Field, a marriage that her mother had planned with Lady Margaret Beaufort, Henry’s mother.
Although Elizabeth seems to have played little part in politics, her marriage appears to have been a successful and happy one Her eldest son Arthur, Prince of Wales, died at age 15 in 1502, and three other children died young. Her second, and only surviving, son became King Henry VIII of England, while her daughters Mary and Margaret became queens of France and of Scotland, respectively; many modern royals, including Elizabeth II, trace their line through Margaret.
There is a touching story that after the death of Arthur, she consoled Henry saying they were still young enough to have more children, and that they would get through it together. Then she went back to her own rooms and grieved openly, leading to Henry coming to her to console her. They did get pregnant again, and it was after she gave birth to a daughter that she died, and the child died as well.
That’s your Tudor Minute for today. Remember you can dive deeper into life in 16th-century England through the Renaissance English History Podcast at englandcast.com where there is an episode on Elizabeth of York.
Suggested links:
Was Elizabeth of York the inspiration for the Queen of Hearts?
Episode 73 – Tudor Times on Elizabeth of York
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Heather Teysko is the creator, writer, and producer of The Renaissance English History Podcast, one of the longest running indie history podcasts, going since 2009. She's been writing about history online for over 25 years, since her first site on Colonial American history became number one in history on Yahoo in 1998. She writes books, created the original Tudor Planner (a yearly diary filled with Tudor history) and in 2019 created the world's first Tudorcon (you can "attend" online this year!). She has been passionate about Tudor England since she first read Alison Weir's The Six Wives of Henry VIII 20 years ago, and subsequently moved to London after college to spend her time immersed in Tudor history.