Famous Women in History: Elizabeth of York

In our ongoing series #WomenThatDid, ENTITY profiles inspirational and famous women in history whose impact on our world can still be felt today. If you have a suggestion for a historical powerhouse you would like to see featured, tweet us with the hashtag #WomenThatDid. 

Name: ELIZABETH OF YORK

Lifetime: February 11, 1466 – February 11, 1503

What she’s known for: Elizabeth of York was the daughter of King Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville, the niece of King Richard III, and the wife and queen consort of Henry VII, making her the first Tudor queen. She was the daughter, niece, wife, mother and grandmother of successive kings of England.

Why we love her: For the first 17 years of her life, Elizabeth lived in relative quiet and comfort as a princess of the blood. When her father died unexpectedly, her younger brother was announced as king. However, he and her other brother were taken to the Tower of London in the “care” of their uncle Richard. They would never be seen again, and Richard would crown himself King of England.

Under Richard’s orders, Parliament passed an act declaring Elizabeth and her siblings bastards, making it impossible for them to inherit the throne. Because of this, Elizabeth’s mother and Margaret Beaufort formed an alliance and agreed that their children would marry.

Before Henry Tudor’s invasion of England, Elizabeth and her sisters were invited back to court. It was rumored that Richard intended to marry Elizabeth because his wife had just died, leaving him no heirs. Before this could happen, Henry set foot on English soil and defeated and killed Richard in battle, declaring himself king.

Henry needed to marry Elizabeth to ensure his claim to the throne and the stability of the country. In fact, Elizabeth had a stronger claim to the throne of England than Henry did. They were married in January 1486, when Elizabeth was already pregnant, and she gave birth to their first son, Arthur, later that year. In total, she gave birth to eight children, four that would survive infancy: Arthur, Margaret, Henry and Mary.

While Elizabeth did not wield any political power or influence, her marriage to Henry was a happy one. After her son Arthur’s death, Elizabeth became pregnant once more, but after giving birth to a daughter, Katherine, both mother and child died. Her husband and children mourned her deeply, and Henry secluded himself from the outside world. His grief for Elizabeth lasted until his death, and, in part, he died from a broken heart. He was buried next to her in his chapel.

When Elizabeth and Henry first married, the white rose of York and the red rose of Lancaster were combined to form a new emblem for the House of Tudor. Today, the combined white and red roses are the floral emblem of England.

Fun fact: An 18th century popular nursery rhyme, “Sing a Song of Sixpence,” describes a queen in a parlor and a king counting the sixpence. It is believed that the queen and king mentioned are in fact Elizabeth and Henry.