Elizabeth Woodville
Videos
Page
Elizabeth Woodville, later known as Dame Elizabeth Grey, was Queen of England from her marriage to King Edward IV on 1 May 1464 until Edward was deposed on 3 October 1470, and again from Edward's resumption of the throne on 11 April 1471 until his death on 9 April 1483. She was a key figure in the Wars of the Roses, a dynastic civil war between the Lancastrian and the Yorkist factions between 1455 and 1487.
Posthumous portrait, 16th century
Illuminated miniature depicting the marriage of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville, Anciennes Chroniques d'Angleterre by Jean de Wavrin, 15th century
Elizabeth at the time of her coronation surrounded by pink and white roses, symbolic of her union with Edward IV.
Elizabeth's daughters by Edward IV
Wars of the Roses
Videos
Page
The Wars of the Roses, known at the time and in following centuries as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the English throne from 1455 to 1487. The wars were fought between supporters of the House of Lancaster and House of York, two rival cadet branches of the royal House of Plantagenet. The conflict resulted in the end of Lancaster's male line in 1471, enabling the Tudor family to inherit their claim to the throne through the female line. Conflict was largely brought to an end upon the union of the two houses through marriage, creating the Tudor dynasty that would subsequently rule England.
Miniature of the Battle of Tewkesbury, late 15th century
Edward III was the father of five dukes: Edward (Cornwall), Lionel (Clarence), John (Lancaster), Edmund (York), and Thomas (Gloucester).
Richard II was a child-king who succeeded his grandfather Edward III shortly after the death of his father, Edward the Black Prince.
John of Gaunt, founder of the House of Lancaster