( Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville - © Art UK )
The Wars of the Roses were one of the bloodiest civil wars ever fought on English soil. The House of Lancaster – that red rose – and the members of the House of York – that white rose – wielded their weapons against each other for many decades to come. While the Lancastrians sided with King Henry VI of England, the Yorkists fought for Richard the Duke of York’s claim to the English throne. In 1461, however, the Yorkists won and, because the Duke of York had been executed a year before, his son Edward was crowned King of England. He was described as a youthful man who was not only pretty handsome but also skilled on the battlefield. If compared to the older Henry VI who never seemed much interested in warfare, Edward seemed all the more dashing and promising. The matter of finding a suitable bride for a King is a serious one, and the Earl of Warwick – the King’s cousin – made it his duty to look for possible candidates. Little did he know that the future Queen of England was living in Northamptonshire, and not in a foreign country.
The woman in question was Elizabeth Grey, née Woodville, who was the daughter of Jacquetta of Luxembourg, Dowager Duchess of Bedford and Sir Richard Woodville. She was recently widowed, for her husband Sir John Grey was killed at the Second Battle of St Albans while fighting for the Lancastrians. John Grey’s parents had previously transferred manors to a group of trustees in order to financially secure John Grey, his wife Elizabeth and their children. John’s mother, newly wedded, wanted to obtain the payments for herself which caused great troubles to Elizabeth, because she feared that her mother-in-law would also deny her oldest grandchild, Thomas Grey, his inheritance to his grandmother’s lands (Sir John’s death made his oldest son the next heir.)
Elizabeth, with both a motherly concern and sense of wanting to secure financial support, turned to Edward IV’s chamberlain William, Lord Hastings. He showed himself willing to help the young widow, and they both came to somewhat of an agreement or settlement. Their ‘agreement’ was certainly and obviously made, so that Hastings would profit from Elizabeth. We can only guess that Elizabeth’s alarming gut feeling towards Hastings’ conditions made her look for another way to secure her son’s inheritance. And this is where the medieval love story between a King and a widow began.
We don’t know for certain when Edward IV and Elizabeth met for the very first time, or when their romantic feelings developed, but it all must have happened before May 1464. Elizabeth’s settlement with Hastings was signed on 13 April 1464 which means that the King and Elizabeth must’ve met in the timespan of eighteen days before their wedding. There is, however, a tale about their first encounter, and whether it be true or not, it surely paints a picture of a chivalric King falling in love with a lovely young woman in need. According to the story, Elizabeth waited for Edward under an oak tree (later known as ‘Queen’s Oak’) in mid-April 1464. He had been hunting in Whittlewood Forest and Elizabeth, anxiously looking for the King with her two sons, started to plead for her son’s inheritance as soon as Edward IV stopped before her.
It’s unknown what had exactly happened or what had been said, but the story goes that the ‘lusty prince’ could not resist the ‘womanhood, wisdom and beauty, as was Dame Elizabeth.’ Edward IV had been known to be quite a womanizer, and it is therefore not unlikely that he actually desired Elizabeth to become his mistress. There is no evidence that the moment the laid his eyes on Elizabeth, he instantly wished to marry her. Edward was but a fool; he knew that he was of royal blood and was destined to marry someone royal. Elizabeth, in return, wasn’t a fool either and she must have made it clear that she was not to be a mistress. If there’s anything you wouldn’t expect from a woman so harshly slandered and vilified throughout history, it’s probably her piety. In Elizabeth’s case there’s enough evidence for her being very pious and religious, and it’s possible that her sense for religion played a part in refusing to become Edward’s mistress.
Edward IV returned to Grafton early in the morning on 1 May 1464. He had rested at Stony Stratford the day before and now made his way to a chapel to marry Elizabeth. Their wedding was a secret one with just a few witnesses: Edward and Elizabeth, Elizabeth’s mother, two gentlewomen, a priest and a young man to help with the singing. After the ceremony, the newlyweds withdrew ‘to bed, and so tired there upon three or four hours.’ Edward then returned to Stony Stratford explaining he had been out hunting. He went on to stay at Grafton for four days as if he was just staying there to rest and to eat, when in reality he and Elizabeth met at night ‘in so secret manner, that almost no one but her mother [Jacquetta] was of counsel.’ Edward’s marriage remained a secret until the Council’s meeting in September.
Why the secrecy?
Firstly, it’s important to note that despite the romance, Edward still knew that Elizabeth was not a suitable wife for him in the eyes of contemporaries. As a King he was to marry someone of noble birth to form alliances, and Elizabeth was considered a commoner. Considering that the Earl of Warwick was busying himself with negotiating an alliance with France, Edward must’ve felt anxious to break the news to him, the glorious ‘Kingmaker.’ On the other hand, Lancastrian threats still lingered in England and Edward was even on the way of crushing one when he had married Elizabeth, so naturally he would need to secure his claim even more by marrying someone who would bring financial support, forces, and political advantages.
Secondly, the secrecy could have been a wicked plan to only get Elizabeth to sleep with Edward. Historian Amy Licence writes: ‘It is not too cynical to suggest that Edward intended to repudiate Elizabeth after he had bedded her, or simply exclude her or deny it had taken place.’ After all, this is what exactly might have happened to another English lady, Eleanor Talbot. It’s believed that Edward’s union with Eleanor had been a precontract, which would invalidate Elizabeth’s marriage to Edward. Therefore, it wouldn’t be a far reach to assume that Edward had promised to marry Eleanor just to sleep with her, as she, too, could have refused to become a mistress.
Whatever the truth may be, Elizabeth was acknowledged as Edward’s lawful wife in September 1464 when Warwick informed of his negotiations with France. Edward would have to marry Princess Bona of Savoy. It was then that Edward broke news of his marriage to Elizabeth. The King had allowed himself to marry for love, or so it certainly seems.
Many years later, his grandson Henry VIII would take after Edward and marry six times for love (or affection).
References:
Baldwin, David. Elizabeth Woodville: Mother of the Princes in the Tower, Stroud 2012.
Licence, Amy. Edward IV & Elizabeth Woodville: A True Romance, Stroud 2016.
The Chronicles of the White Rose of York, London ed. 1845.
Fabyan, Robert. The New Chronicles of England and France, edited by Henry Ellis, London 1811.
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