Death of Anne of York, the seventh child and fifth daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville.  She shares her death date with her aunt Margaret, duchess of Burgundy, and – if Perkin Warbeck was indeed Richard of York – her brother.

Anne was born on 2 November 1475.  At not quite four years of age, she was betrothed to Philip (“the Handsome”),  the son of Mary of Burgundy (her aunt’s step-daughter) and Maximilian of Austria.  However, the plan was abandoned in 1482.  Richard III undertook to find a suitable marriage for her (and her sisters) and after Richard’s death she took part in ceremonies at Henry VII court, whose queen was her sister Elizabeth.

On 4 February 1495 she married Thomas Howard, who would eventually become the third duke of Norfolk.  He was the grandson of John Howard, an important supporter of Richard III.  John fell at the battle of Bosworth, fighting for Richard.  His son, Thomas (the father of Anne’s Thomas), had also fought for Richard, had been attainted, but managed to be restored to his title.  His son’s marriage to a sister-in-law of Henry Tudor was obviously a great achievement in his family’s rehabilitation.  Anne and Thomas had no children.

Reference: ODNB on ‘Howard, Thomas, third duke of Norfolk (1473–1554)’

The above picture shows the daughters of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville in a window in Canterbury Cathedral.  Anne is the third from left. (picture obtained through Wikimedia Commons)

Dorothea Preis

Tags: Edward IV, Elizabeth Woodville, John Howard

Death of Katherine of York at Tiverton Castle, Devon.   Katherine was the 9th child and 6th daughter of King Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville, born in 1479, probably at Eltham Palace. She was married in 1495 to Sir William Courtenay.

Though a staunch supporter of Henry VII, William was suspected of being involved in the conspiracy of the Yorkist claimant Edmund de la Pole.   He was attainted and spent the rest of Henry VII’s reign in prison.  He was released after the accession of Henry VIII in 1509 and was created earl of Devon on 10 May 1511.  However, he had not long to enjoy his new status and died a month later on 9 June 1511.

The couple had three children, including Henry Courtenay who was executed by orders of Henry VIII in 1539

After her husband’s death, Katherine took a vow of chastity and enjoyed a life of luxury and hunting, but also religious devotion.  On surviving documents she called herself ‘the excellent Princess Katherine, Countess of Devon, daughter, sister and aunt of kings’.

She was buried at St Peter’s Church, Tiverton.

Source:  ODNB on ‘Katherine, countess of Devon (1479–1527)’ by Margaret R. Westcott.

(Picture of Katherine of York obtained through Wikimedia Commons)

Dorothea Preis

Tags: Edward IV, Elizabeth Woodville, Henry Tudor, Henry VIII

Birth of Bridget of York, tenth child and seventh daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville, at Eltham Palace, London.   She became a nun at Dartford Priory.  Died in 1517.

Tags: Edward IV, Elizabeth Woodville, Family

Birth of Catherine of York, ninth child and sixth daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville, at Eltham Palace, Greenwich.  Married to William Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon.  After his death on 9 May 1511 she took a voluntary vow of chastitity.  Died on 15 November 1527 at Tiverton Castle, Devon.

Tags: Edward IV, Elizabeth Woodville, Family

Birth of Richard of Shrewsbury, second son and sixth child of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville, at Shrewsbury.

Tags: Edward IV, Elizabeth Woodville, Family

Henry VII (portrait at National Portrait Gallery, London)

Marriage of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York

On 18 January 1486, Henry VII  (Tudor) married Elizabeth of York, eldest daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville.  It seems Henry needed to be urged by Parliament to make good his promise to marry Elizabeth, before actually doing so.  Plans for Elizabeth’s coronation were only made in September 1487 and she was finally crowned on 25 November 1487, more than a year after giving birth to their first son, Arthur.

Elizabeth died on 11 February 1503 at Richmond Palace.  Henry died six years later, on 21 April 1509, also at Richmond Palace.  They are buried next to each other in Westminster Abbey.

Reference:  Rosemary Horrox, ‘Elizabeth (1466–1503)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004.  (online accessed: 27 January 2011)

Tags: Edward IV, Elizabeth of York, Elizabeth Woodville, Henry Tudor

Birth of Anne of York, seventh child and fifth daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville, at Westminster Palace.  Married to Thomas Howard, 2nd Earl of Surrey, the son of Richard’s close associate John Howard.  Died 11 November 1511, buried first at Thetford Priory, Norfolk, but relocated after the Reformation to the Church of St Michael the Archangel, Framlingham.

Tags: Edward IV, Elizabeth Woodville, Family

Birth of Edward, eldest son and fourth child of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville, in sanctuary at Westminster Abbey.

Tags: Edward IV, Elizabeth Woodville, Family

On Thursday evening, 21 August 2014, Abbey’s Books in Sydney’s CBD hosted a launch for our member Isolde Martyn’s newest book, The Golden Widows. The publishers, Harlequin Mira, provided a lovely selection of wine and hors d’oeuvres for the after-work crowd, which included a good turnout of fellow Ricardians and Plantagenet Society members, many of whom queued to buy the book and have it signed by the author.

The official program began when the book’s editor spoke to those assembled and then introduced Isolde who gave a gracious talk thanking everyone involved with the publishing of this book. She explained that the story is that of Lancastrian widow, Elizabeth Woodville, who later married King Edward IV, and the Yorkist sister of Warwick the Kingmaker, Kate Neville, also newly widowed. Life in the 15th century was hard for all widowed women, even the young and beautiful – wherever their loyalties lay in the War of the Roses.

With her love and extensive knowledge of the late medieval era and armed with finely honed historical research skills, Isolde has produced a new book that promises to be as satisfying to her fans as have her previous works.

You can find out more about previous Isolde’s books by visiting her website.

The Golden Widows is available in Australia and New Zealand in print format or as an e-book through Amazon etc.

Tags: Books, Elizabeth Woodville, NSW Branch