Mommy Dearest
All of you English history buffs have heard about the “Two Princes in the Tower” but many people don’t know about their mother, the beautiful Elizabeth Woodville. Like Katherine of Valois, Elizabeth Woodville is a footnote in the history books, but she had a significant impact on English history. And for all of you pop-culture fans, she was also King Henry VIII’s grandmother.
Elizabeth was born in 1437 in Northamptonshire and grew up to be called “the most beautiful woman in the Island of Britain”. For the sake of brevity, I am going to fast forward to when she was married to Edward IV, the King of England, in 1464. Edward IV was known to be a womanizer but that didn’t faze Elizabeth; She loved him. Elizabeth also loved being the Queen of England. The War of the Roses was tearing up England, but life was good for Elizabeth. She had 10 surviving children with Edward, including 3 sons. Since she produced an heir to the throne, she became secure at court, or so she thought. Edward IV died in 1484 and their 12-year-old son, Edward V became King. His father’s brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester, was entrusted with the role of Protector to Edward V and his younger brother Richard, Duke of York. But for some strange reason, Richard ( the Uncle) intercepted Edward and his brother Richard on their return journey from Wales and escorted them to the Tower of London for “their safety”. Then Richard ( the Uncle) breaks the news to Elizabeth that King Edward IV married another woman before her named Lady Eleanor Butler. Since Lady Butler was alive when the King married Elizabeth, her marriage become null and her children became illegitimate. Elizabeth was devastated. She was heartbroken over Ms. Butler and even more devastated that her children became illegitimate. Less than three months later, Richard (the Uncle) took the throne himself. On top of that, she never saw her two sons again; Her sons became the famous “Princes in the Tower”. After the two boys went into the Tower of London, they were never seen in public again. What happened to them is one of the great mysteries of history but it is safe to say that Uncle Richard had something to do with their disappearance. This sounds like a new Angelina Jolie film, but this is all true.
Soon enough, Elizabeth Woodville got her revenge AND her seat in court when her daughter, Elizabeth of York, grew up to marry King Henry VII.
