Elizabeth Woodville (also spelled Wydeville or Widvile; c. 1437 – 8 June 1492) was Queen consort of England as the spouse of King Edward IV from 1464 until his death in 1483. Elizabeth was a key figure in the series of dynastic civil wars known as the Wars of the Roses. Her first husband, Sir John Grey of Groby was killed at the Second Battle of St Albans. As the daughter of Sir Richard Woodville, she was the first commoner to marry an English sovereign. It was because of this that Edward's former staunch ally Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, known to history as "The Kingmaker" switched his allegiance to the House of Lancaster. Her children included the Princes in the Tower and Elizabeth of York; the latter made her the maternal grandmother of Henry VIII. Tradition holds that she served as a Maid of Honour to Margaret of Anjou, but the evidence of this is uncertain.
Read more about Elizabeth Woodville: Early Life and First Marriage, Queen Consort, Queen Mother, Life Under Richard III, Life Under Henry VII, In Literature, Schools Named After Elizabeth Woodville, Ancestry
Famous quotes containing the word elizabeth:
“A sumptuous dwelling the rich man hath.
And dainty is his repast;
But remember that luxury’s prodigal hand
Keeps the furnace of toil in blast.”
—Mary Elizabeth Hewitt (b.1818)