chambers_search-1

Search Chambers

Consult Chambers 21st Century Dictionary, The Chambers Thesaurus (1996) or Chambers Biographical Dictionary (1997 edition with amendments). Enter your search and choose your title from the drop-down menu.

Woodville, Elizabeth c.1437-1492
Queen of England

The eldest daughter of Sir Richard Woodville, 1st Earl Rivers, she married Sir John Grey, who was killed at St Albans (1461). In 1464 she was married privately to Edward IV, and was crowned in 1465. When Edward fled to Flanders (1470), she sought sanctuary in Westminster. The rise to wealth and power of her numerous family contributed to the animosity within the Yorkist dynasty. In 1483 her sons, Edward V and Richard, Duke of York, were murdered (the Princes in the Tower). After the accession of Henry VII (1485) her rights as dowager queen were restored, but soon she had to retire to the Abbey of Bermondsey, where she died. Her eldest daughter, Elizabeth of York (1465-1503), married Henry in 1486.