Elizabeth of York

Elizabeth of York (11 February 1466 – 11 February 1503) was Queen of England through her marriage to King Henry VII, which took place on 18 January 1486. She was the daughter of Edward IV of England and of Elizabeth Woodville. Her marriage to Henry VII of England came after his victory at the Battle of Bosworth Field, ending the Wars of the Roses, a civil war between two royal families: the Lancasters and the Yorks.

Elizabeth's younger brothers, known as the Princes in the Tower, disappeared under mysterious circumstances after their uncle, Richard III, took the throne in 1483. During this time, a law, Titulus Regius, declared that Elizabeth's parents’ marriage was invalid, which made her and her siblings illegitimate. However, Elizabeth and her sisters returned to court after they had spent ten months hiding in Westminster Abbey. There were rumours that Richard III wanted to marry Elizabeth himself.

When Henry Tudor (later Henry VII) defeated Richard III, he knew that marrying Elizabeth would help him gain support from Yorkist followers. He had promised to marry her before his invasion of England, which may have weakened Richard’s support. After becoming king, Henry VII had Titulus Regius repealed and made her his queen.

• Licence, Amy (15 February 2013). Elizabeth of York: The Forgotten Tudor Queen. Amberley Publishing Limited. ISBN 978-1-4456-1810-4.
• Weir, Alison (7 November 2013). Elizabeth of York: The First Tudor Queen. Random House. ISBN 978-1-4481-9138-3.
• Okerlund, A. (28 September 2009). Elizabeth of York. Springer. ISBN 978-0-230-10065-7.