Elizabeth of York

Queen consort of Henry VII of England 1485-1503.

Elizabeth was born on February 11, 1466 at Westminster, the eldest child of King Edward IV of England. Following her father's death and the usurpation of the throne by Richard III of England, scurrilous rumours circulated that Richard intended to marry her as soon as his wife, the invalid Anne Neville, was dead. Elizabeth had a close friendship with Queen Anne, and a marriage between her and Richard would not have been allowed by the church. If there was any truth in the rumours, it is likely that Richard's motive was to strengthen his claim on the throne and simultaneously prevent Elizabeth from marrying his chief rival, Henry Tudor.

Almost as soon as Henry Tudor defeated Richard and became king, he married Elizabeth, with the blessing of her mother, Elizabeth Woodville on January 18, 1486, and it was a relatively successful marriage. They had eight children in total. The eldest son and heir to the throne, Arthur Tudor, died in 1502, and this seems to have been the motive for Elizabeth to become pregnant one last time, in order to strengthen the succession. Unfortunately, Elizabeth died, on February 11, 1503 (her 37th birthday), a few days after giving birth to a daughter, who also died.