Welcome to the fifth day of the ‘On the Trail of the Yorks‘-Blog Tour, hosted by yours truly! ‘On the Trail of the Yorks‘ is written by Kristie Dean and was published just two days ago by Amberley Publishing. In honour of its release, I am a part of the blog tour and I wanted to focus on the women that are featured in the book. (For Margaret of York, please go over to Beth von Staats at QueenAnneBoleyn.com!) The book focusses on the castles, palaces and other locations associated with the Yorks, encouraging the reader to go out and experience the history.
The women mentioned in ‘On the Trail of the Yorks’ (besides Margaret of York) are:
- Cecily Neville, Duchess of York
- Anne Neville, Queen of England
- Elizabeth Woodville, Queen of England
- Isabel Neville, Duchess of Clarence
- Elizabeth of York, Queen of England
- Anne of York, Duchess of Exeter
- Elizabeth of York, Duchess of Suffolk
Cecily Neville is perhaps where it all began for the women of York. She was a daughter of Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland, and Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmorland. She was the aunt of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, who was the father of both Isabel Neville, Duchess of Clarence and Anne Neville, Queen of England. Through Cecily’s fruitful marriage to Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, she was the mother of two Kings of England, Edward IV and Richard III, thus also becoming the mother-in-law of Elizabeth Woodville, Anne Neville and Isabel Neville. Besides her famous sons, she was also the mother of Margaret of York, Anne of York, Duchess of Exeter and Elizabeth of York, Duchess of Suffolk. The last remaining York woman is the other Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville, who eventually became Queen of England as the wife of the victor of the Battle of Bosworth Field, Henry Tudor.
Some of these women are rather unknown. Both Anne of York and her sister Elizabeth of York married English noble men and had little political influence. Anne died giving birth to her only surviving child, Anne St. Leger, who would provide the link to the 21st century when Richard III was found in a car park. Elizabeth had many children with her husband, John de la Pole, 2nd Duke of Suffolk, including several Yorkist pretenders. She lived to see her niece and namesake become Queen of England, dying around 1503.
Isabel Neville was once almost Queen of England, but her husband joined forces with her father and traitorously allied himself with the Lancastrian Queen Margaret of Anjou. Her father was eventually killed in battle and newly re-instated Edward IV restored her husband to royal favour. Isabel did not live to see his final betrayal. She died suddenly two months after the birth of her fourth child, though it is not know of what she died exactly. She was just 25 years old and her husband was executed for treason just over a year later. Her sister did manage to become Queen of England. Anne Neville was first Princess of Wales during her father’s Lancastarian adventure. He married her off to Margaret of Anjou’s son Edward of Westminster. He died in battle and Anne was initially held as a prisoner.
Her brother-in-law, the Duke of Clarence tried to hide her in order to receive the full inheritance the sisters had a right to. She was supposedly tracked down by Richard, then Duke of Gloucester and later Richard III and they married sometime in 1472. They had a single son, another Edward. Richard became King in 1483 when the children of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville were declared illegitimate. The young King Edward V and his brother mysteriously disappeared from the Tower of London, never to be seen again. Subsequently Anne became Queen. Her Queenship was marred with tragedy. Her only son died in April 1484, leaving no successor for her husband. Anne followed her son to the grave on 16 March 1485, supposedly on the day of an eclipse. Richard would die in the Battle of Bosworth Field in August of the same year.
The victor of the Battle of Bosworth Field married Edward IV’s and Elizabeth Woodville’s eldest daughter Elizabeth of York, thus uniting York and Lancaster. Elizabeth had grown up in a tumultuous era and as the eldest surviving child of Edward IV, she had a good claim to the throne as well. Her marriage to Henry Tudor produced seven children, most famously the future Henry VIII. Elizabeth did not exercise much political power as Queen consort and she preferred a quiet life, which is perhaps not too surprising considering her early youth. In the end the last rose of York died of an illness that killed so many women during that time, a post-partum infection. She was just 37 years old and the child had only lived for a few days.
‘On the Trail of the Yorks‘ by Kristie Dean is available now in the UK and will be available on 19 May in the US. You can expect a review of the book very soon here on HRW.
The post ‘On the Trail of the Yorks’- Blog Tour: The Women of York appeared first on History of Royal Women.