Henry VII Marries Elizabeth of York: An Attempt to Strengthen His Claim

Elizabeth of York is one of the only members of the royal family to hold so many different titles. She was the eldest child of Edward IV, sister of King Edward V and niece of the Tudor villain, Richard III. Upon her marriage to Henry VII she became the wife of a King of England. Had she lived for a few more years, she would have also been the mother of a King: Henry VIII of England.

Being the daughter of Edward IV was her main quality. It was that title that led to Margaret Beaufort offering her son has a husband. Elizabeth Woodville was in sanctuary with her daughters at the time and Henry Tudor was exiled in France. They both needed each other, and Margaret possibly knew that Henry needed Elizabeth. Elizabeth Woodville would have known that she needed Henry if she was to put one of her children on the English throne in some way.

Before the negotiations and conspiracies against Richard III, Elizabeth Wooville’s marriage to Edward IV had been declared void. All her children were now illegitimate and unable to take the throne. Henry Tudor was in a similar position due to his great-great-grandfather, John of Gaunt. The only way Henry could take the throne was by force, but that would never have been enough in a warring England.

Before he could even think of marrying the former princess, Henry needed to pass a bill that would undo Richard’s attempts to seize the throne for good. He needed to make his bride to be legitimate. By this point, everyone believed the Princes in the Tower, Edward V and Richard, Duke of Shrewsbury, were dead, so it would not cause a problem for Henry VII’s claim.

Elizabeth of York was now the rightful heir of the throne as the eldest child of Edward IV. It was perfect for Henry Tudor. He could marry her, knowing the majority of the English people would support them. Those who favored Edward’s lineage would support Elizabeth and those who supported him winning the Battle of Bosworth would support him.

It took some time, along with having to get a papal dispensation, which is why the marriage took five months after the Battle of Bosworth in August 1485.

The Wars of the Roses had caused many problems for England, including financial pressures. The whole of England wanted them to end, and Henry VII’s marriage to Elizabeth of York made that possible. Henry Tudor was from the House of Lancaster and Elizabeth, of course, was from the House of York. With no-one able to compete with the two, there was no reason for a war to start back up. Of course, there were others with claims to the throne, but nobody strong enough at the time of their marriage.

The joining of the two houses didn’t stop all claims to the throne. There were pretenders, including the infamous Perkin Warbeck who was supposed to be Elizabeth’s youngest brother, Richard. Richard apparently escaped and an imposter was placed into the Tower of London instead. However, Henry VII and Elizabeth of York managed to keep the throne.

Henry VII needed much more than marrying the niece of the man he took the throne from. He needed an heir and it was up to Elizabeth of York to provide this. Luckily, she did very quickly, giving birth of Arthur Tudor on September 20, 1486. He was followed by six other children, but only three of them survived infancy: Margaret, Henry and Mary Tudor.