Tag: history meme

the-queen-of-lake-ilmen:

HISTORY MEME → [2/7] couples: Edward IV of England & Elizabeth Woodville

Edward had secretly married Elizabeth Woodville, the widow of John Grey of Groby, on 1 May 1464. Edward’s marriage to Elizabeth Woodville has been criticised as an impulsive action that did not add anything to the security of England or the York dynasty. The court of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville was described by a visitor from Europe as “the most splendid … in all Christendom”. Edward’s premature death in April 1483 ended a productive partnership before it had fully come to fruition, before their eldest son was of age. Having been the ‘glue’ that bound the disparate elements of his court together, Edward’s absence proved to be the catalyst that precipitated civil chaos. Losing control of power, and of her sons, Elizabeth witnessed the deaths of her friends and relatives before peace was restored under her son-in-law, Henry VII. She retired to Bermondsey Abbey, spending her final days in seclusion before being laid to rest in a humble grave, at her own request, alongside Edward in St George’s Chapel at Windsor. They lie there today, permanently united in death, their marriage standing as a symbol of the strong rule they embodied in life.