HENRY VII & ELIZABETH OF YORK: A FAITHFUL LOVE
On 18th January 1486 – two years after he had vowed to marry her, and nearly 5 months after his victory at the Battle of Bosworth Field – Henry VII finally married Elizabeth of York at Westminster Abbey.
Henry was 29 years old, and Elizabeth was 20, their marriage would unite the two conflicting families of the Wars of the Roses – the Yorkists and the Lancastrians.
Although he had married her it would still be over a year before Henry would have her crowned Queen.
Elizabeth of York was from the ‘other’ family, but she was beautiful, young, and descended from a very fertile family of women.
Her grandmother Jacquetta of Luxembourg had fourteen children, and her mother Elizabeth Woodville, had twelve children.
Henry recognized the importance of taking a Yorkist bride, in order to strengthen his claim to the throne, and to weaken any other Yorkist’s claim.
Elizabeth of York was one of the beauties of her age.
She had the classic English Rose looks – blonde hair, blue eyes, and fair skin – the quintessential English beauty of the time period.
Henry was reportedly tall, slim, dark haired, and handsome in the prime of his life.
At the time of their marriage, they were probably thought to be the perfect couple.
They were young, beautiful, and seemingly pure of heart…..
Elizabeth immediately proved to be a successful Tudor wife, because nine months later, the couple’s first child was born – Arthur Tudor, the Prince of Wales.
On 25th November 1487, Elizabeth was finally crowned queen at a Westminster Abbey.
Henry and Elizabeth seem to have had a very affectionate relationship.
They were never very far from each other, the exception being when Henry put down a rebellion while Elizabeth was pregnant.
Henry refers to Elizabeth fondly in letters and while very few letters of Elizabeth’s survive, in one of them she calls Henry her, “most serene lord, the king, our husband.”
During the course of their marriage, Elizabeth would give birth to eight children – four of whom would live.
Arthur, Margaret, Henry, and Mary would be those lucky four, and would all make impressive marriages.
Sadly, Arthur would not live long enough to take over the impressive dynasty that his parents had created.
Instead, it would be the younger son Henry, who would become the next Tudor monarch – the fabulously notorious Henry VIII.
