ALL OF THE KNOWN ANCESTORS OF ELIZABETH OF YORK, LAST PLANTAGENET QUEEN OF ENGLAND, WIFE OF HENRY TUDOR, MOTHER OF QUEEN ELIZABETH I. REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED FOR EVERY ENTRY.
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Elizabeth of York was one of the more interesting figures in the medieval world of royal politics. In April 1483, Edward IV, the first Plantagenet King of England from the House of York, died suddenly.
He left two sons, Edward and Richard, and five daughters, of whom Elizabeth of York was the eldest. Edward IV’s will named his brother, Richard, as protector of the two boys. Richard, who had enjoyed considerable power and influence while Edward IV was alive, saw that position threatened on his death by the influence of Anthony Woodville, Earl Rivers, brother of Edward IV’s wife, Elizabeth, and governor of the royal heirs. To forestall an immediate coronation of the young Edward as Edward V, which would have eliminated Richard’s role as protector, Richard concocted a theory under which the boys were considered illegitimate and declared himself, RichardIII, King of England. The boys were taken to the Tower of London, never to emerge, purportedly murdered in about September 1483 on the orders of Richard III.