The king's daughter

Elizabeth of York did not have the fairy tale upbringing of most princesses. She was born to Edward, King of England and her mother Queen Elizabeth, or known to most as Elizabeth Woodville. Much of her childhood was spent in sanctuary, where her mother, a power and greed driven woman, stayed until she knew she could come out, either by safe return of her husband, or assurances from King Richard that he was not responsible for the deaths of her sons.

When Elizabeth of York became queen of England, she did so after the death of her Uncle, Richard II, who she had loved dearly, and after the death of his wife Queen Anne, had hoped to marry. Instead she married the man who defeated her uncle, Henry Tudor, or Henry VII. As much as he did to disclaim it, Tudor only married her to solidify his claim to the throne. She was for all accounts an invisible queen, shadowed by his mother, Margaret Beaufort, who commandeered everything and felt she deserved much more. Elizabeth lived her entire reign under the watchful eye of this woman, and her spies who reported every move that she made. When she finally died, it is reported that she cried out Richards name in her dying breath.


Elizabeth of York is really an interesting person. She defied her mothers tactics of governing and instead did what she could to gain her husbands ear, yet everything was passed through his domineering mother, but she got her way once in a while, and was able to plead for those who could not plead for themselves. She was beloved by all the people in England, and much of her example for queen, I believe came from Anne Neville, married to Richard II. She did as much as she could to ease the suffering of her people, that she endeared herself to them forever. Elizabeth as a lady in waiting to Queen Anne picked up much from her, and chose to leave her mothers teachings by the wayside. She had been imprisoned to long to desire to return to it. Had Margaret Beaufort not been so overbearing, and stepped back as she should, I believe that Elizabeth would have been a great queen and left a better legacy to England than the slight shadow that she imprinted upon England.