Elizabeth of York (1466–1503)
Elizabeth of York (1466–1503)
Queen of England. Name variations: Elizabeth Plantagenet. Born on February 11, 1466 (some sources cite 1465), in Westminster, London, England; died in childbirth on February 11, 1503 (some sources cite 1502), in the Tower of London, England; buried in Westminster Abbey; oldest daughter of Edward IV, king of England, and Elizabeth Woodville; married Henry VII, king of England (r. 1485–1509), on January 18, 1486; children: Arthur Tudor (1486–1502), prince of Wales; Margaret Tudor (1489–1541); Henry VIII (1491–1547), king of England (r. 1509–1547); Elizabeth Tudor (1492–1495); Mary Tudor (1496–1533, who married Louis XII, king of France); Edmund Tudor, duke of Somerset (1499–1500); Edward Tudor (died in infancy); Katherine Tudor (1503–1503).
Following the murder of her two younger brothers in the Tower of London, the gentle Elizabeth of York—daughter of Edward IV, king of England, and Elizabeth Woodville —became heir to the throne. In 1486, Elizabeth united the white rose of the Yorks with the red roses of the Lancastrians when she married Henry Tudor (Henry VII), the victorious Lancastrian in the Wars of the Roses. Though Henry married Elizabeth for political reasons, he was genuinely fond of her and grieved when she died in childbirth, the day of her 37th birthday, in 1503.