Elizabeth of York, the White Princess

Elizabeth (1466-1503) was the daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville. She is the main character in Philippa Gregory's The White Princess and was portrayed  in the series by Freya Mavor. I wasn't a big fan of her on the tv show, but I loved the book and I hope that one day they'll make a movie out of it or use it as a sequel to the show. 

After the death of her father and disappearance of her brothers, it was rumored that Elizabeth was in love with her uncle, Richard III, and that they planed to marry once Richard's wife, Anne Neville, was dead. We'll never know if this was true, because it never got to be played out. Elizabeth Woodville secretly arranged a betrothal between her daughter and the son of Margaret Beaufort, Henry Tudor. In 1485 Henry landed in England with his army and took the crown by defeating Richard at the Battle of Bosworth Field and was henceforth known as king Henry VII.

Henry and Elizabeth were married the following year. Four of their children survived infancy; Arthur, prince of Wales; Margaret, queen of Scotland; Henry VIII, king of England; and Mary, queen of France. After the death of their eldest son in 1502, the king and queen were devastated, but Elizabeth told her husband they were still young and capable of having more children. Later that year, she did get pregnant again and gave birth to a girl, Katherine, on 2 February 1503. There were however some complications. The baby died eight days later and Elizabeth the day after. The day of her death was also her 37th birthday.

More The White Queen
Elizabeth Woodville, the White Queen 


Margaret Beaufort, the Red Queen 


Anne Neville, the Kingmaker's Daughter 


Jacquetta of Luxembourg, the Lady of the Rivers