Elizabeth of York

 I didn't realize how long it had been since I'd read one of Alison Weir's biographies. While I've read a few since starting this blog, that coincided with her move to historical fiction which I've devoured. As with her biographies of Mary Boleyn and Katherine Swynford, Weir has to work around the relative lack of sources directly related to Henry VII's Queen. Women didn't appear in most historical records and it was Elizabeth's daughters-in-law and granddaughters who were literate and in most cases highly educated so we don't have Elizabeth's letters or diaries.

Elizabeth was the oldest of the Duke of York's ten children, one of seven sisters who could expect to be married off to secure alliances. Instead, she spent several years in sanctuary while her father and uncles fought what was later named the Wars of the Roses, eventually seeing her uncle Richard usurp the throne and most likely order the murder of her two brothers. Growing up under those circumstances, it makes sense that Elizabeth would be politically savvy, and Weir presents evidence that marriages to both a pre-invasion Henry Tudor and to a post-usurpation Richard III were considered. The alleged alliance with her uncle could be why Elizabeth's marriage to Henry was delayed - he wanted to make sure that the woman he was marrying to legitimize his claim to the throne was not allied to his vanquished opponent.

Beyond the political intrigue in which she appeared to play a role by not committing until it was necessary, Elizabeth's life was ordinary for a woman of her status. She supported charities, was known to be devout, and delivered seven children, four of whom survived to adulthood and one of whom became Henry VIII, before dying in childbirth at age 39, most likely attempting to produce another "spare." As with many of Weir's biographies, I found Elizabeth of York an interesting view into the life of the Tudor court.