Day 3 of The Tudor Takeover! All Things Tudor x The Historians Magazine
On Christmas day 1483, Henry pledged to marry Elizabeth of York, the eldest daughter of Edward IV. Elizabeth was the presumed heir of Edward after the suspected deaths of her brothers King Edward V and Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York – commonly referred to as the Princes in the tower. After Henry claimed the throne in August 1485, he married Elizabeth in 1486 in Westminster Abbey. Henry’s hope was this joined together the Yorkists and the Lancastrians and draw an end to the chaotic war of the roses. It was largely a success but Henry was paranoid, anyone with a blood relation to the Plantagenets were a concern. Elizabeth was officially crowned Queen in 1487. Henry and Elizabeth had 7 children together, although not all survived to adulthood. Their eldest son Arthur, who was set to inherit the throne, died at age 15 in 1501, making their son Henry (later to be Henry VIII) heir to the throne. Their daughters Margaret and Mary became Queens of Scotland and France respectively.
Elizabeth and Henry, although bought together for political reasons, were said to have genuinely fallen in love and been faithful to each other throughout their marriage. In fact when Arthur died, both were distraught. Elizabeth decided to have more children. In 1503 she gave birth, the baby Catherine, died within a few days and Elizabeth, suffering from a post-partum infection, died on the 11th February (her 37th birthday) This devastated her family, especially Henry, who’s heart broke, he wouldn’t allow anyone, other than his mother, to see him for a while after her death.
Henry VII entertained thoughts of remarriage to help alliances in Spain, but he died a widower in 1509.
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