Welcome to the Final Day of Royal Romance Week here at White Rose of Avalon my Darlings.   For today’s final post in this series, I am going to be focusing on Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville, who I find to be the most Romantic Royal Lovers of all time!

I am so delighted to share another post looking at this Royal Romantic Pair with everyone on Valentine’s Day.   Edward IV was the son of the Duke of York during the beginning of the Cousins War, or what we call the Wars of the Roses today.   It was not long before the Duke of York and Edward’s younger brother Edmund were killed during the conflict.   It was at that point that Edward fought harder than ever, and won the crown from Henry VI, becoming the first Yorkist King of England!

As for Elizabeth Woodville, she was born the daughter of Jacquetta of Luxembourg, dowager Duchess of Bedford, and her second husband, the Knight and later Lord Rivers, Sir Richard Woodville.   At this point, the Woodville family were staunch Lancastrians, only changing affiliation to become just as staunch Yorkists when they realized that Henry VI was not mentally stable or suitable for Kingship.   They supported Edward IV as he came into his power, and through the ups and downs of the Cousins War as the strife continued!   Elizabeth had been married first to John Grey of Groby, another Lancastrian to whom she bore two sons.   When John Grey was killed in battle fighting for the Lancastrian cause, Elizabeth was left a widow with two young sons desperately seeking to have her sons’ ancestral birthright lands returned to them.

This is the climate in which Elizabeth and Edward would meet.   Their meeting is one of the most iconic meetings of any Royal Lovers in history.   The legendary version of the meeting is that Edward happened upon Elizabeth when she was standing beneath a large Oak Tree with her two young sons as he rode by with his hunting party!   This famed story quickly became legendary tales that during this meeting Edward was so taken with Elizabeth’s beauty that he fell into lust, if not love, immediately.   This was not surprising to those who knew Elizabeth, as she was considered the greatest beauty of her age, even if she was a few years Edward’s senior and already a widowed mother.   In fact, there even existed a tree known as the Queen’s Oak that unfortunately died and was felled in 1997, which is said to be the location where Elizabeth waited to meet the King so that she could request her sons’ lands be returned to them.   The Queen’s Oak was located near Potterspury in Northamptonshire, UK.   

It was not long before Edward was pursuing Elizabeth as a lover, but she refused to be a mistress, so he married her in a secret ceremony attended only by her mother.   There are some legendary and fantastical stories of just how adamantly she refused to be only his mistress.   Including the one used by Philippa Gregory in The White Queen, and the subsequent television series based upon the novel.   In that version of events, Elizabeth held Edward’s dagger to her throat stating that she would rather die than lose her dignity being just another lover of a King!   While this is very dramatized, Elizabeth was likely firm in her resolve not to be a simple mistress, as she knew how easily mistresses could be set aside.   This same legendary account of their wedding states that the nuptials took place on May Day, May 1, 1464, also known as the Wheel of the Year holiday Beltane, very apropos for lovers with such sexual fire in their relationship!

To the shock of the entire Yorkist Court, Edward refused to take the advice of his cousin, the Earl of Warwick who is known as the Kingmaker for his involvement in helping Edward gain his throne, and put Elizabeth aside to marry the French Princess Bona of Savoy.   Edward IV was not interested in a loveless marriage made only for a political alliance, instead choosing to follow his heart and remain married to the woman he loved!   During the first year of their marriage, Elizabeth fell pregnant with their first child together.   That child would turn out to be their daughter, Elizabeth, future Queen of Henry VII and mother of the Tudor dynasty!   All of these events would lead many at Court to hate the Woodville family, thinking them all schemers and social climbers.   Elizabeth would be thought of by many to have enchanted the King via witchcraft, with Jacquetta even being tried and found not guilty of witchcraft by an inquest led by Warwick! 

In total, Elizabeth would give birth to ten children during their marriage, including the famed Princes in the Tower.   Their marriage would see many trying times, including a period where Edward was held prisoner after losing his throne when Warwick betrayed him plotting to put his brother George on the throne before siding with Henry VI’s Queen Margaret of Anjou.   Of course, Edward IV would win back his throne for good soon enough.   This is also the time that Elizabeth gave birth to their first son, the future Edward V, who would disappear in the Tower of London, alongside his younger brother, Richard.   Then there was the matter of the plotting of his brother George, Duke of Clarence that would end in the execution of Clarence.   The execution of George, Duke of Clarence is one of the most famous in all of British history, as Edward IV chose to allow his brother to choose his form of execution.   Clarence, ever the famed drunk, chose to be drowned to death in a cask of Malmsey wine!   In fact, his daughter would wear a bracelet with a cask of wine on it in remembrance of her father, which can be seen in a portrait done of her later in life!   

The final years of their time together were spent in relative harmony and splendor.   There was Elizabeth’s jealousy over one of Edward’s many lovers, but this was quickly smoothed over, as Edward like most Kings took lovers, but he never cared for his conquests.   This is in contrast to Kings who did not marry for love as Edward IV had, as Edward was always firm in where his heart lay.   Their marriage would come to an abrupt end when Edward IV tragically died of what is today thought by historians to be pneumonia in 1483.

After that, their son Edward V should have become King, but he and his brother were held in the Tower by their uncle Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who would usurp the throne being crowned Richard III.   It has long been believed that Richard III killed the Princes in the Tower.   Elizabeth Woodville would plot with Margaret Beaufort to ensure their children ascended the throne and the Tudor Dynasty was borne!   

I hope you have enjoyed reading about this set of truly Romantic Royal Lovers.   Thank you for reading my posts for Royal Romance Week!   What was your favorite topic this week?   Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!   

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY 2024!!!

Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is a painting of Edward and Elizabeth.   I found the image on https://www.reddit.com/r/monarchism/comments/ippfie/may_1_1464_secret_wedding_of_king_edward_iv_of/?rdt=53221.   

Tarot Note: I have a page offering tarot and oracle readings for those interested in these services!    I am very happy to be offering these readings to my treasured readers at White Rose of Avalon!  Link to page: https://whiteroseofavalon.life/tarot-and-oracle-readings/

Further Reading/Watching

• Elizabeth: England’s Slandered Queen by Arlene Okerlund
• Elizabeth Woodville: A Life by David MacGibbon
• Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville: A True Romance by Amy Licence 
• The White Queen by Philippa Gregory
• The White Queen (2013)