Tudor Times is the online repository for all things Tudor and Stewart (1485–1625)

On 11th February 1503, Elizabeth of York, Queen of England, died in the Tower of London. It was her 37th birthday. The daughter she had born nine days earlier also died. Elizabeth was a pivotal figure in the resolution of the Wars of the Roses. As the daughter of Edward IV, she commanded the loyalty of those Yorkists who had been unhappy with the deposition of her brothers and her marriage to Henry VII brought York and Lancaster together. Elizabeth inherited the good looks of her famously attractive parents but also the Yorkist tendency to plumpness. She bore seven children in total, but only three lived beyond 15. Her husband and children mourned her death sincerely. She is buried in Westminster Abbey in the fabulous tomb carved by the Italian sculptor, Torregiano.

On 10th February 1537 Sir Francis Bigod’s rebellion in Cumberland, related to the Pilgrimage of Grace, was crushed. Bigod, who was actually an evangelical, rather than a supporter of a return to Papal Supremacy, was a well-connected member of the northern gentry families. Once betrothed to Margaret Neville, step-daughter of Katherine Parr, he was involved in the compilation of Valor Ecclesiasticus, the survey of monastic wealth ordered by Henry VIII and Cromwell. However, it was his view that the monasteries should be reformed rather than suppressed.

On 9th February 1498 John, Viscount Welles, died. Welles was the half-brother of Lady Margaret Beaufort, and thus uncle to Henry VII. As part of Henry’s policy of integrating Lancastrian and Yorkist supporters (as well as ensuring that his York sisters-in-law were married to men loyal to himself), Welles was married to Cicely of York in 1487. The couple had two daughters, who both died as children. Cicely remarried in a match which was widely disapproved of – more on that here

Picture is © By Rs-nourse - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0