Women Characters in The White Queen (Wars of the Roses)

Women Characters in The White Queen (Wars of the Roses) In June, 2013, BBC One debuted a 10-part series, The White Queen, a depiction of the Wars of the Roses seen through the eyes of key women, and based on a series of historical novels by Philippa Gregory. The White Queen refers to Elizabeth Woodville, and The White Queen is the title of Gregorys first book in the series that is being adapted. Dont expect it to be exactly history but Gregory has respect for history, and that will likely show through in the series as well, even though there will be lots of poetic license taken. The other books in the series are The Red Queen  (about Margaret of Anjou), The Kingmakers Daughter  (about Anne Neville),The Lady of the Rivers (about Jacquetta of Luxembourg), The White Princess  (about Elizabeth of York)  and  The Kings Curse  (about Margaret Pole.) The sequel BBC One series,  The White Princess,  debuted in 2017. You can also see this as something of a prequel to the popular series, The Tudors. Elizabeth Woodville was the grandmother of King Henry VIII, featured in that series. Here are some of the women youll likely encounter in the series, and some of their interconnections youll see why Gregory called the series on the Wars of the Roses The Cousins War many close relatives found themselves on opposite sides. Many of the key characters traced their ancestry to the sons of Edward III of England, or to other kings of England. The White Queen and Her Family Elizabeth Woodville (1437 - 1492), widow of Sir John Grey who was on the Lancastrian side in the Wars of the Roses, and who was killed in the battle at St. Albans. The legend of her meeting with Edward IV under an oak tree by the side of a road is a very early one. That they secretly married and thwarted the marriage plans for Edward being made by Edwards uncle, the Earl of Warwick (known as the Kingmaker), is historical. One of her sons by John Grey was an ancestor of Lady Jane Grey.Jacquetta of Luxembourg, mother of Elizabeth Woodville, was a descendant of Englands King John. Her father was a French count. Jacquettas first husband was the brother of Henry V. She had no children by that first marriage, but at least ten by her second to Richard Woodville. She was accused during her lifetime of using witchcraft.Elizabeth of York (1466 - 1503), eldest daughter of Elizabeth Woodville and Edward IV, became the queen consort of Henry VII and mother of Henry VIII, Mary Tudor and Margaret T udor. Catherine or Katherine Woodville(~1458 - 1497), sister of Elizabeth Woodville, who married advantageously thanks to her connection to her sister the Queen. She became the Duchess of Buckingham and the Duchess of Bedford.Mary Woodville (~1456 - 1481), another sister of Elizabeth Woodville, was able to marry the heir to the Earl of Pembroke through her sisters connections. Her father-in-law was executed by Warwick, the Kingmaker.Cecily of York (1469 - 1507) was the second surviving daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville. (An older sister, Mary of York, died in 1482, before she could be married.) Edward tried to marry her to the Scottish royal heir, then to that heirs brother, but Edward died before that could be complete. Then Cecilys marriages were arranged and unarranged by the next two kings, Richard III (her uncle) and Henry VII (her brother-in-law). The Kingmaker and His Family Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, (1428 - 1471) was a powerful figure in the drama of the Wars of the Roses. He used his female family connections to advantage, including gaining the Warwick title itself through his wifes inheritance. He was called the Kingmaker, as his presence and that of the troops he could muster would make a difference in which king won. Lady Anne Beauchamp (1426 - 1492), Countess of Warwick, wife of the Kingmaker, mother of Anne Neville and Isabella Neville. She was an heiress, inheriting the Warwick titles because no male heirs remained, and bringing them to her husband. She was descended on the maternal side from King Edward III and the powerful Despenser family.Cecily Neville (1415 - 1495), was the aunt of the Kingmaker. She was the mother of Edward IV as well as of George, Duke of Clarence, and Richard, Duke of Gloucester, was married to Richard, Duke of York, who was the heir of Henry VI and his protector during his minority and during one or more bouts of insanity. Both Cecily and her husband were descendants of King Edward III of England and his wife, Philippa of Hainault. Cecilys mother was a daughter of John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford.Anne Neville (1456 - 1485), daughter of Richard, Duke of York, called the Kingmaker, who was a nephew of Cecily Neville. She first married Edward of York, son of Henry V I of England, but after his early death, married Richard, Duke of Gloucester, the future Richard III, brother of Edward IV (and son of Cecily Neville). Richard and Anne were first cousins once removed. Isabella Neville (1451 - 1476), sister of Anne Neville, and thus daughter of the Kingmaker and great niece of Cecily Neville. She was also known as Isabel. She married George, Duke of Clarence, a younger brother of Edward IV (and older brother of Richard III, Anne Nevilles second husband), and also a son of Cecily Neville. Isabella and George were first cousins once removed. From the House of Lancaster Margaret of Anjou (1429 - 1482), was the queen consort of the Lancastrian king, Henry VI of England, with whom Edward IV contended in the Wars of the Roses. Margaret of Anjou was herself an active Lancastrian leader. Elizabeth Woodville had been a maid of honor serving Margaret of Anjou when she married Sir John Grey.Margaret Beaufort (1443 - 1509) was the Red Queen to Elizabeth Woodvilles White Queen. She was married to Edmund Tudor when she was only 12, and gave birth to his child after he died in Yorkist captivity. That child later became Henry VII. Though she married twice more, she never had more children, and threw her support to her sons cause in the Wars of the Roses. More? These women arent likely to be in the series, except by reference, but are important to the context of the story. Catherine of Valois (1401 - 1437), sister-in-law of Jacquetta, was the queen consort of Henry V of England and mother of Lancaster king Henry VI. She was also the grandmother of Henry VII, the first Tudor king, via her second husband, Owen Tudor. This is the same Henry VII who married Elizabeth Woodvilles daughter, Elizabeth of York. Catherines father was Charles VI of France. She is not likely to make an appearance in The White Queen: she died the year that Elizabeth Woodville was born.Margaret of Burgundy, a sister of Edward IV who was friendly with Edwards new wife Elizabeth Woodville. Margaret was married off to the Duke of Burgundy a few years after Edward became king, and after the Tudor triumph, her home became a haven for Yorkists in exile.Lady Jane Grey was descended from one of Elizabeth Woodvilles sons by her first husband, John Grey, and from one of Elizabeth Woodvilles daughters, Elizabeth of York, by her second husband Edward IV, through Elizabeth of Yorks and Henry VII s daughter Mary Tudor. Margaret Pole (1473 - 1541) was the daughter of Isabella Neville and George, Duke of Clarence. She was a peeress in her own right, and eventually earned the enmity of Tudor King Henry VIII. The Roman Catholic Church beatified her as a martyr in 1886.Elizabeth Tilney (1447 - 1497) was a lady-in-waiting to Elizabeth Woodville. Whether shell appear in the series I doubt, but it would be a subtle foreshadowing of the Tudor era: she was grandmother to both Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, second and fifth wives of Henry VIII. One way women often got entangled into the Wars of the Roses: illegitimacy controversies. Learn more about some of those: Birther Controversies and the Wars of the Roses Many of these same women were portrayed in Shakespeares Richard III as well.