The Queen's Sisters: Elizabeth Woodville

Excerpt from Amazon.com:
"Whether Queen or commoner, the lives of women throughout history is a fascinating study.
Elizabeth Woodville, 'The White Queen', managed to make the transition from commoner to Queen and became the epitome of medieval heroines - the commoner who married a King.
When she became the wife of Edward IV her actions changed the life of her entire family. Vilified both by their contemporaries and by many historians since, the Woodville family were center stage during the reigns of Edward IV and Richard III.
Elizabeth Woodville became the ancestress of future Kings and Queens.
This book takes a fresh look at the lives of Elizabeth's sisters. Although information on them is scarce, by looking at the men they married, their families, the places they lived and the events that they lived through we can catch a glimpse of their lives. Each sister has their own story to tell and they may not have achieved the dizzying heights that their sister did, but they are all fascinating women."
My guest today is the author of The Queen’s Sisters - The Lives of the Sisters of Elizabeth Woodville, Sarah J Hodder.

SHOW NOTES WITH FAMILY TREE AND IMAGES: tudorsdynastypodcast.com/show...

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Written by: Rebecca Larson
Voiced by: Rebecca Larson & Sarah J Hodder
Produced by: Rebecca Larson
Imaging by: Troy Larson
Music Credits:Music from filmmusic.io
"Folk Round" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
License: CC BY (creativecommons.org/licenses/b...)

[@timefoolery]

I have to argue that Lady Elizabeth (Woodville) was a member of the nobility through her mother and through her first husband. It’s not that far-fetched she could meet the king and capture his heart. She’s my 14th Great Grandmother and I couldn’t be more pleased!! She’s one of my favourite Royals and it’s lovely to hear about my Great Grand Aunts 😁

[@TudorsDynasty]

the fact that her contemporaries called her a commoner, and they knew who her mother was is enough for me. Not to mention all the antiquarians and historians since. You are a commoner until you enter the peerage, whether through marriage or by birth. And it was a man's world. You have to admit that it was quite unusual for the time for Edward IV to choose her over a princess of France (or any other country for that matter). I love Elizabeth, but I believe she was a commoner.

[@pampreece3851]

@@TudorsDynasty where can I see an ancestry chart for Ann Woodville? I am supposedly descended from her and I want to see if I can confirm that.

[@autumntrusty2799]

She’s also my 14th great grandmother. We came from the first husband

[@byenye6386]

@@autumntrusty2799 same here but also two of her sister are 17 great grand mothers that funny

[@debbiezajicek]

I love hearing about Elizabeth Woodville. My absolute favorite story.❤️💯👏

[@roro-mm7cc]

She wasn’t exactly a commoner - she was the granddaughter of the duke of Luxembourg - the Luxembourgs were one of the most powerful families in Europe and cousins of the holy Roman emperor (through her mother Jaquetta of Luxembourg who was very high up in the Lancastrian court before she married the “lowly” Baron Woodville and was stripped of all her titles) it was not only the fact that she was relatively low born that angered Edward’s family but the fact that she was from a family that supported the Lancastrian claim.

[@jasperhorace7147]

I’ve wondered about that too. Presumably a woman took her status from her father, just as she took her name.

[@FireInTheSoul]

This is true, Elizabeth Woodville was my 17th great grandmother. All my research confirms what you said :) she was the daughter of Sir Richard Woodville, Duke of York and Countess Rivers Jacquetta of Luxembourg :)

[@Orphen42O]

@@FireInTheSoul Supposedly, Jacquetta of Luxembourg and Sir Richard Woodville were the best-looking couple of their generation.

[@Romdormer]

@@FireInTheSoul Surely Richard Woodville was the first Earl Rivers. The Duke of York title is usually reserved for the second son of the Monarch.

[@annagoldberg6257]

I agree with your comment.

[@dalestaley5637]

A great podcast, I truly enjoyed it

[@barbarakeene9999]

I have been researching my Family Tree & so many of the people mentioned in these videos are my descendants. Margaret Woodville was my 4th cousin 17x removed.

[@patriciaramsey9899]

I love this piece; I don’t know much about Elizabeth, so very interesting for me.

[@OurBucketListHasHoles]

Thank you Rebecca. I just bought the book! I hope they put it on audible. It would be a great listen. Thank you again and take care-Debbie

[@shesaknitter]

Very interesting! I was a career academic librarian (now retired) and Wikipedia often leads to other great information. It should not be the only source, but as a starting point it is great for getting to other sources that can be corroborated. Thank you for this great discussion.

[@elizabethsisco4946]

Not even 2 minutes in and i love this already!! Ty

[@samanthameade854]

Love 💞 all your podcasts. This information is magnificent. It's great to learn more of this era.

[@TudorsDynasty]

@@samanthameade854 thank you!!

[@blindbookworm8019]

This is so interesting. I love this!!!

[@mtyfresa]

I hope you've been able to make it to Sudeley by now. It's lovely.

[@robertkirkpatrick4935]

I can definitely relate to her wanting to find her family history. I was blown away when I found out that I'm related to Mary Boleyn, sister to Anne Boleyn.

[@Danniphant]

Me too! That makes us (very distant) cousins 😊

[@robertkirkpatrick4935]

@@Danniphant yes. Mary had a huge family of descendants

[@Axel-ll2jp]

Queen of England mother of a dynasty

[@tootieq6527]

I’m so happy to have found this channel! I’ve had an interest in many of the lesser mentioned people in the Tudor realm who were actually major shapers of history. Will this book be available as an audiobook any time soon?

[@TudorsDynasty]

the book mentioned in this podcast has been out for quite some time. Just go to Amazon or wherever and search for Sarah J. Hodder.

[@tootieq6527]

@@TudorsDynasty I have vision difficulty, and it’s difficult to read books anymore. I’m hoping for an audiobook.

[@barbaracook4764]

Fascinating.

[@maryfrump7937]

My bucket list is to see where everyone lived ,ie the Kings and Queens. B

[@leanie5234]

Probably the greatest single cause of the Cousins' wars was the stupidity of male primogenitor. Edward III had many sons and daughters. His eldest son died before Edward, so HIS infant son became king(Richard II). Edward's third son's son grabbed the crown from the arrogant Richard II (killing Richard to clear the path). Edward III's second surviving child (a daughter) had only a daughter, so (obviously) a male needed to be crowned. After two (supposedly) successful kings, the country needed a different heir than the useless son of a dead warrior king, but every royal line was interrupted by a female heir (oh my!). Things would have been simpler if there was no stupid chick-ban. The whole nonsense is exacerbated by bastard children (a specific bastard male born through a female [bastard] claimant) who somehow seemed to be acceptable. Elizabeth Woodville was called "a commoner" although her mother was a royal duchess who had originally been married to a royal duke....yet, somehow, Margaret Beaufort considered herself (and was acclaimed to be) a truly noble woman with an impeccable lineage even though her connection to royalty came through the children of an unmarried couple and SHE married the son of a doubtful union of a nobody (male) to a dowager queen. Why were Jacquetta Woodville's children denied noble status because of the lowly birth of her husband while Margaret's son was so "important"?

[@gretahassock8914]

Sounds very interesting

[@jaymesguy239]

The English elite didn't reject Margaret of Anjou as Regent because she was a woman. They rejected her because she was French.

[@ttp436]

Jaymes Guy I don't think so. Most of the Royals and nobility were descended from the Normans and French. French was the main language spoken at court and England's Royal blue bloods held many lands and regions in the now United France which was wasn't at the time.

[@08andylee]

Because she was French and a Woman. Plus the Yorkists hated the Beauforts. Henry VI's government was just messed up on so many levels.

[@ahmedzahir2865]

@@08andylee Yes you are right. The English nobility were culturally and linguistically French however they considered the french their enemies. Edward III laid claim to the french throne which started a war that lasted 100 Years. Many lives were lost within several generations of noble families. Margaret of anjou's cousin, the king of france was considered an enemy to England. Her marriage to Henry VI maintained the peace for a short while but neither she nor her cousin, the king of France were trusted or liked. England had already had female regents before so the reason they opposed Margaret is likely due to her french royal status.

[@FireInTheSoul]

Most of the Tudor royals were descendant from the Welsh. The original spelling of the name is Tewdwr.

[@Orphen42O]

When Jacquetta of Luxembourg married the John, Duke of Bedford, the people of Burgundy were upset because they did not think that the duke had mourned his first wife long enough before he married a teenage beauty.

[@crazycrumblesasmr3311]

I thought that was brilliant, loved it! I will look for the book as well!! Thanks

[@patriciahill6839]

Really interesting many thanks

[@robinthomson4431]

Already writing a family tree before you mentioned it!

[@TudorsDynasty]

I included one in the show notes on my tudorsdynastypodcast.com site - if you're interested. Go to tudorsdynastypodcast.com/show-notes/

[@paulreader7353]

15 times grandmother

[@ttp436]

Do u have the gifts?

[@TreeCurtis84]

Why Thomas Seymour?! He always seemed to me like one of the great villains in the Tudor era.

[@TreeCurtis84]

Never mind... I guess ill go listen to your podcast lol

[@melenatorr]

Thank you for this interesting presentation. As noted, Elizabeth was not a commoner, though she was not royalty, and the marriage was not advantageous for Edward politically. One more question: do you have documentation or confirmation that the term "Cousins' War" was contemporary? To my knowledge, it's a fairly modern term, more modern than the term "Wars of the Roses". If you do have documentation for the term being used in the fifteenth century, I would love to know of it. Thank you.

[@katiejamison4238]

Elizabeth's sister Joan/Jane since it seems she may have been called both, could she have just seen all the turmoil at court,with Edward as King then not then the issues with Neville "the Kingmaker" that she just decided that she wanted no part of it? That she just wanted to live a quiet,peaceful, possibly stress free life??

[@wiscochic861plutochic5]

She was my 17th great grandmother it helps if you follow the female line wherever possible in the tree or it gets so confusing😂😂😂had to research who married who to just not be confused.

[@Hypnobunny1]

I love this but I thought she was a Plantagenet not Tudor

[@maryfrump7937]

My family tree is a tangled bush!

[@selinapersaud7629]

I know what it feels like to have a historical obsession, especially with a figure that is very controversial. The only difference is, in my case, it’s not necessarily that this figure is controversial, it’s that there was so little time for anything to be recorded.

[@Mr.UpState]

Found out tonight she's my grandmother

[@katiemoyer8679]

Take Back America - ahh ha❣️. Another descendant of Melusina announces themself. Hi cousin.

[@mrsalibooboo]

@@katiemoyer8679 me too jacquetta of Luxembourg 19th great grandmother i'm 93% dna i live in australia now

[@Miss_AnonyMoose]

@@katiemoyer8679 m Melusine not Melusina is from the house of Anjou not Luxembourg

[@Miss_AnonyMoose]

And the House of Anjou took the English throne and called themselves Plantagenet so...

[@charleywhaley]

Did you find this via doing a family tree or something else?

[@michael.warden4846]

Edward the 4th and Warick the king marker was supposed to be cousins..

[@maryfrump7937]

Heck from what I know now the Nevilles married everyone so they are all cousins!

[@Danniphant]

I'm a descendent of Elizabeth Woodville via her son Thomas Grey (and Elizabeth of York if you believe that Catherine Carey was the daughter of Henry VIII), and Katherine Woodville through her Staffird children.

[@maryfrump7937]

Two are my Grandmothers.

[@maryfrump7937]

Catherine Parr is my Step many times Grandmother

[@dalestaley5637]

Elizabeth Woodville is the daughter of the Duke of Luxemburg, so she's not a commoner.

[@TudorsDynasty]

She's the daughter of Richard Woodville. Her mother's first husband was the Duke of Bedford.

[@Lulu-ut9pv]

Elizabeth woodville was a commoner who married the king and she wasnt that popular coz of it, previous queens have been noble women or princess of other countries

[@roro-mm7cc]

She was popular among the public but the other members of the court hated her and this caused multiple bloody wars within the family.. also she wasn’t exactly a commoner - she was the granddaughter of the duke of Luxembourg (through her mother Jaquetta of Luxembourg who was very high up in the Lancastrian court before she married the “lowly” Baron Woodville and was stripped of all her titles) it was not only the fact that she was relatively low born that angered Edward’s family but the fact that she was from a family that supported the Lancastrian claim.

[@mangot589]

Being a granddaughter of a Duke. She was still a commoner. I think people have it very confused by what that means. It doesn’t mean you came from a butcher’s family.

[@Lulu-ut9pv]

@@mangot589 yeah, at the time she was classed as a commoner but it was also the fact the king married a subject instead of a royal bride I think at the time there where 3 clases The king, his relatives/king, thr barrons and Lords who served him and the pestants who served them Same thing could be described about anne boyen, she wasn't a commoner (nor would I class Elizabeth woodvile as a commoner) hence anne was given a title in her own right while Elizabeth wasn't

[@Lulu-ut9pv]

@@roro-mm7cc nicely said, at the time I think there was also anger that she was thr kings subject while Queens before where princesses

[@wednesdayschild3627]

Men were also accused of witch craft.

[@gillchambers9008]

too much talking.