Woodville Family

Thomas Grey, Marquis of Dorset, Elizabeth Woodville’s Oldest Son

This is a repost of a guest post I did last year for the excellent Lady Jane Grey Reference Guide. Speaking of guest posts, look for one here soon by Debra al-Bayani about one of my favorite Tudors, Jasper!  Stepson to the King Elizabeth Woodville’s first husband was Sir John Grey, the son of Edward Grey, …

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New Books!

Good morning! I wanted to start out by mentioning that Leanda de Lisle’s excellent nonfiction book, Tudor: Passion. Manipulation. Murder. The Story of England’s Most Notorious Royal Family is now on sale, both here in the United States and in the UK (under the title Tudor: The Family Story). I was fortunate enough to read it a …

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The Queen’s Sister: Cecily, Viscountess Welles

Cecily, the third daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville and the second to survive adolescence, was born at Westminster on 20 March 1469. It seems likely that one of her godmothers was her grandmother, Cecily, Duchess of York. Young Cecily was less than a month old when she became the topic of international gossip: …

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Jacquetta, Duchess of Bedford by Mark Satchwill

I’ve been putting together illustrations for my book on the Woodvilles. Although most of the illustrations will be from contemporary or near-contemporary sources, no contemporary likeness of  the grande dame of the family, Jacquetta, Duchess of Bedford, exists. The chronicler Enguerrand de Monstrelet described her as lively (frisque), beautiful, and gracious, but otherwise there’s no guidance …

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A Woodville Abroad: Anthony, Earl Rivers, in Italy

In the autumn of 1475, following Edward IV’s entry into the Treaty of Picquigny with Louis XI of France, Anthony, Earl Rivers, decided to do some traveling. Already he had gone on pilgrimage to Santiago: this time, his destination was Italy. Edward IV, Anthony’s brother-in-law, paved the way. On October 1, 1475, he wrote a …

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A Royal Christening: Bridget of York, November 11, 1480

On November 10, 1480, Elizabeth Woodville bore her last child–Bridget, named after St. Bridget of Sweden. Bridget may have been intended for the Church; in any case, she eventually became a nun at Dartford Priory. The day after her birth, Bridget was christened at the chapel of Eltham. Her godmothers at the baptismal font, as …

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Lady Elizabeth Scales: First Wife of Anthony Woodville

Anthony Woodville, Earl Rivers, married twice: the first time to Elizabeth Scales, the second time to Mary FitzLewis. This post is about his first wife, Elizabeth Scales. Elizabeth was the daughter of Thomas, Lord Scales, and his wife, whose name is spelled variously as Ismania, Ismanie, and Esmania. Ismania was a daughter of a Cornishman …

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