#another disclaimer: John of Gaunt was older than Edmund of Langley

[redrosewhiterose]

How were King Henry VII and his wife Elizabeth of York related?

Inspired by the "How were the Romanovs and their spouses related?" series by @graceofromanovs

Henry Tudor was the only child of Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond, the half-brother of King Henry VI, and Margaret Beaufort, a rich heiress and a 2nd cousin of Henry VI. Elizabeth of York was the oldest child of King Edward IV and his Queen, Elizabeth Woodville. The background of their childhood was what it's now known anachronistically as the "Wars of the Roses", a series of civil wars between Lancasters and Yorks for the throne of England. This conflict deeply affected Henry and Elizabeth's lives: Henry was forced to live in exile, since he as Lancaster was a possible (although not really serious) threat to the reign of Edward IV, and Elizabeth had to go into Sanctuary many times during her life.

In 1483 Elizabeth's uncle, the Duke of Gloucester, deposed Elizabeth's brother Edward V. Gloucester, now Richard III, declared Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville's marriage invalid and all their children bastards, excluding them from the line of succesion. After the subsequent disappearence and very likely murder of the two sons of King Edward and Queen Elizabeth, many turned their eyes towards the exiled Henry, now seen as a serious candidate for the throne.

Henry and Elizabeth's mothers negotiated their childrens bethrotal in secrecy: Elizabeth was also seen by many as the legitimate succesor of her father, and her marriage to Henry Tudor was crucial to get support for his claim. In exile, Henry vowed to marry Elizabeth after winning the crown.

In August 1485 Henry defeated Richard III in the Battle of Bosworth. Now as King Henry VII, he repelled the act that made Elizabeth's parents marriage invalid, thus restoring her a her sisters status as princesses. Months later he fulfilled his vow and married her on January 1486. Their wedding signified the union of the rival Houses of Lancaster and York, and the end of the Wars of Roses (legitimacy and succesion conflicts, however, were far from over: Henry would have to deal with yorkist pretenders for half of his reign).

Although at the beginning theirs was a political union, it grew into a loving marriage. They had seven children, of whom four survived infancy, including the future King Henry VIII. Their two surviving daughters, Margaret and Mary, became Queen consorts of Scotland and France respectively. The current royal families of several countries descend from them.

Elizabeth died of puerperal fever the day of her thirty seven birthday, 11 January of 1503, her baby saddly also dying a few days after being born. Henry was absolutely devastated after the death of his beloved wife, and went into a deep mourning. There were plans for a possible remarriage, but he never seemed to have consider it too seriously and died a widower on the 21 April of 1509, outliving Elizabeth for six years. They are buried together in Westminster Abbey.

Henry and Elizabeth were 3rd cousins, as well as 4th cousins. Their closest common ancestors were John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford, and Edward III and Philippa of Hainault.