Edward IV
Edward was a son of Richard, 3rd Duke of York and his wife Cicely, daughter of Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland. He was born at Rouen in France on 28th April 1442. On 4th March 1461 King Henry VI was deposed and Edward declared King. He himself was deposed in favour of Henry VI in 1470 but regained the crown the following year.
Marriage
On 1st May 1464 he married Elizabeth, widow of Sir John Grey and daughter of Richard Woodville (later Earl Rivers), maid of honour to Margaret of Anjou, at Grafton Regis in Northamptonshire. She twice took Sanctuary at Westminster Abbey with her children (see a separate entry for Elizabeth Woodville). In St Edward's chapel is a small tomb of grey marble, possibly moved from somewhere else, for Margaret, sixth daughter of the king who died aged nine months in 1472 but the brass effigy and inscriptions no longer remain.
Coronation
Edward IV was crowned in Westminster Abbey on 28th June 1461 and his queen Elizabeth Woodville was crowned on 26th May 1465.
Burial
He died, probably of pneumonia caught on a fishing trip, on 9th April 1483 and was buried at St George's chapel Windsor.
Further reading
Queens Consort of Westminster Abbey
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography 2004
Edward IV by Charles Ross, 1974
The Royal funerals of the House of York at Windsor by A.F. Sutton & L. Visser-Fuchs, 2005
The drama of coronation...by Alice Hunt, 2008
An account of his funeral is kept at the College of Arms in London
This image can be purchased from Westminster Abbey Library
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