The Wars of the Roses were fought between the royal houses of York and Lancaster in the 15th century. Edward IV deposed the Lancastrian King Henry VI in 1461. He needed to marry and have sons to become King after him. His cousin the Earl of Warwick (one of his biggest supporters) negotiated a marriage for Edward in France, to improve relations with that country. But Edward secretly married Elizabeth Woodville, the widow of a Lancastrian supporter. Partly because of this disagreement, Warwick decided to switch to the Lancastrian side, and he briefly helped restore Henry VI to the throne in 1469, earning him the nickname Kingmaker. Warwick was killed at the Battle of Barnet, near London in 1471.

Edward and Elizabeth had ten children; their sons King Edward V and Richard, Duke of York, became the ill-fated Princes in the Tower who disappeared in mysterious circumstances during the reign of King Richard III. Eventually their eldest daughter and heir, Elizabeth of York, married the Lancastrian Henry VII in 1485, uniting both houses of York and Lancaster.

Elizabeth Woodville was not a popular queen. People felt she arranged too many favours, gifts of land and titles for her extended family. The document in the picture is a facsimile of a Latin Charter sealed by Elizabeth Woodville. It appoints her father as guardian of Elizabeth's lands in Northamptonshire which included parts of Rockingham Forest.

Why not visit Grafton Regis? www.grafton-regis.co.uk

See also:
1460: 2nd Battle of Northampton in the Wars of the Roses