By James William Edmund Doyle - Doyle, James William Edmund (1864) "Richard 3" in A Chronicle of England: B.C. 55 – A.D. 1485, London: Longman, Green, Longman,, Public Domain, Wiki Commons

Today, we're looking at a Royal History Mystery that involves a king and his niece and whether their relationship was too scandalous for the time period. Did Richard 3 want to marry his niece Elizabeth of York?

1 of the about turbulent periods in English language history was the Wars of the Roses and the conflicts between different royal dynasties. In a previous post outlining the Royal History Mystery of what happened to the Princes in the Tower, nosotros discussed how Richard III came to be king at the expense of his nephew, Edward 5, and how his actions had his deceased elderberry brother's children alleged illegitimate.

Equally the eldest child of Edward Four and Elizabeth Woodville, Elizabeth of York was a prize for marriage. In her childhood, she was matrimonial to the Dauphin of France (though the marriage never came to fruition) and she grew up to be one of the most beautiful women in the country.

After her begetter died and her uncle claimed the throne, she joined her mother and sisters in sanctuary. In 1484, Elizabeth and her sister, Cecily, left sanctuary and went to stay at the court of Richard III and his queen, Anne Neville (the youngest girl of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, and one of the richest women in England).

While at courtroom, Elizabeth had pride of identify in proceedings and was outfitted in the finest clothing on offer. At times, she and Queen Anne wore matching clothes even though royal protocol would have dictated that nobody dress similar the queen or in equal refinement.

With Richard's deep unpopularity and the rise support of Henry Tudor'southward crusade, his enemies began spreading stories that the king planned to ally his niece.

Once the rumours were out in the open, it became a source of court intrigue. Queen Anne was fatally sick by the time her niece came to court and her only child with Richard had predeceased his parents. Richard III was looking at a future without wife or issue. And it's likely that his enemies and Tudor supporters were looking for whatsoever excuse to farther impairment his reputation.

Shortly subsequently Queen Anne passed away, in March 1485, Richard had Elizabeth taken away from courtroom and sent to Sheriff Hutton castle while he prepared negotiations to marry Joan, the Princess of Portugal. His negotiations likewise included a spousal relationship between Elizabeth and Manuel of Portugal, the land's future king.

These plans were called off when news of the impending Tudor invasion reached Portugal,and Richard had to prepare to keep his crown instead of planning a second marriage. In August 1485, Richard was slain at the Battle of Bosworth and lost his crown to Henry Tudor, who would claim the English throne equally Henry VII.

Henry VII would afterward ally Elizabeth of York, uniting the Houses of Tudor and York. The royal couple were wed on 14 Jan 1486 and Elizabeth finally became a queen. To this day, she is the only English majestic who has ever been the daughter of a king, the sis of a king, the niece of a male monarch, and the married woman of a rex.

Though Henry and Elizabeth had several children, only four survived to adulthood: Arthur, Prince of Wales (who died in 1502); Henry, who would later become Henry Eight; Margaret, future Queen of Scots; and Mary, future Queen of France.

Their spousal relationship was evidently a love friction match and Henry VII was said to exist devastated when Elizabeth died of a post partum infection in February 1503. He never remarried and died in 1507. He was succeeded by his second son, Henry Eight.

Did Richard III want to marry his niece, Elizabeth of York?

Information technology'due south unlikely, barring any new discoveries of letters that say otherwise, that we'll ever have conclusive testify that Richard 3 did or did not want to marry his niece.

The existence of a letter, purportedly written by Elizabeth, paints testify of a romantic relationship—or romantic designs on her uncle. In the letter, written to John Howard, Duke of Norfolk and sent while she was staying at Sheriff Hutton, Elizabeth asked him to "be a mediator for her…to the King…her just joy." Some believe the alphabetic character doesn't exist, others believe her meaning was misconstrued and others believe the letter exists just that the contents were a lie.

Avunculate marriages, between a niece and an uncle, weren't unheard of in European royal houses at the time and while in that location was fence most the close level of relationship involved, papal dispensations were given for such unions to take place. The wedlock would have been possible simply whether either party desired it is debatable. At worst, it is another piece of the Tudor propaganda which aimed to completely destroy Richard's reputation.