edwardslovelyelizabeth:On this day in history, 18th of May 1497, death of Katherine Woodville, siste

edwardslovelyelizabeth:On this day in history, 18th of May 1497, death of Katherine Woodville, sister of Elizabeth Woodville, Queen of England, sister-in-law of Edward IV of England, aunt of Elizabeth of York, Queen of England, wife of Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, Jasper Tudor, Duke of Bedford and Earl of Pembroke and Sir Richard Wingfield.Katherine was probably the youngest sister of Elizabeth Woodville; her brother Richard’s 1492 postmortem inquisition names her as being “34 or more,” placing her birthdate at about 1458. She had married her husband Henry Stafford, duke of Buckingham by the time of Elizabeth’s coronation in 1465, for she is named in a description of the event as the younger Duchess of Buckingham and took her place there alongside other duchesses, including the elder Duchess of Buckingham and the king’s sister the Duchess of Suffolk. She and her nine-year-old husband were carried at the coronation upon the shoulders of squires. No other duke or duchess is referred to as being toted about in this manner, so it’s reasonable to assume that this was due to the youth of the Buckinghams. Following her marriage, Katherine was raised in the queen’s household, where her husband and his brother also resided.The Buckinghams had four surviving children: Edward, Henry, Elizabeth, and Anne, all of whom lived into Henry VIII’s reign. In 1483, Dominic Mancini, an observer of English affairs during this time, declared that Harry “had his own reasons for detesting the queen’s kin; for, when he was younger, he had been forced to wed the queen’s sister, whom he scorned to wed on account of her humble origin.”Recently, historians have been less inclined to take this comment at face value.In fact, at nine years of age, Harry was likely to have taken his cue from his elders, who on the Stafford side at least appear to have been on cordial terms with the Woodvilles and with the king. The dowager Duchess of Buckingham and Katherine’s mother, the Duchess of Bedford, were old acquaintances, who had often been in the receipt of gifts from Henry VI’s queen, Margaret of Anjou. They and their husbands attended Corpus Christi pageants in her company in 1457. In 1460, the two duchesses and Lady Scales were delegated by the citizens of London to negotiate with Margaret of Anjou. The dowager Duchess of Buckingham played a prominent role at Elizabeth Woodville’s coronation, bearing the queen’s train. In 1470, the duchess lent the queen money after Edward IV was forced to flee the country. Her second husband, Walter Blount, Lord Mountjoy, and her two surviving sons, Harry’s uncles, were loyal to Edward IV in 1470–71.After the execution of her first husband in 1483 and Henry Tudor’s victory at Bosworth, Katherine married Jasper Tudor, uncle to Henry VII. The wedding had taken place by November 7, 1485, when Henry VII’s first Parliament met.As Jasper had been made the Duke of Bedford by his nephew, Katherine became known as the Duchess of Bedford and Buckingham; her full title, cried out by heralds, was  “the high and puissant princess, Duchess of Bedford and Buckingham, Countess of Pembroke, Stafford, Hereford, and Northampton, and Lady of Brecknock”. Katherine may not have been a very efficient administrator. Carole Rawcliffe wrote that she appeared to be “rather negligent over the care and custody of her muniments,” in contrast to her oldest son, Edward, third Duke of Buckingham, who took great care with his records.  Though Jasper Tudor, who died on December 21, 1495, named Katherine in his will, he did not appoint her as one of his executors, a task he reserved for men. Jasper and Katherine’s marriage was a one of strategic benefits and whether they were happy together is unknown.It is rumoured that the couple had a still born son in 1490. Katherine married her third husband, Richard Wingfield, without royal license before February 25, 1496.As Richard, from a gentry family with strong Yorkist ties and about eleven years younger than his new bride, was the eleventh of twelve sons and had yet to embark on the successful career as a diplomat he would have in later life, he probably had little to recommend him materially, yet another indication that the Woodvilles were not guided exclusively in their affairs by mercenary considerations. Katherine had little time to enjoy her third marriage, though, for she died just over a year later on May 18, 1497.She was around 40 when she passed away.  In his will made many years later, Wingfield, who remarried, remembered to order masses for the soul of his “singular good Lady Dame Katherine.”Pictured: Katherine Woodville, stained glass, Cardiff Castle -- source link

More pics about