Philippa, England's upwardly mobile royal

There aren't that many Pippas in the annals of British royal history and today marks the anniversary of the death, in 1369, of the first and possibly still the most famous.  Philippa of Hainault was queen of England for over 40 years and without her, the Wars of the Roses might never have happened.  Never mind The White Queen and The Red Queen, Philippa was the Mother of all Queens.

 

Philippa of Hainault is crowned.  She married Edward III in 1328.

 



That's mostly because Philippa had enough sons to start a war, quite literally. From her are descended all the main players of the Wars of the Roses and the ultimate winners, Henry Tudor and Elizabeth of York.  And that means that all the monarchs of England since 1485 are also descendants of Philippa.  She is responsible for dozens of monarchs, princes and princesses.  A real queen mother.

 

 

Philippa of Hainault and her army - her legacy was a thriving group of sons whose descendants all felt they had a right to rule England and went to war to prove their points

 

And that means that they all had, thanks to Philippa, a good strong dose or royal blood from all around Europe.  Victoria might have been the grandmother of modern European monarchies from marrying her children into as many of them as she could manage, but thanks to Philippa she had a good dose of continental royal blood herself.  Philippa was descended from the royal houses of France, Hungary, Naples and Italy as well as the ruling families of Hainault, Flanders, Holland, Luxembourg, Provence and the central Asian dynasty of the Cumans.

 

 

A later, romantic portrayal of Philippa of Hainault, queen of England 1328 - 1369

 

But while Philippa died in August 1369, she wasn't buried until 1370.  Her funeral took place in January that year and she was laid to rest at Westminster Abbey.





In the footsteps of The White Queen

The White Queen and her rivals are rare in English history - a group of women at the heart of the action and all from the British Isles.  Finding the birthplace of most queen consorts of England involves a ferry or plane trip to the continent and while there tracking down their burial place as many are interred abroad.  But the women of the Wars of the Roses spent most of their lives in the country they helped fight over so visiting the places they frequented is a bit easier if all you have is a spare Saturday afternoon and a roadmap.

You've seen the TV series so now here are the places linked forever to these three very English heroines

 

Elizabeth Woodville was born in the very heart of England.  Northamptonshire is almost bang slap in the middle of the country and she began life there in 1437 in a village then called Grafton.  At some point it may have been known as Grafton Woodville as her father's family were the most prominent in the area.  The oak tree where she met Edward is meant to be in Potterspury, not that far away, but it's believed their wedding took place in the Hermitage in Grafton and the most basic ruins of that building are still visible today.

It looked a lot nicer on the day that Edward IV married Elizabeth Woodville - Grafton hermitage in Northamptonshire

 

Henry VIII is the reason it's now called Grafton Regis - he acquired the manor in his granny's old home village and spent a lot of summer days there.  Not surprising really, it's gorgeous.  You can pay to go on walks around the village, guided by local historians, and the village pub has the suitably royal, historical name of The White Hart - derived from Richard II's emblems. 

Grafton Regis village and walks

 

Thanks to Henry, there's no way of seeing the place where Elizabeth died.  Bermondsey Abbey was pulled down in the Dissolution of the Monasteries just over forty years after she died there.  But the queen consort of Edward IV was given a royal burial next to her king and still rests by his side in St George's Chapel, Windsor.  Their graves are clearly marked and Elizabeth, the commoner, is now buried alongside several other kings and queens of England in this most royal of settings.

 

 

Windsor Castle by sunset, the last resting place of Elizabeth Woodville and Edward IV

(Photo by DAVID ILIFF. License: CC-BY-SA 3.0)

 

Elizabeth's great rival and her ultimate ally, the Red Queen, was born just down the road from the White Queen.  And like Elizabeth, Margaret Beaufort's birthplace is hidden now behind the façade of a perfect English village.  Maggie was born in Bedfordshire, at Bletsoe Castle. 

 

 

The village of Beltsoe in Bedfordshire was the site of the castle where

Margaret Beaufort was born in 1443

 

The medieval castle was incorporated into later buildings and is all but gone now.  The building on the site isn't open to the public but the village, about twenty five miles from Grafton, is pretty and filled with history and the local pub is the suitably grand sounding The Falcon.  Like Elizabeth's village of Grafton the local church is St Mary's.  The two women were far more similar than either would have liked.

 

Village website of Bletsoe, birthplace of Margaret Beaufort

 

Anne Neville was a Warwick girl and that's where her life is remembered and celebrated.  She was born at Warwick Castle which is now a major tourist attraction and the story of The Kingmaker's Daughter, not to mention her dad and very wealthy mum, are remembered in their former home.

 

 

Warwick Castle is now a major draw for holidaymakers and daytrippers

(photo Gernot Keller)

 

Warwick Castle website

 

But the one place that unites all three women is Westminster Abbey. Like all royal women and men they have a link to Westminster.  Elizabeth and Anne were both crowned there while Margaret saw the culmination of her ambitions for her son, Henry Tudor, in the abbey when his coronation was held there in 1485.  Elizabeth claimed sanctuary there twice - in 1470 when Warwick changed sides and briefly put the Lancastrian king, Henry VI, back on the throne and then again in 1483 after the death of her husband, Edward IV.  And both Anne and Margaret are buried there although it took until 1960 for Anne's grave to be marked when a plaque was placed there by the Richard III Society.

 

 

Westminster Abbey in the heart of London is linked to all three women who played such a big role in the Wars of the Roses 

(photo Christine Matthews)

 

 Westminster Abbey website