Editing Elizabeth of York (section)

=== Marriage to Henry VII ===
Though initially slow to keep his promise,<ref>Williamson, Audrey. ''The Mysteries of the Princes''.</ref> Henry VII acknowledged the necessity of marrying Elizabeth of York to ensure the stability of his rule and weaken the claims of other surviving members of the [[House of York]]. It seems Henry wished to be seen as ruling in his own right, having claimed the throne by right of conquest and not by his marriage to the ''de facto'' heiress of the House of York. He had no intention of sharing power.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Blackstone |first=William |author-link=William Blackstone |date=1765 |url=http://www.lonang.com/exlibris/blackstone/bla-103.htm |title=Commentaries on the Laws of England |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203001156/http://www.lonang.com/exlibris/blackstone/bla-103.htm |archive-date=3 February 2014 |location=Oxford |publisher=Clarendon Press}}</ref>

Henry VII had the Act of ''[[Titulus Regius]]'' repealed, thereby legitimising anew the children of Edward IV, and acknowledging Edward V as his predecessor.{{Sfn|Chrimes|1972|p=[https://archive.org/details/henryvii00chri/page/66 66]}} Though Richard III was regarded as a usurper, his reign was not ignored. Henry and Elizabeth required a papal dispensation to wed because of Canon Law frowning upon [[Affinity (law)|affinity]]: Henry and Elizabeth were descended from, respectively, [[John of Gaunt]] and his younger brother [[Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York|Edmund]] in the 4th degree, an issue that had caused much dispute and bloodshed as to which claim was superior.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sprey |first=Ilicia J. |last2=Morgan |first2=Kenneth O. |year=2001 |title=The Oxford Illustrated History of Britain |journal=Sixteenth Century Journal |volume=32 |issue=3 |pages=867 |doi=10.2307/2671570 |issn=0361-0160 |jstor=2671570}}; {{Cite web |title=Why Lancaster DID have a better claim than York – at least according to Edward III – Royal History Geeks |date=12 March 2017 |url=https://www.royalhistorygeeks.com/why-lancaster-did-have-a-better-claim-than-york-at-least-according-to-edward-iii |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210113035406/https://www.royalhistorygeeks.com/why-lancaster-did-have-a-better-claim-than-york-at-least-according-to-edward-iii |archive-date=13 January 2021 |access-date=15 May 2020 |language=en-GB}}</ref> Two applications were sent, the first more locally, and the second one was slow in reaching Rome and slow to return with the response of the Pope. Ultimately, however, the marriage was approved by [[papal bull]] of [[Pope Innocent VIII]] dated March 1486 (two months after the wedding) stating that the Pope and his advisors "''Approveth confirmyth and stablishyth the matrimonye and coniuncion made betwene our sou[er]ayn lord King Henre the seuenth of the house of Lancastre of that one party And the noble Princesse Elyzabeth of the house of Yorke.''"<ref>{{Cite web |title=Text of Papal Bull on the Marriage of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York |url=https://tudorhistory.org/primary/h7marriagebull/text.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923093956/https://tudorhistory.org/primary/h7marriagebull/text.html |archive-date=23 September 2020 |access-date=15 May 2020 |website=tudorhistory.org}}</ref>
[[File:Arms of Elizabeth of York.svg|thumb|Arms of Elizabeth as queen consort of England]]
Because the journey to Rome and back took many months, and because Henry as king wanted to be certain that nobody could claim that his wedding to Elizabeth was unlawful or sinful, the more local application was obeyed first—it was sent to the papal legate for England and Scotland, which returned in January 1486.{{Sfn|Okerlund|2009|p=48}} [[Thomas Bourchier (cardinal)|Cardinal Bourchier]], [[Archbishop of Canterbury]], officiated at the wedding of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York on 18 January 1486.{{Sfn|Chrimes|1972|p=[https://archive.org/details/henryvii00chri/page/66 66]}} Their first son, [[Arthur, Prince of Wales|Arthur]], was born on 20 September 1486, eight months after their marriage. Elizabeth of York was crowned queen on 25 November 1487. She gave birth to several more children, but only four survived infancy: Arthur, [[Margaret Tudor|Margaret]], [[Henry VIII|Henry]] and [[Mary Tudor, Queen of France|Mary]].