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These battles destabilized the old medieval order and so helped bring about the strong central government of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I in the following century. From 1455 until Henry Tudor's victory over Richard II at Bosworth Field in 1485, England was rocked by a series of battles for the throne, known as the Wars of the Roses.

It is also clear that, far from living in subjection to Henry VII and his mother, Margaret Beaufort, she enjoyed a good relationship with both.A highly detailed narrative of 15th-century England's complex dynastic struggles, from their origins in the reign of Edward III to the murder of Henry VI in 1471.

Certainly the sources show that she deserves a lot more credit for her political accomplishments than most historians have been prepared to give her – and that she was highly active within the late medieval queen’s traditional spheres of influence. Her goodness shines forth in the records she was greatly loved, and deservedly so. Henry VII did engage in diplomacy to find a second wife, but did not in the end remarryĮlizabeth’s legacy to the Tudor dynasty was her Plantagenet blood, which compensated for any deficiency in Henry VII’s descent. Elizabeth’s bloodline was, in many eyes, superior to that of Henry Tudor himself, and her death robbed him of one prop to his dynastic claim, as well as ending hopes that he and Elizabeth could have more children: the dynasty’s future hung on the sole surviving prince, Henry – the future Henry VIII – aged just 11. It was also, however, a major political blow. It was a shattering personal blow to the king, says Dr James Ross – her grand funeral was the public expression of this. Elizabeth died on 11 February 1503, a few days after giving birth to a daughter, Katherine, who died soon after.

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