Rosaline of Lancaster

Queen Rosaline painted by Joanna I of Castile and Portugal in 1469

Eleonora, Duchess of Rutland,

Cecily of York, Duchess of March

**Rosaline of Lancaster** (24 June 1442 - 5 March 1500) was **Queen of England** twice, firstly from 1461 to 1470 ruling alongside her spouse King Edward IV of England and secondly ruling alone from 1485 to 1500. She was the eldest of the Three Queens of York, being the elder sister of Elizabeth of Somerset-Lancaster and Anne of Lancaster. After her marriage was annulled against her will in 1470, Rosaline was granted the title of Duchess of Somerset and dowager queen.

## Early Life

Rosaline was born in 1442 to Edmund Beaufort and Eleanor Beauchamp in Rouen, France. She was a great-granddaughter of John of Gaunt and a great-great-granddaughter of Edward III of England. This made Rosaline a cousin to Henry VI of England, Richard, 3rd Duke of York, her future husband Edward IV of England, Margaret Beaufort, Henry VII of England, Richard III of England and James II of Scotland. Despite her links to the crown, Rosaline couldn't inherit the throne due to her family originally being illegitimate. Rosaline still became Queen nether the less, as a Queen Consort in 1461 and as Queen of England in 1485.

## Marriage

In 1455, Rosaline's father died and her older brother Henry became her legal guardian. Henry wanted to marry Rosaline off to ensure she could produce heirs. Rosaline was only 14 when she was betrothed to John de la Pole, however the betrothal was broken off by her brother Henry. Rosaline was then betrothed to Edward, Earl of March in 1457. They both were 15 at the time of their betrothal, and had little to no interest in the politics the marriage was supposed to bring. Despite the ages of the two children, Henry and Edward's father Richard had little to no interest in breaking off the betrothal. Rosaline ended up marrying Edward on his birthday, 28 April 1458, at the small chapel at Fotheringhay Castle. Anne of Somerset-Lancaster wrote about it in her chronicle, stating "They were quickly hushed and married at Fotheringhay under the supervision of my dearest brothers Henry and Thomas as well as the Duke of York. Edward was nothing like his father and instead looked a lot like my dearest sister Rosalina. The size difference was noticeable, with my sister's husband being significantly taller than her. He seems nice." By August 1458, the Countess of March was heavily influenced by politics and began to realise what her marriage was supposed to bring.

## Duchess of York

By 1459, Rosaline still mainly resided with her family in her native Somerset. Her influence on her sisters began to show significantly, and it didn't please her mother. Rosaline was exiled to York from Somerset in Summer 1459 by her mother Eleanor. The 17 year-old Countess of March then mainly resided at Fotheringhay Castle under the supervision of Henry Lilycrest, 4th Duke of Fotheringhay, a man who was extremely loyal to Rosaline's father-in-law Richard, Duke of York. Rosaline was still living at Fotheringhay when she was called back to Somerset by her mother, Rosaline denied the request. By December 1460, Rosaline had ceased contact with her mother, and preferred her mother-in-law Cecily. On 30 December 1460, Rosaline's father-in-law Richard was killed at the Battle of Wakefield. His titles were inherited by Rosaline's husband Edward, therefore making Rosaline Duchess of York. On 1 January 1461, her sisters Anne and Elizabeth joined the young Duchess at Fotheringhay.

## Queen

On the 4th of March 1461 Edward had proclaimed himself King with the help of parliament. He told people to send word to Rosaline immediately, who was unaware that she was now Queen. Word got to her the next day. Rosaline took her two sisters with her to London, where she was proclaimed Queen and Edward's co-monarch. Edward and Rosaline were formally crowned on March 28 1461. Following her coronation, the Houses of York and Lancaster became formally united. The nobles were unhappy with this, and revolted against King Edward IV and Queen Rosaline I but to no avail.

Rosaline was thought to be an able administrator and took part in foreign affairs outside of England. Edward relied on Rosaline to help run the country, and Rosaline was happy to help. It was Rosaline's queenship alongside Edward that convinced him to make his second wife Elizabeth Queen Consort, as he couldn't run the country without Rosaline.

## The War of the White King and Red Queen

Edward's marriage to Rosaline started drifting apart in 1469, the two had said to people who questioned it that they were not happy. Edward wasn't happy about the idea of his forced marriage to her, whilst Rosaline wasn't happy about his mistresses. It was in 1469 that Edward took interest in Rosaline's sister, Elizabeth of Somerset-Lancaster. This forced the two to declare war on each other with the help of Lilliana Lilycrest, this ended up in Edward winning. By February 1470, Rosaline had written to the pope requesting an annulment for her marriage. She wasn't surprised to hear that Edward had written one too. The Pope had declared the marriage null and void on the 5th of February 1470. This ended Rosaline's tenure as Queen Consort. Rosaline wouldn't re-marry, but Edward would. Only 5 days later, Edward had married Elizabeth. The two were third cousins and siblings-in-law, but the Pope had let the two marry relatively quickly. This made things awkward between Rosaline and Elizabeth. Rosaline was also made Duchess of Somerset in the same year as Edward had stripped the title off Rosaline's brother Edmund and had given it to Rosaline. Yet again, the nobles weren't happy Edward had married somebody of Lancastrian descent and the marriage between Edward and Elizabeth had the same reaction of Rosaline's marriage decades earlier.

## Duchess of Somerset & Edward's Death

Rosaline remained loyal to the King even after the annulment. She had gathered a court of her own, and it was situated in her own room in Eltham Palace. The most notable lady-in-waiting of hers was Cecily of Burgundy, who was the sister of Mary of Burgundy and the aunt of Philip the Handsome.