Edward IV, who had a difficult family history, to say the least, died in 1483, according to the British Royal Family website. This meant his son by Elizabeth Woodville, Edward V, became king. But his uncle Richard, brother of Edward IV, soon took control of the throne and declared his nephews Edward V and Richard, Duke of York illegitimate.
Unfortunately for Elizabeth, her children were taken away to the Royal apartments at the Tower of London, from which they mysteriously disappeared, never to be seen again. Their disappearance and presumed murder at the hands of Richard III would lead to their own historical nickname — "The Princes in the Tower" — as they're thought to continue to haunt the famed tourist attraction.
Eventually, Woodville was able to secure her daughter Elizabeth of York's marriage to Henry VII uniting both Yorks and Lancasters under the Tudor family and ending the Wars of the Roses. Henry VII fathered Henry VIII who eventually sired Elizabeth I, also a White Queen, but for a different reason. Woodville spent her last years in a convent, possibly to avoid fallout from treasonous actions, per Britannica. Recently discovered letters in the National Archives found Woodville probably died of the Black Plague in 1492, reports The Guardian.
Woodville was one of the most powerful women of her time. Her role in the infamous Wars of the Roses led to the tragic loss of her sons, but it did at least give her a kick-ass historical moniker: the White Queen.
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