When Elizabeth first met Edward, she was a widow. Elizabeth and her first husband, Lord Grey, had two sons, Thomas and Richard. Then Lord Grey was killed in battle, fighting on the opposite side to King Edward. Because she was a widow who already had children, and because her family had supported King Edward's enemies, she was thought to be an unsuitable wife for the king. Elizabeth and Edward were married in secret, because the king did not want to quarrel with his great friend the Earl of Warwick, who wanted Edward to marry a princess. At the time of their marriage, Edward was 22 and Elizabeth a few years older.