Mary Woodville husband, although during her lifetime she held the barony of Herbert in her own right. Mary Woodville Mary Woodville, Countess of Pembroke (c. 1456–1481) was a sister of Edward IV's Queen consort, Elizabeth Woodville, and of Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers. She later became the first wife of William Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, by whom she had one daughter. She was born in about 1456 to Richard Woodville, 1st Earl Rivers and his wife, Jacquetta of Luxembourg. After King Edward IV's public recognition of Elizabeth Woodville as his wife, the new queen sought to raise her family's standing by
Elizabeth Woodville was going to marry his beautiful and young niece Elizabeth of York. In 1485, Henry Tudor invaded England and defeated Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field. As King, Henry VII married Elizabeth of York and had the Titulus Regius revoked and all found copies destroyed. Elizabeth Woodville was accorded the title and honours of a queen dowager. Scholars differ about why Dowager Queen Elizabeth spent the last five years of her life living at Bermondsey Abbey, to which she retired on 12 February 1487. Among her modern biographers, David Baldwin believes that Henry VII forced her retreat from