Elizabeth Woodville most beautiful woman in the Island of Britain" with "heavy-lidded eyes like those of a dragon." Edward IV had many mistresses, the best known of them Jane Shore, and he did not have a reputation for fidelity. His marriage to the widowed Elizabeth Woodville took place secretly and, though the date is not known, it is traditionally said to have taken place at her family home in Northamptonshire on 1 May 1464. Only the bride's mother and two ladies were in attendance. Edward married her just over three years after he had assumed the English throne in the wake of
Elizabeth Woodville, Countess Rivers Mary, but remained without legitimate issue. He was later beheaded by order of Richard III due to the threat he posed to Richard usurping from the crown from Anthony's nephew, Edward V, at Pontefract on 24 June 1483, but did leave a will. The lands attached to the Rivers title were inherited by Anthony's brother, Richard Woodville, 3rd Earl Rivers. The Barony of Scales went to his youngest brother, Edward Woodville, but Richard III ignored this provision and the title fell into abeyance. In 1485, John de Vere and William Tynedale became heirs to the Scales' estate. Elizabeth Woodville, Countess