#verdour

[edwardslovelyelizabeth]

I want to know if Elizabeth Woodwell should have some jewelry or something like that? Why didn't she have any inheritance before she died?

She was given gifts by Edward in form of jelwelry most notably for the birth of their eldest daughter Elizabeth of York  (What would be around 125 pounds now was spend by the King on a jeweled ornament presented to the Queen “against the time of the birth of our most dear daughter Elizabeth”) and no doubt she had other jewels as befitting the Queen though we sadly have no surviving accounts of those. Also according to Edward IV's will from 1475 he specifically let her have several of the items of his houshold including tapestries, plates, jewelry as well as his precious books (below excerpt from the said will):

"Item as to all oure goods, that is to say beddyng’ arrases tapestries verdours stufF of oure houshold ornaments of oure Chapell with boks apperteignyng to the same, plate and jouelx excepte, excepte also such part of the same ornaments and boks as we shall herafter dispose to goo to oure said Collage of Wyndesore, we wol that oure said wifF the Quene have the isposicion therof without let or interruption of the other oure Executours, to thentent that she raay take of the sarae such as she shall thinke to bee moost necessarie and convenient for her, and have the use and occupation therof during her liff, and after her deceasse oure said son the Prince hooly to have and enjoye that part."

As to why she didn't have anything before she died - she didn't have any inheritance before she married Edward (that was actually the reason why she met with Edward/petitioned him - because her relatives swindled her and her sons of her first husbands inheritance). After Richard seized power and declared her marriage invalid and her children bastards she lost the right to any inheritance either. It was commonly expected that after the death of the King Dowager Queen would be provided for usually by the new King (her son most commonly), but since Elizabeth’s marriage was proclaimed null she lost the status Dowager Queen. She was given annuity by Richard (and there is actually no evidence that her ever paid that sum to her) and was put in charge of his squire meaning she lived by the pension that Richard has appointed to her and not any revenue of her own. When Henry Tudor became king and married Elizabeth’s daughter Elizabeth of York he reinstated Elizabeth Woodville as Dowager Queen, her children as royal princesses. Elizabeth was given some property that she would take revenue from as the Queen Dowager (giving her a grant for life of six manors in Essex and an annual income of £102). However in February 1487 all the lands granted to her were taken away from her by the King to be given to her daughter Elizabeth of York (it’s most likely was because the new king didn’t have enough money to support the new established court and Elizabeth Woodville was likely not against transfering her income to her own daughter). Elizabeth Woodville was given annuity by Henry instead and retired in Bermondsey Abbey. Hence when she died other that that annuity she had nothing of value to leave to her children.