Richard Woodville, 1st Earl Rivers

Richard Woodville
Earl Rivers Baron Rivers
Spouse	Jacquetta of Luxembourg
Issue
Elizabeth Woodville, Queen of England Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers Margaret Woodville, Countess of Arundel John Woodville Catherine Woodville, Duchess of Buckingham Anne Woodville, Viscountess Bourchier Eleanor Woodville, Lady Grey Jacquetta Woodville, Lady Strange Mary Woodville, Countess of Pembroke Edward Woodville Lionel Woodvile, Bishop of Salisbury Richard Woodville, 3rd Earl Rivers John Woodville
Father	Sir Richard Wydeville
Mother	Joan Bedlisgate
Born	1405 Maidstone, Kent
Died	12 August 1469 (aged 63–64) Kenilworth
Religion	Catholic

Richard Woodville (or Wydeville), 1st Earl Rivers, KG (1405 – 12 August 1469) was an English nobleman, best remembered as the father of Elizabeth Woodville, wife of Edward IV.

Born at Maidstone in Kent, he was the son of another Richard Wydeville, chamberlain to the Duke of Bedford. After the duke died, the younger Richard married the widowed duchess, Jacquetta of Luxembourg (1416–1472). This was initially a secret marriage, for which the couple were fined when it came to public notice.

He was a captain in 1429, served in France in 1433 and was a knight of the regent Duke of Bedford in 1435. He was at Gerberoi in 1435 and served under William de la Pole, duke of Suffolk, in 1435–6. He then fought under Somerset and Shrewsbury in 1439 and the Duke of York in 1441–2, when he was made captain of Alençon and knight-banneret. He was appointed seneschal of Gascony in 1450 (but failed to reach it before its fall), lieutenant of Calais in 1454–5, and to defend Kent against invasion by the Yorkist earls in 1459–60 (but was captured at Sandwich). He was created Baron Rivers by Henry VI on 9 May 1448 and invested as a Knight of the Garter in 1450. He was appointed Warden of the Cinque Ports in 1459.

In the Wars of the Roses, he was initially a Lancastrian, but he became a Yorkist when he thought that the Lancastrian cause was lost. He reconciled himself to the victorious Edward IV, his future son-in-law. On 1 May 1464, Edward married his daughter Elizabeth, widow of Sir John Grey of Groby. Richard was created Earl Rivers in 1466, appointed Lord Treasurer in March 1466 and Constable of England on 24 August 1467.

The power of this new family was very distasteful to the old baronial party, and especially so to the Earl of Warwick. Early in 1468, the Rivers estates were plundered by Warwick's partisans, and the open war of the following year was aimed at destroying the Woodvilles. After Edward's defeat at the Battle of Edgecote Moor on 26 July 1469, Rivers and his second son John were taken prisoners at Chepstow. Following a hasty show trial, they were beheaded at Kenilworth on 12 August 1469. His eldest son Anthony succeeded him in the earldom.

Lord Rivers had a large family. His third son, Lionel (d. 1484) became the Bishop of Salisbury. All his daughters made great marriages: Catherine Woodville, the fifth child, was wife of Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham.

Children of Richard Woodville and Jacquetta of Luxembourg

1. Elizabeth Woodville (c. 1437–1492), married Edward IV of England.
2. Lewis Woodville (1438).
3. Anne Woodville (1439–1489). Married first William Bourchier, Viscount Bourchier, and second George Grey, 2nd Earl of Kent.
4. Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers (1442–1483), married Elizabeth Scales, 8th Baroness Scales.
5. Mary Woodville (1443–1481), married William Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke.
6. Jacquetta Woodville (1444–1509), married John le Strange, 8th Baron Strange of Knockin.
7. John Woodville (1445–1469), married Catherine Neville, Dowager Duchess of Norfolk.
8. Lionel Woodville (1447–1485), Bishop of Salisbury.
9. Martha Woodville (1450–1500), married Sir John Bromley.
10. Eleanor Woodville (1452–1512), married Sir Anthony Grey.
11. Richard Woodville, 3rd Earl Rivers (c. 1453–1491).
12. Margaret Woodville (1454–1490), married Thomas Fitzalan, 17th Earl of Arundel.
13. Edward Woodville (c. 1455–1488).
14. Catherine Woodville, married first Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, second Jasper Tudor, 1st Duke of Bedford.
15. Agnes Woodville (d. 1506), married William Dormer.
16. Thomas Woodville, married Anne Holland.

References

• Hicks, Michael, "Woodville, Richard", on the website of the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (subscription or UK public library membership required), http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/29939 
• Cokayne, George E. Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct, or Dormant. London: G. Bell & Sons, 1887. (p. 207) googlebooks Retrieved 4 May 2008
• See 1911 Encyclopedia.
• Chambers Dictionary of World History edited by Bruce Lenman, ISBN 0550130004
• The Princes in the Tower by Elizabeth Jenkins

Political offices
Preceded by The Duke of Buckingham	Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports 1459–1460	Succeeded by The Earl of Warwick
Preceded by John Tiptoft, 1st Earl of Worcester	Lord High Constable 1467–1469	Succeeded by Richard, Duke of Gloucester
Preceded by The Lord Mountjoy	Lord High Treasurer 1466–1469	Succeeded by Sir John Langstrother
Peerage of England
Preceded by New Creation	Earl Rivers	Succeeded by Anthony Woodville