Jacquetta of Luxembourg: Who’s Who in the Wars of the Roses

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Jacquetta of Luxembourg played an important part in the beginning of the Wars of the Roses. Though she didn’t live to see the war end, she knew she had founded a royal line that may go on for centuries… and, it did. Her direct descendants, through her eldest daughter, still sit on the throne of the United Kingdom today. Direct descendants from her other children and grandchildren range from members of the British nobility to commoners all over the world.

Jacquetta of Luxembourg’s Family and First Marriage

Born in approximately 1415 in Luxembourg, Jacquetta was the daughter of Peter of Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol and Margaret of Baux. Though born on the European continent and not an English native, Jacquetta had English ancestry. Her paternal great-grandmother was a direct descendant of King Henry III of England, and her maternal grandmother was a direct descendant of King John of England (the same King John of Robin Hood fame).

She was born during the 100 Years War between England and France, and her uncle, John II of Luxembourg, was the leader of the army that captured Joan of Arc. John held Joan at his castle for some time before selling her to the English, who executed her, and some historians speculate the young Jacquetta may have met Joan during her time at her uncle’s castle.

Jacquetta was later married, at age seventeen, to John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford, the brother of King Henry V of England. This prominent position made her the most important lady in England for a time, as Henry V was dead and his young son, the new King Henry VI, was not yet married. Henry VI married Margaret of Anjou in 1445, years after Jacquetta had become a widow and remarried.

Marriage to Richard Woodville

Her marriage to John of Lancaster was a short one, as he was much older than her, and died after two years of marriage. They had no children together. However, being barely twenty years old, Jacquetta was not going to remain unmarried for long. In fact, she’d developed a close friendship with her husband’s chamberlain before his death. That chamberlain, of common birth and well below her station, was  Sir Richard Woodville.

Jacquetta and her first husband were in Rouen when the duke died in 1435, and Richard Woodville was sent by King Henry VI to bring her back to England. Their friendship turned into love, and they married in secret, which was against the king’s orders that she not marry again without royal permission. Henry refused to see Jacquetta or Richard for a while, but their payment of a fine of £1,000, a substantial sum at the time mollified him, and he allowed them to return to court.

Jacquetta was entitled to keep her title of Duchess from her first marriage, and was always known as the Duchess of Bedford, even after her marriage to Sir Richard Woodville. Richard became prominent at Henry VI’s court as Jacquetta was related to both the king and queen by marriage. She was the king’s aunt by marriage through her first husband, and her sister had married the queen’s uncle. Through the influence of his queen, Margaret of Anjou, who was close friends with Jacquetta, Henry VI made Richard Woodville a baron, which was a much more suitable title for a man married to a duchess, and he became known as Sir Richard Woodville, Baron Rivers.

The Woodville Family and the Wars of the Roses

Jacquetta and Richard had fourteen children together. When the Wars of the Roses broke out, they fought solidly on the Lancaster side, which was the side of King Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou, their good friends, and relatives. However, it was their eldest child, Elizabeth Woodville, who changed everything for Jacquetta, Richard, and their entire family.

Elizabeth was married at a young age to Sir John Grey, a knight who fought on the Lancastrian side of the war. When he was killed in battle, his mother refused to give Elizabeth’s two sons with John their rightful inheritance of property from the Grey estate. By then, the Lancastrians had lost the throne to the York side of the war, at least for the time being, and the new Yorkist King Edward IV was on the throne. Elizabeth petitioned the new king in person to get her sons’ inheritance for them, and he agreed. He also fell madly in love with her, and they were married in secret, with only Jacquetta, a choir boy, and a priest as witnesses. Their marriage was kept secret for a few months until Edward’s cousin was about to announce he had secured a betrothal for Edward to a French princess. Then, Edward revealed the marriage.

Elizabeth was now the queen, and Jacquetta was the queen’s mother. Only, after years of fighting for the Lancasters, Jacquetta was the mother of a Yorkist queen. The entire Woodville family had to switch sides and become Yorkists. This meant Jacquetta giving up her long time close friendship with the deposed queen, Margaret of Anjou.

Jacquetta of Luxembourg and the Return of Henry VI

Edward’s marriage to Elizabeth Woodville enraged his cousin, who had helped him take the crown. This cousin, Richard Neville, began to fight against Edward in a goal to put Edward’s brother, George, on the throne in his place. During one of the many battles and skirmishes that took place during this time, Richard Neville’s forces captured Sir Richard Woodville, Baron Rivers, along with his son, John Woodville, and had both of them beheaded illegally and without trial. This earned him enemies in the queen and her mother. Jacquetta’s husband and son had just been killed (and they were also the queen’s father and brother).

Warwick’s rebellion drove Edward IV into exile in 1470 and briefly restored Henry VI. Jacquetta had faced a witchcraft accusation in 1469, after the deaths of her husband and son. She petitioned for an investigation and was cleared in early 1470, while Edward IV was still king. The claim that a jury freed her because of Margaret of Anjou’s influence confuses that chronology.

After six months back on the throne, Henry VI was deposed again, this time for good. Edward IV was back on the throne, Elizabeth Woodville was queen once more, and Jacquetta’s good name was restored after Edward formally dismissed the witchcraft charges against her. Henry VI went back to the Tower of London, where he was killed soon after (most historians believe Edward IV and his brothers did it, or at least ordered it), his son and only heir was killed in battle, and Margaret of Anjou was captured and put in the Tower for a few years until her French relatives ransomed her and she returned to France, where she remained for the rest of her life.

Later Life and the Tudor Connection

Jacquetta died in 1472. Witchcraft allegations resurfaced after her death in Titulus Regius, the 1484 act confirming Richard III’s title. Their inclusion in that political document is evidence that the accusation was used, not evidence that witchcraft occurred.

After Richard III was killed in battle by Henry Tudor’s army two years after becoming king, the new King Henry VII married the eldest daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville, Elizabeth of York, Jacquetta’s granddaughter. Through Elizabeth of York, Jacquetta and her husband Richard, became the direct ancestors of every monarch to sit on the English throne afterward, including King Charles III.

Learn More

For a closer look at the evidence and historical context, explore these resources:

• Historian Kavita Mudan Finn on the witchcraft accusation
• Westminster Abbey: Elizabeth Woodville and her family

You can also read Who’s Who in the Wars of the Roses (free eBook) and browse the Wars of the Roses articles.