Gregory presents a history lesson full of life (and death)
Edited by London Live TV reporter @tobyontv
To survive the turbulent politics of 15th-century England, Elizabeth Woodville had to be as canny as her chess namesake, the internecine feud between Lancastrians and Yorkists demanding all nobles to ally with a house and swear their sword to its cause.
The extraordinary Woodville, born into a Lancastrian family, glided into the Yorkist cause at its highest level by wooing Edward IV, an act that incurred the wrath of his family and supporters. Historian and novelist Philippa Gregory presents this two-part series, which unpicks the knotty family ties lying at the heart of the decades-long conflict.
Here was a woman who trod through corridors as lethal as battlefields, where natural born enemies were a dagger’s reach from her back. Woodville kept ahead of events and manoeuvred away from her family’s loyalties — and her marriage to a Lancastrian — to protect her children and secure finances to restore their standing, while shaping the future of the country.