Agnes Strickland's Queens of England, Vol. 1. (of 3): Abridged and Fully IllustratedStrickland, Agnes
History
Agnes Strickland's Queens of England, Vol. 1. (of 3): Abridged and Fully Illustrated
Strickland, Agnes
Queens -- Great Britain -- Biography
After the death of Anne of Warwick Richard III. had {336}sent his niece,
Elizabeth, to a castle in Yorkshire, where she was kept as a close
prisoner, and the first intimation she had of her royal lover's success
was when the people of the neighborhood gathered about the gloomy
building with shouts of joy. A guard of nobility and gentry escorted her
in state to London, and she went in company with her mother to live at
Westminster Palace.
Henry VII. was recognized as King of England, and crowned soon after;
but he seemed in no hurry about his marriage, which did not take place
until January 18th of the following year. The event was celebrated with
bonfires, banquets, dancing and songs, and the prelate who performed
the ceremony held a bunch of red and white roses, tied together for the
first time. This was in commemoration of the union of the rival houses
of York and Lancaster.
[[A.D. 1486.]] The royal couple then went to live at Winchester, where
in the course of a year their first child was born. He was named Arthur,
after King Henry's favorite hero and ancestor.
[[A.D. 1487.]] The birth of this prince was succeeded by his mother's
coronation, which took place in November, 1487. On the Friday before
that important ceremony Elizabeth went with her husband from London to
Greenwich. She was accompanied on the river Thames by a grand pageant of
boats, the finest being rowed by the students of Lincoln's Inn, who had
beautiful music performed on their barge throughout the route, and kept
side by side with that of the queen. That night was passed at the Tower,
where the king created eleven Knights of the Bath, and the next day
Elizabeth proceeded through the city to Westminster Palace. An immense
crowd collected to behold their queen, as this was her first public
appearance since her marriage. {337}She was not quite twenty-two; her
figure was tall and handsome; her complexion fair and brilliant. She had,
besides, soft blue eyes and delicate features, set off by a profusion
of yellow hair. Her costume on this occasion was a gown of white silk,
brocaded with gold, and a mantle of the same material, bordered with
ermine and fastened across the breast with gold cords and tassels. A
close-fitting cap, formed of rich gems in a golden network, encircled her
head, and her hair fell loosely around her shoulders.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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