Jacquetta of Luxembourg

Jacquetta of Luxembourg, Duchess of Bedford and Countess Rivers, was born in 1415 or 1416 and died on 30 May 1472. She was the eldest daughter of Peter I of Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol, and Margaret of Baux. Jacquetta married John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford, at age 17 and became a widow in 1435. She later married Richard Woodville, 1st Earl Rivers, in secret, and the couple was fined for not obtaining royal consent. Jacquetta bore 14 children, including Elizabeth Woodville, who became Queen of England upon marrying Edward IV. Jacquetta was tried for witchcraft but was exonerated, and the accusations were later revived without evidence by Richard III.

During the Wars of the Roses, Jacquetta initially aligned with the House of Lancaster but shifted allegiance to the House of York after the Lancastrian defeat at the Battle of Towton. Her family rose to prominence, with her husband being created Earl Rivers and her children marrying into influential positions. Despite the family’s rise, they faced hostility and loss, with Jacquetta’s husband and son executed by Warwick in 1469. She survived her husband by three years and passed away at approximately 56 years of age.