Catherine of York

Catherine of York
Countess of Devon
Born	14 August 1479 Eltham Palace, Greenwich, England
Died	15 November 1527(1527-11-15) (aged 48) Tiverton Castle, Devon, England
Burial	3 December 1527 St Peter's Church, Tiverton
Spouse	William Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon
Issue more...	Henry Courtenay, 1st Marquess of Exeter Margaret Somerset, Baroness Herbert
House	York
Father	Edward IV of England
Mother	Elizabeth Woodville

Catherine of York (14 August 1479 – 15 November 1527) was the sixth daughter of King Edward IV of England and his queen consort Elizabeth Woodville.

Soon after the death of her father and the usurpation of the throne by her uncle Richard III, Catherine was declared illegitimate along with the other children of Edward IV. The princess' mother, fearing for her children's lives, moved them to Westminster Abbey, where the late king's family received sanctuary and spent about a year; later she moved to the royal palace. When Richard III died, and Henry Tudor was on the throne under the name of Henry VII, the act recognizing the children of Edward IV as bastards was canceled. Henry VII married the eldest of Edward IV's daughters, Elizabeth, and Catherine became a valuable diplomatic asset: marriage plans with John, Prince of Asturias and later with James Stewart, Duke of Ross were made for her, but in both cases it did not come to a wedding. In 1495, Catherine was married to William Courtenay, son and heir of the Earl of Devon, an ardent supporter of Henry VII.

In 1502, Catherine's husband was suspected of being involved in the conspiracy of the House of York pretender to the throne, Edmund de la Pole, and was soon arrested, deprived of his property and rights to inherit and transfer his father's titles and possessions to his children. Catherine herself, thanks to the patronage of her sister, remained at large. After the death of Henry VII in April 1509, the new king forgave William Courtenay and returned his confiscated estates to him; Catherine's father-in-law also soon died. In May 1511, William Courtenay was restored in his title of Earl of Devon, but a month later he died of pleurisy.

Left a widow at the age of thirty-one, Catherine took a vow of celibacy. In 1512, she received from the king the right to use for life all the possessions of the late spouse in the county of Devon, in the same year the title of Earl of Devon was transferred to the ten-year-old son of the princess, Henry Courtenay. After the death of her husband, Catherine rarely visited the court: one of the few visits was the christening of the daughter of Henry VIII, Princess Mary in 1516, in which Catherine was the godmother. In Tiverton, Catherine was the head of the most powerful family in the area and the owner of a large estate, so that she could lead a lifestyle consistent with her origin. Catherine died at Tiverton Castle at the age of forty-eight and was buried with great ceremony in the adjacent parish church St. Peter. Of all the grandchildren of Edward IV, Catherine's children became the only ones who inherited claims to the English throne from the House of York.