Facial Reconstructions of Elizabeth Woodville & King Edward IV - What did they really look like?
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Welcome to the mini of the Wars of the Roses video we posted last week: • The True Story That Be...
Today we will reveal re-creations of Edward, and his wife of legendary beauty, Elizabeth Woodville, for those that don't want the full history.
Edward and Elizabeth unfortunately come from a time of pretty cartoon-y portraiture. We are still one generation away from the wonderful Tudor portraits by Hans Holbein, and most of the portraiture made during the War of the Roses lacks a bit of skill.
Currently, there are no known contemporary portraits of either Edward or Elizabeth, so what we are left with are copies made from originals. We do have some pretty good descriptions of them both, which I’ll be using to inform my re-creations alongside the portraits.
Let’s start with Edward - we know he was a very tall man. Edward’s remains were exhumed in 1789, and they measured almost 6’4”, which was gigantic for the time. This examination also revealed some long brown hair, which matches his portraits.
Sir Thomas More, writing about 30 years after Edward’s death, says:
“He was…very princely to behold; of heart courageous, politic in counsel…in peace just and merciful, in war sharp and fierce.” Although, keep in mind Thomas More is a pretty biased source.
Edward was considered extremely handsome in his youth, although it sounds like his looks faded with time.
Thomas More also wrote that Edward was “Of body mighty, but in his latter days, with over-liberal diet, somewhat corpulent and burly but nevertheless not uncomely.”
Regardless of his looks, Edward was always considered likable and charismatic. As we know from the history of the War, this really worked to his political advantage because his original opponent Henry VI was seen as weak and shy. You know, these are kings that actually fought and won the crown in battle, so his height and strength were huge advantages.
For Edward’s re-creation, I’m going to use this portrait, which is generally agreed upon to be the most accurate, and shows him in his early 30s.
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These always take my breath away. Edward IV is such a far away name and face, it's easy to reduce him to his battles and skirmishes. Same thing with Elizabeth Woodville, that's someone that lives in a fantasy realm that's how real she is. But seeing them come to life is so heart-wrenching, because they all of a sudden WERE real people, with hopes and dreams, hangnails and lopsided smiles, faces I probably have seen before on classmates or coworkers! It's humbling, because it makes their history suddenly so very real and not in fact so long ago.
@barbaraolson6783
6 ай бұрын
Not King Charles and Queen Camilla, they may be the least attractive. Camilla's smoking did not help their health or appearance. This question seems rude to ask, considering who is king
@sharimiller9769
5 ай бұрын
Well said. You write like a writer. You hit the nail on the head. Well done.
@tomdundee7045
5 ай бұрын
@@barbaraolson6783 Consider their ages, about the half that of the ones you named.
@Angel-ts8rc
4 ай бұрын
Except elizabeths long beachy waves this channel like to put on all the female “recreation’s ” is very much not accurate 😂😂😂
@jennifercogzell748
4 ай бұрын
I always thought Queen Camilla was nice looking when she was young but I must admit I couldn't think what Princess Diana saw in the now King Charles. Maybe it was his personality. Princess Diana was lovely inside and out
I love that you didn’t plaster Elizabeth with makeup like some of the other forensic artist videos do. You left her naturally beautiful, and didn’t try to make her look like a magazine cover model.
@9395gb
2 ай бұрын
This is definitely not natural.
The transition from Elizabeth's portrait to your recreation is amazing. Her beauty is astounding. If the portrait of her is accurate to how she looked then your recreation might well be truly her. Her strawberry blonde hair is lovely too. I've always been interested in her, starting from my teenage years. I always wanted to see a more photographic image of her. My teenage self would've been enthralled! It's interesting that despite the changes in fashion and beauty ideals over the centuries, modern eyes still find Elizabeth to be very beautiful. I think she must've been one of those very rare astounding natural beauties.
@suburbanbanshee
5 ай бұрын
But E had "silver gilt hair." A platinum blonde or white blonde.
@Angel-ts8rc
4 ай бұрын
Except elizabeths long beachy waves this channel like to put on all the female “recreation’s ” is very much not accurate
@sarahfranco6802
Ай бұрын
@@Angel-ts8rcwhat is the most accurate one?
Your recreation of Edward looks a LOT like the recreation of his younger brother Richard III from his real skull found in Leicester. Great job
@7arboreal
2 ай бұрын
Half brother
@pedanticradiator1491
Ай бұрын
@@7arboreal there's no concrete evidence of that only circumstantial
@7arboreal
Ай бұрын
Really? I think it's been proven fairly conclusively. Their mother spoke fairly openly about her archer lover and documents in France prove that their father was on an extended military campaign abroad when Edward must have been conceived.
@pedanticradiator1491
Ай бұрын
@@7arboreal not according to the biography of Cecily which I recently read, it says they were both living in France at the time. Plus it would have akin to suicide for a Royal or noble woman to admit to adultery
Ideas of beauty change over time. We look at many ‘beauties’ from the 1920s and wonder why they were deemed beautiful. We also must remember that people of high social class are always perceived and described as being better looking than lower class people. Even today.
@rubynibs
Ай бұрын
Beauty standards don't change. What many fail to consider is the sources of the rumors of beauty. Also, one must keep in mind that the term might have been nearly synonymous with "well dressed and well groomed" in some circles.
@melumarsa6561
Ай бұрын
I'm not sure about the assessment of beauty not recognized in the lower social economic brackets. Perceptions change. You can see this in the great works of art throughout history.
I swear my nephew is Edward IV reincarnated. He's 6"4 has a relatively similar hair length, build, and facial features too. That's if Edward was reincarnated to be a regular 19 year old kid who can't stop looking at his phone. 😂
@tattoobillyband7725
6 ай бұрын
Lol
@user-sl1ec2mf6r
6 ай бұрын
Who knows?❤
@RoyaltyNowStudios
6 ай бұрын
This is such a funny comment lol 😂
@stepbohrer
6 ай бұрын
Does ur nephew single?😂
@NJ-Cathie
6 ай бұрын
😂😂😂😂😂
My family history is related to Elizabeth Wydeville in two different lines as distant grandmother and aunt. I've researched, paid my respects and homage at her St. George Chapel tomb at Windsor Castle, but never had a confirmation on what she really looked like. Until now. My gosh! Your art and talents are simply amazing. 🥲 Thank you.
@kristensmith6042
4 ай бұрын
Joan Woodville (Elizabeth’s aunt) is my 14th. Great Grandmother. How are you related?
@jazzander5314
4 ай бұрын
I'm related to King Edward I. Anybody else out there?
@jennifercogzell748
4 ай бұрын
Sadly not 😢
@helkatww3992
4 ай бұрын
I'm supposed to be descended from John of Gaunt, but I'm not convinced. I am just happy to accept that we're all related one way or another.
@msjadzea
3 ай бұрын
My family is also direct descendants Elizabeth Woodville is my 16 time great grandmother on my grandmother side of the family
Looking at these recreations really does makes you believe that these legendary heroes and beauties have once, talked, ate, and laughed. Amazing, really 😍
The wars of the roses is a subject that is complicated and fascinating to learn about. With so many players involved it's nice to see an idea of what these people probably looked like. Your work is amazing so thank you very much.
Their love story is legendary. Her mother was Duchess of Bedford, married to the son of Henry IV, grandson of John of Gaunt. Elizabeth’s father was Richard Woodville, Earl Rivers whom her mother married in secret after she was widowed.Elizabeth was mother to the Princes in the Tower rumored to have been murdered by Richard III, Henry VII, or his mother , Margaret Beaufort. I loved their story in the White Queen .
@TetraPrismYT
2 ай бұрын
I've read the book! Reccommend it if you don't mind smut. Also, highly approve of your username! May the force be with you!
Never expected big foreheads to have ever been in vogue in the past (I have a big forehead). To think women were seen as beautiful to have receeding hairlines comes as a shock to me (mindblowing that they would pluck/shave their forehead to achieve the balding look). Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and what's culturally deemed beautiful I guess!
@ryanlouis2175
6 ай бұрын
Be proud of your big forehead! Prominent foreheads used to be a sign of nobility and high status :)
@mabel8179
6 ай бұрын
Yet, she is astoundingly beautiful!
@vespertine2326
5 ай бұрын
All kinds of things have been the beauty standard over time, it's really interesting! All the really heavy-lidded eyes in Restoration portraiture come to mind..
@susannadzejachok3230
2 ай бұрын
Beauty is definitely cultural but that is not known when one is growing up.
@phoenixrose1192
2 ай бұрын
@@vespertine2326 I think I was born in the wrong century then. 😔
Rebecca Ferguson was a very good choice for Elizabeth Woodville.. In the White Queen series. Lots more drama but they got a lot of looks right. Also such a striking woman years later. King Edward is DEFINITELY where Henry the 8th got his height from. He is very much like Edward except not nearly as not nearly as "good?".
@genna2586
5 ай бұрын
I agree. Rebecca Ferguson was perfect. Rebecca played her role very well showing the layers of Elizabeth’s character, her beauty, and inner strength to always persevere against adversity. Well done!
They were truly handsome and beautiful. It’s great to see what they looked like and you’ve done a fabulous job with your recreation. Thanks for what y’all do. Very important work and very much appreciated. Hugz, Tree
Just wanted to say thank you for your videos! I am a history buff and an art lover so this is the perfect combo! I also love how you present the women’s stories in a balanced way! I have always been a little sad at the portrayal of women in history: as long as they had an independent thought or tried to forge their own path, they were called witches, or evil or simply written off! Your videos always make me smile when you tell their stories!
Had history turned out differently, Diana, Princess of Wales, would’ve been the most beautiful queen ever.. in my humble opinion.
@puddylump41
5 ай бұрын
Agree with you 100% on that! x
@christina7215
2 ай бұрын
She isn’t English. Diana is an ethnic Jew. Jews are not English or European.
Wow Edward really was a handsome man. Elizabeth was stunning and with her beautiful blond hair she must have been really breathtaking.
Fantastic recreation as usual! I've been studying British and medieval history and watching your recreations really brings the history to life! Ty!
Absolutely stunning re-creations! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you, Becca, for two more great recreations! Your skills, taste, and intuition never fail to impress, but it's cases like these that really make them shine. I don't mean to say that Holbein's portraits are easy to work with, but ... it's what differentiates Holbein, Fouquet, Clouets, Velasquez, and other great portrait painters from the anonymous author(s) of these portraits. Rendering an individual's features realistically yet not crudely, without flattery yet in a way that made the individuals (and viewers) admire those features, the likeness, and the personality. I believe you have that ability too. The 15th century artist depicted Edward "as he could", but you interpreted his signs perfectly, found best modern means to render the likeness - et voila, a living, breathing charismatic young man. And a lovely visage indeed! Everything we read about but hardly saw in the original portrait. Brava Becca! But for me, this case also illustrates another ancient problem and possibly a major challenge for your skills - higher degree of idealization/generalization in female portraits. Second-class artists are even more inclined to use templates, smooth female features, introduce inaccuracies, etc. Whether it was a more formal approach to depicting royal women, courtesy, or artists' negligence because women had just to look rich and chaste, the result is obvious: such portraits are often so plain and boring compared to men's likenesses... Your Elizabeth Woodville, although not quite 'breathing' like Edward for me, does look like the mother of Elizabeth of York, her successor, so your ability to discern people's true features in old portraits is just amazing.
I love to see them moving, because it shows a charm that it's not translated with just the still painting.
❤ Accolades cannot describe how stunning these living portraits of this beautiful and historic couple are for me. Shaking my head. Absolutely amazing!
Back then beauty standards were less demanding. The odds that you would reach an adult age, be healthy, have all your teet intact and no ugly rushes on your face were not too high. So basically anyone who didn't look appaling would probably be considered attractive.
It’s amazing how different they look when their expressions aren’t so stern. Portraits in the past made everyone look so unwelcoming as their expressions while sitting for portraits were as uncomfortable as they likely felt sitting still for a long period of time.
Your work is absolutely beautiful. Fascinating and impeccable. Thank you 🙏🏻
Wow! So amazing to see the images come to life. Great job!
Perfect recreation! And very realistic, your recreations totally bring the history to life ❤️
I love this channel so much!!!! It’s been so fun to watch these with my mother and including my grandmother in our watching too!!! ❤❤❤
They are in my ancestry tree. My brother and I both have sons who range from 6’2”” to 6’5” and resemble Edward IV. They are taller than our father and my brother.
@miaw.5819
6 ай бұрын
My family as well. My brother and cousins are 6’3” but don’t look much like him since they’re biracial. 😊
@janebeatty9472
6 ай бұрын
We are related then. Elizabeth is a Great Aunt to me. Her sister married a Stafford. Our common ancestor…Jaquetta of Luxomborg.
@Tawadeb
6 ай бұрын
Who are you decended from
@wistfuldreamer6716
5 ай бұрын
Another cousin here. Elizabeth was my 15th Great Grandmother. Your rendering of her reminds me of my mother.
@poppletop8331
5 ай бұрын
Another descendant here, my Dad, brothers & son are all over 6ft 2", I'm the only female & 5ft 3". 🤣
I always love these videos, but this one is particularly special. There has always been something magical and special about these two.
It is SO fascinating to see how you bring historical figures to life!! So amazing!!!
Beautiful work! Also nice music selection! This is my favorite English era. You have brought it to life for all to see. Thank You!
Thank you! I love your channel, I feel like I was travelling in time and that's priceless! Beautiful re-creation btw!😃😃😃❤
What a great way to start my weekend! Thank you for another great video!
To see the face of the Elizabeth for whom so many queens, princesses, and commoners down through the ages have been named is something. I think you captured what must have been captivating about her: it wasn't mere beauty, it was warmth.
So awesome. I hope you do Richard 3 and Anne Warick, too
I totally love these videos. It is so awesome to see a portrait come to life. Its totally amazing.
I love these so much. They bring to life things. My imagination and historical descriptions have conjured and it’s magical somehow. Thank you.
There is something so beautiful with the work that you do. Almost makes me weep, for I see them as so human, so like us. The portraits transport you….love it.
So happy to see a new video and sample a nugget of history! 👏🏽
Brilliant!!! This video is incredible!! my two favorite monarchs and my favorite queen. Thank you for making this!
Oh, I wish you had shown their re-creations together. Great job! I have visited their tombs in England.
You do such wonderful work ! Thank you for bringing history back to life so well !
I have really enjoyed this video . Lets hope we have plenty more . Well done 👏
I SO love your videos!! Love, Maureen
I love your recreations. Keep up the good work.
Just beautiful 😍 I truly admire your work. Pure magic 💜
Just discovered your channel. Amazing talent! I did my first dissertation on The Wars of the Roses (I have 2 degrees-BA and MA) and I adore this power couple. Loved how you recreated them but kept their natural beauty instead of looking like models; also loved how you showed Edward younger as the sources say he grew out of his looks as you say, but you could tell he was handsome. I adore The White Queen and thought the casting was superb. She was stunning, and Max Irons had the boyish charm I imagined when reading said novel. Brilliant work! I'd love to see Elizabeth of York aswell as other major players; Anne Neville, Margaret Beaufort, Richard III, George Duke of Clarence etc. Apologies if you've already done them! I'll have to scroll ;) I'm re-watching The white Princess atm xx
Amazing these two people were really good looking but you'd never know it by their pictures.
I love your videos. I enjoy seeing the people come to life. Your creations are stunning!
Fascinating! Thank you.
Absolutely stunning work. Reading up on the War of The Roses this weekend. 🕊️
I agree with everyone else, thank you for these recreations of our favorite historical figures. I am also enthralled with this family. Thanks again!❤
Becca, you are brilliant!
You are the only American historian who is so accurate has a lovely voice and is so interesting to listen to I love what u do thanks for your hard work and sharing 🇬🇧🇬🇧
Another triumphant piece. Love your channel. And the music is divine 🙂
My ancestors. Your videos gives me then opportunity to see what they looked like and makes me even more proud of my heritage. Thank you
I love your channel. Thank you for the fascinating video.
Thank you! Stunning!
The transitions to realistic people is deeply moving. My heart goes out to them, living through such harrowing times and merger-married by 14-15. Many contracts were drawn up when they were toddlers. The good old days? I don’t think so!
Excellent! thank you. I really enjoyed this.
You did amazing ive studied the war of the roses - elizabethan england for many MANY years i think i know more about those times than i do my own😂 This right here was absolutely amazing i truly mean that. to have no contemporary base to spring board off is hard to find unbiased descriptions also V hard so to be left with vasts amount of interpretation it becomes less about history and more about induvidual perception you have taken no perosnal advantage but used basic sources to extract such beautiful representations. These are THE CLOSEST images to source anyone has created to date Imo. Stunned and finally felt like i had the pleasure of looking into the faces of those who came before Thank you
This is amazing thank you! ❤
Wow!!! These videos are amazing. Just wow
Really well done. Thank you!
Remarkable! Nicely done!
FABULOUS!!!!!!! I love how you make them come to life.................fascinating
Your breathtaking work is so very appreciated. 😊
@RoyaltyNowStudios
4 ай бұрын
Thank you SO much!!
Love this!! Should so do "The Red Queen" or Lancasters
What a treat! Thank you!
Beautiful renditions.
I love your channel! I've got "a thing" for Edward and Elizabeth and now I'll picture them like this when I read about them. ❣️😉
@jacquiedwards160
6 ай бұрын
I have a thing for them too... as well as Elizabeths Mother Jacquetta... 😂 and I will now do the same
@eliseherrmann466
5 ай бұрын
I’m part of this club too. Such fascinating women.
I loved the collision of Elizabeth Woodwille’s fashion styles.
Very well done as always! Edward had a serious reputation as a womanizer but I think he lost his heart to Elizabeth…not just because she wouldn’t sleep with him without marriage. She was looked down upon by many at court as bring below his station and their marriage caused much upheaval with Warwick’s plans for a more politically advantageous marriage he was trying to arrange.
@CathieSoli
6 ай бұрын
Not so. He only married her because she refused to become his mistress.
@christinebrument6851
6 ай бұрын
She was actually of high birth and eligible to marry royalty
@mabel8179
6 ай бұрын
@@christinebrument6851 Not at that time. Royals were expected to marry Royals. The ministers were angry when they found out he had married her because she wasn't a royal princess, a mother, and older than him. He was supposed to have married a virgin princess. But their story is romantic, so modern people don't have the same view of it people did back then. Contrast that to an upper middle class woman marrying a prince this century, which was a fairytale wedding and watched by millions.
You really did a great job!!
Fantastic work! A real travel in time at the English Court...Thank you.
Fascinating and stunning!
Thank you for sharing these transitional pictures from the older to newer interpretations. It’s really interesting to see. I think we just have a natural inability to view these older pictures as real people, sadly enough. But it’s easier to believe once you see them with more current hair styles.
Thank you for these recreations. They are my ancestors ❤️❤️❤️
I always imagine that when Henry 8 and Anne B were first on the scene they swanned about like Posh and Becks❤😂😊
@KRistyrose978
2 ай бұрын
😅perfect
Your recreations are stunning
Excellent… well done…✨💖✨
Beautiful!
Beautifully restored portraits!
Absolutely amazing
You do beautiful work.
Cam I just say...??? You always have the best music!?!?! 🎉🎉🎉 Id 💯 have that on repeat if I could!
Thank you for creating life like images that I enjoy seeing and believing.
Best one yet. wonderful.
A comely couple.
I love this. Bringing people back to life through computer magic. Thank you.
New sub here. I love all your content. Fascinating. I like the "if they lived today" best. I guess it's just easier to relate. But I do like all of them. Amazing.
They were such a striking pair. Thank you for "humanizing" them.
I LOVE YOUR CHANNEL!
Amazing!!!❤
omg this is so good.. subscribed!
Well done. Thank you.
Great work.
Lovely, lovely work!
Nice done, thank you
Very nice work❤