Cecily Neville

Cecily Neville’s life spanned the entirety of the **Wars of the Roses**, a series of dynastic civil wars for the English throne. Because she was the granddaughter of John of Gaunt, her children's claims to the throne were bolstered by direct royal descent. Her life was defined by the political volatility of the era, shifting from the Lancastrian influence of her youth to the Yorkist cause (headed by her husband and sons) and finally to the early Tudor period under Henry VII. Following the death of her husband at the Battle of Wakefield in 1460, she exerted significant political influence, acting as a key advisor to her son, Edward IV.