Cecily of York

Cecily of York (20 March 1469 – 24 August 1507) was the third daughter of Edward IV of England and his queen, Elizabeth Woodville

Cecily of York
Viscountess Welles
Cecily in stained glass, probably 1482–83, formerly Canterbury Cathedral, now Burrell Collection.
Born	20 March 1469 Westminster Palace, London, England
Died	24 August 1507(1507-08-24) (aged 38) Sandown, Isle of Wight or Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England
Burial	Quarr Abbey, Isle of Wight or the friary at Kings Langley, Herts
Spouse	Ralph Scrope (m. 1485; annulled 1486) John Welles, 1st Viscount Welles (m. 1487/88; died 1499) Sir Thomas Kyme (m. 1502/04; her death)
Issue	Elizabeth Welles Anne Welles Richard Kyme Margaret Kyme
House	York
Father	Edward IV of England
Mother	Elizabeth Woodville

After her father died, her uncle, Richard III of England, took the throne. Richard declared Cecily and her siblings illegitimate. That meant they were not legally considered royal children anymore. Fearing for their safety, their mother, Elizabeth Woodville, hid them in Westminster Abbey for about a year. Richard III later promised not to harm them, and Cecily and her sisters returned to court. There were rumors that Richard wanted to marry one of his nieces, possibly Cecily or her sister Elizabeth. However, before he died, Richard arranged for Cecily to marry Ralph Scrope, a man of lower status.

After Richard III died in battle, Henry Tudor became king. Cecily’s marriage was annulled. In 1488, she married John Welles, 1st Viscount Welles, a brother of the king's mother, Lady Margaret Beaufort. Cecily had two daughters with John. When John died in 1499, Cecily later married a man named Sir Thomas Kyme without the king’s permission. She had two more children with him, but her marriage and children were not officially recognized, and she was banished from court. Despite this, she stayed on good terms with Margaret Beaufort, who helped pay for her funeral in 1507.