Elizabeth Tilney, Countess of Surrey (before 1445 – 4 April 1497) was an English heiress and lady-in-waiting to two queens. She became the first wife of Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey.
She served as a lady-in-waiting to Queen consort Elizabeth Woodville, and later as Lady of the Bedchamber to the Queen's daughter, Elizabeth of York, consort of King Henry VII of England. She stood as joint godmother to Princess Margaret Tudor at her baptism.
She was the mother of Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk. Through her daughter Elizabeth she was the maternal grandmother of Anne Boleyn, and through another son, Edmund, the paternal grandmother of Catherine Howard both queens consort of King Henry VIII. Elizabeth's great-granddaughter was Elizabeth Tudor.
Death and legacy[]
Elizabeth Tilney died on 4 April 1497 and was buried in the nun's choir of the Convent of the Minoresses outside Aldgate.[14] In her will, she left money to be distributed to the poor of Whitechapel and Hackney. By licence dated 8 November 1497 Thomas Howard married as his second wife her cousin, Agnes Tilney, by whom he had seven more children
Elizabeth's granddaughters included not only Catherine Howard and Anne Boleyn but also three of Henry VIII's mistresses, Elizabeth Carew, Mary Boleyn and, allegedly, Mary Howard, Duchess of Richmond. During the reign of Henry VIII the Howards, led by Elizabeth's eldest son, Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk.
Marriages[]
Elizabeth's second marriage produced eleven children; including Thomas Howard, Elizabeth Boleyn, the mother of Anne Boleyn, and Edmund Howard, and the father of Catherine Howard.