On 30 April 1483, Richard, duke of Gloucester and Henry, duke of Buckingham travelled south from Northampton to overtake the royal party still encamped at Stony Stratford. In what was Gloucester’s first coup, Edward V was separated from his household and Wydeville advisors. When the young king questioned the unexpected move, Buckingham was reported to have told the boy ‘it is not the business of women but of men to govern kingdoms’. The blunt remark referred to the authority of Elizabeth Wydeville as queen and the power she must have anticipated within the new political climate left by Edward IV’s sudden death on 9 April. The strong presence of the Wydevilles and their associates at the council held shortly after the late king’s internment indicates such an expectation. Elizabeth took the unusual step of attending in person and her son, Thomas Grey, marquess of Dorset, declared that ‘we are so important that even without the king’s uncle we can make and enforce these decisions’. While the veracity of this scene is questionable, the words uttered by the duke no doubt seemed plausible to Dominic Mancini who believed they exemplified the popular sentiment held by men at the time. The political theories of gender and power in circulation during the late medieval period were based on the rigid belief that government was a masculine affair and not suitable for women. Late medieval culture was a patriarchal culture sanctioned by divine scripture. To challenge it was to offend God and the natural order.

Such decrees naturally had their limits, particularly in the private sphere. Women still exerted power in their daily lives through the influence applied upon their immediate circle of kin as managers of the household. They also contributed to the domestic economy by engaging in skilled trades and business. Widows and unmarried heiresses could hold land. In this capacity, they were no less important than the male landowner. F.W. Maitland outlined the parity ‘The woman can hold land, even by military tenure, can own chattels, make a will, make a contract, can sue and be sued.’ Power was available and exercised. Their access to personal authority was another matter. Authority, defined as a power that is both acknowledged and legitimised, was not extended to the vast majority of women.