cairocat
Are there any discussions out there about the legal effect of Lady Eleanor's death in 1468 on the marriage of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville Grey?
There is a legal concept regarding potentially invalid marriages called "voidable" marriage. A "voidable" marriage is one that is invalid when contracted but which becomes valid upon the removal of a legal obstruction.
A voidable marriage can be abandoned during the period of its voidability but becomes binding when the legal obstruction is removed.
For example: Man, believing he has received a valid divorce remarries; in fact, his divorce is not valid because he was not properly served with the divorce process. Several years later, Man's first wife dies. The law of voidable marriage would mean that the second marriage is now valid and would require a divorce to be ended.
It was also generally held at common law that children born in a marriage that was presumed valid but which was in fact invalid were automatically legitimized when the invalidity was removed.
So I was wondering if the fact that Lady Eleanor died about four years after Edward married Elizabeth would make the second marriage valid and thus their children legitimate.
I think the answer is still "no" because my (dim) memory of this concept requires the "voidable" second marriage be entered into in good faith. In the example above, Man believes his divorce is valid whereas if the Eleanor Butler story is true Edward certainly knew he was not free to marry again without an ecclesiastical declaration that the pre-contract was not binding.
There is a legal concept regarding potentially invalid marriages called "voidable" marriage. A "voidable" marriage is one that is invalid when contracted but which becomes valid upon the removal of a legal obstruction.
A voidable marriage can be abandoned during the period of its voidability but becomes binding when the legal obstruction is removed.
For example: Man, believing he has received a valid divorce remarries; in fact, his divorce is not valid because he was not properly served with the divorce process. Several years later, Man's first wife dies. The law of voidable marriage would mean that the second marriage is now valid and would require a divorce to be ended.
It was also generally held at common law that children born in a marriage that was presumed valid but which was in fact invalid were automatically legitimized when the invalidity was removed.
So I was wondering if the fact that Lady Eleanor died about four years after Edward married Elizabeth would make the second marriage valid and thus their children legitimate.
I think the answer is still "no" because my (dim) memory of this concept requires the "voidable" second marriage be entered into in good faith. In the example above, Man believes his divorce is valid whereas if the Eleanor Butler story is true Edward certainly knew he was not free to marry again without an ecclesiastical declaration that the pre-contract was not binding.