Richard Woodville, 1st Earl Rivers

Richard Woodville
Earl Rivers Baron Rivers
Quartered arms of Sir Richard Wydeville, 1st Earl Rivers, KG
Born	1405 Maidstone, Kent
Died	12 August 1469 (aged 63–64) Kenilworth, Warwickshire
Spouse	Jacquetta of Luxembourg
Issue	Elizabeth Woodville, Queen of England Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers Margaret Woodville, Countess of Arundel John Woodville Catherine Woodville, Duchess of Buckingham Anne Woodville, Viscountess Bourchier Eleanor Woodville, Lady Grey Jacquetta Woodville, Lady Strange Mary Woodville, Countess of Pembroke Martha Woodville, Lady Bromley Edward Woodville Lionel Woodvile, Bishop of Salisbury Richard Woodville, 3rd Earl Rivers John Woodville Lewis Woodville
Father	Sir Richard Wydeville
Mother	Joan Bittelsgate
Religion	Catholic

Richard Woodville (or Wydeville), 1st Earl Rivers KG (1405 – 12 August 1469) was an English nobleman, best remembered as the father of Queen consort Elizabeth Woodville and the maternal grandfather of Edward V and the maternal great-grandfather of Henry VIII.

Born at Maidstone in Kent, he was the son of Sir Richard Wydeville (Woodville), chamberlain to the Duke of Bedford, and Joan Bittlesgate (or Bedlisgate), the daughter of Thomas Bittlesgate of Knighteston, Devon. He was also grandson to John Wydeville who was Sheriff of Northamptonshire (in 1380, 1385, 1390).

Following the duke's death, the younger Richard married the widowed duchess, Jacquetta of Luxembourg (1416–1472). This was initially a secret marriage, for which the couple were fined when it came to public notice.

He was a captain in 1429, served in France in 1433 and was a knight of the regent Duke of Bedford in 1435. He was at Gerberoy in 1435 and served under William de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk, in 1435–6. He then fought under Somerset and Shrewsbury in 1439 and the Duke of York in 1441–2, when he was made captain of Alençon and knight banneret. He was appointed seneschal of Gascony in 1450 (but failed to reach it before its fall), lieutenant of Calais in 1454–5, and to defend Kent against invasion by the Yorkist earls in 1459–60 (but was captured at Sandwich). He was created Baron Rivers by Henry VI on 9 May 1448. Two years later, as Sir Richard, he was invested as a Knight of the Garter in 1450. He was appointed Warden of the Cinque Ports in 1459.