Elizabeth Cheney, Lady Say – Great-grandmother of three Queens of England

Elizabeth Cheney was born in April 1422 in Cambridgeshire to parents Lawrence Cheney and his wife, Elizabeth Cockayne. The couple were part of the gentry, and Lawrence held the position of High Sheriff of Cambridgeshire. The pair raised a family of eight children, including Elizabeth Cheney, who was the eldest. Elizabeth’s ancestors included Barons and a judge, and the family was well-established, though not particularly high-ranking.

Once she came of age, Elizabeth was married to Sir Frederick Tilney of Ashwellthorpe, and the couple resided at Ashwellthorpe Manor in Norfolk. As Sir Frederick died suddenly in 1445, the pair had just one child together: a daughter named Elizabeth Tilney.

A year later, Elizabeth Cheney married again, as was common practice for widows in this period. This time, she made a match with Sir John Say from Hertfordshire. As a member of King Henry VI’s household and the Speaker of the House of Commons, this was a step up in rank from Elizabeth’s prior marriage.

During their marriage, Elizabeth and John Say had seven children together: Sir William Say, Thomas Say, Leonard Say, Anne Say, Mary Say, Margaret Say, and Katherine Say. Elizabeth and John remained married for almost thirty years until Elizabeth’s death in 1473.

Through two of her children, Elizabeth’s line carried on to produce three Queen consorts of England. Her daughter Elizabeth Tilney was the mother of Elizabeth Howard, who was the mother of Anne Boleyn. In addition, another child of Elizabeth Tilney’s, Lord Edmund Howard, was the father of Catherine Howard.

Through her daughter Anne Say from her second marriage, Elizabeth Cheney was the great-grandmother to Jane Seymour; Anne Say was the mother of Margery Wentworth, who was then the mother of Jane Seymour.

These three cousins were all great-granddaughters of Elizabeth Cheney and all went on to marry King Henry VIII of England. This also means that unassuming Elizabeth Cheney was the great-great-grandmother of King Edward VI and Queen Elizabeth I. A remarkable family line for a gentry woman from Cambridgeshire.¹

1. Sources 
   *Elizabeth Boleyn – The Life of a Queen’s Mother by Sophie Bacchus Waterman p.17-p19
   *John Smith Roskell – Parliament and Politics in Late Medieval England p.154-161