Then a far more grotesque and insulting marriage was arranged between the twenty-year-old John Woodville and Katherine Neville, Warwick's aunt and the dowager duchess of Norfolk. Katherine was not only a four-time widow but also about sixty-five years old.
In a shocking turn of events, a highly inappropriate marriage was orchestrated between the young John Woodville and Katherine Neville, who was not only considerably older but had also experienced multiple marriages before. At just twenty years old, John Woodville found himself betrothed to Katherine, who was around sixty-five and held the title of dowager duchess of Norfolk.
This union, seen as grotesque and demeaning, underscored the political maneuverings of the time, demonstrating how personal lives were entangled with matters of power and status. The disparity in age and Katherine's history only heightened the controversy surrounding this marriage, reflecting the harsh realities people faced during the period of the Wars of the Roses.
