Margaret of Anjou (french: link=no, Marguerite; 23 March 1430 – 25 August 1482) was
Queen of England and nominally
Queen of France
This is a list of the women who were queens or empresses as wives of French monarchs from the 843 Treaty of Verdun, which gave rise to West Francia, until 1870, when the Third Republic was declared.
Living wives of reigning monarchs technica ...
by marriage to
King Henry VI from 1445 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471. Born in the
Duchy of Lorraine
The Duchy of Lorraine (french: Lorraine ; german: Lothringen ), originally Upper Lorraine, was a duchy now included in the larger present-day region of Lorraine in northeastern France. Its capital was Nancy.
It was founded in 959 following t ...
into the
House of Valois-Anjou
The House of Valois-Anjou (, it, Casa Valois-Angiò) was a noble French family and cadet branch of the House of Valois. Members of the house served as monarchs of Naples, as well as several other territories.
History
The house was founded in the ...
, Margaret was the second eldest daughter of
René, King of Naples, and
Isabella, Duchess of Lorraine
Isabella (1400 – 28 February 1453) was suo jure Duchess of Lorraine, from 25 January 1431 to her death in 1453. She was also Queen of Naples by marriage to René of Anjou. Isabella ruled the Kingdom of Naples and her husband's domains in Fr ...
.
Margaret was one of the principal figures in the series of dynastic civil wars known as the
Wars of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These wars were fought bet ...
and at times personally led the
Lancastrian faction. Some of her contemporaries, such as the
Duke of Suffolk
Duke of Suffolk is a title that has been created three times in the peerage of England.
The dukedom was first created for William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk, William de la Pole, who had already been elevated to the ranks of earl and marquess ...
, praised "Her valiant courage and undaunted spirit" and the 16th-century historian
Edward Hall
Edward Hall ( – ) was an English lawyer and historian, best known for his ''The Union of the Two Noble and Illustre Families of Lancastre and Yorke''—commonly known as ''Hall's Chronicle''—first published in 1548. He was also sever ...
described her personality in these terms: "This woman excelled all other, as well in beauty and favour, as in wit and policy, and was of stomach and courage, more like to a man, than a woman."
Owing to her husband's frequent bouts of insanity, Margaret ruled the kingdom in his place. It was she who called for a Great Council in May 1455 that excluded the
Yorkist faction headed by
Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York
Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York (21 September 1411 – 30 December 1460), also named Richard Plantagenet, was a leading English magnate and claimant to the throne during the Wars of the Roses. He was a member of the ruling House of Plantage ...
, and this provided the spark that ignited a civil conflict that lasted for more than 30 years, decimated the old nobility of England, and caused the deaths of thousands of men, including her only son
Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales
Edward of Westminster (13 October 1453 – 4 May 1471), also known as Edward of Lancaster, was the only son of King Henry VI of England and Margaret of Anjou. He was killed aged seventeen at the Battle of Tewkesbury.
Early life
Edward was born ...
, at the
Battle of Tewkesbury
The Battle of Tewkesbury, which took place on 4 May 1471, was one of the decisive battles of the Wars of the Roses in England. King Edward IV and his forces loyal to the House of York completely defeated those of the rival House of Lancaster. ...
in 1471.
Margaret was taken prisoner by the victorious Yorkists after the Lancastrian defeat at Tewkesbury. In 1475, she was ransomed by her cousin, King
Louis XI of France
Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (french: le Prudent), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII.
Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revo ...
. She went to live in France as a poor relation of the French king, and she died there at the age of 52.
Early life and marriage
Childhood
Margaret was born on 23 March 1430 at
Pont-à-Mousson
Pont-à-Mousson () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. Its inhabitants are known as ''Mussipontains'' in French. It is an industrial town (mainly steel industry), situated on the river Moselle. Pont-à-Mouss ...
in Lorraine, a fief of the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...
east of France ruled by a
cadet branch
In history and heraldry, a cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets— realm, title ...
of the French kings, the
House of Valois-Anjou
The House of Valois-Anjou (, it, Casa Valois-Angiò) was a noble French family and cadet branch of the House of Valois. Members of the house served as monarchs of Naples, as well as several other territories.
History
The house was founded in the ...
. Margaret was the second daughter of
René, King of Naples, and of
Isabella, Duchess of Lorraine
Isabella (1400 – 28 February 1453) was suo jure Duchess of Lorraine, from 25 January 1431 to her death in 1453. She was also Queen of Naples by marriage to René of Anjou. Isabella ruled the Kingdom of Naples and her husband's domains in Fr ...
. She had five brothers and four sisters, as well as three half-siblings from her father's relationships with mistresses. Her father, popularly known as "Good King René", was
duke of Anjou
The Count of Anjou was the ruler of the County of Anjou, first granted by Charles the Bald in the 9th century to Robert the Strong. Ingelger and his son, Fulk the Red, were viscounts until Fulk assumed the title of Count of Anjou. The Robertians ...
and titular king of
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
,
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
, and
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
; he has been described as "a man of many crowns but no kingdoms". Margaret was baptised at
Toul
Toul () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France.
It is a sub-prefecture of the department.
Geography
Toul is between Commercy and Nancy, and the river Moselle and Canal de la Marne au Rhin.
Climate
Toul h ...
in Lorraine and, in the care of her father's old nurse Theophanie la Magine, she spent her early years at the castle at
Tarascon
Tarascon (; ), sometimes referred to as Tarascon-sur-Rhône, is a commune situated at the extreme west of the Bouches-du-Rhône department of France in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Inhabitants are referred to as Tarasconnais or Taras ...
on the River
Rhône
The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...
in
Provence
Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...
and in the old royal palace at
Capua
Capua ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta, in the region of Campania, southern Italy, situated north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain.
History
Ancient era
The name of Capua comes from the Etrusc ...
, near Naples in the
Kingdom of Sicily
The Kingdom of Sicily ( la, Regnum Siciliae; it, Regno di Sicilia; scn, Regnu di Sicilia) was a state that existed in the south of the Italian Peninsula and for a time the region of Ifriqiya from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 un ...
. Her mother took care of her education and may have arranged for her to have lessons with the scholar
Antoine de la Sale
Antoine de la Sale (also ''la Salle'', ''de Lasalle''; 1385/861460/61) was a French courtier, educator and writer.
He participated in a number of military campaigns in his youth and he only began writing when he had reached middle age, in the late ...
, who taught her brothers. In childhood, Margaret was known as ''la petite créature''
and was interested in French romances and hunting.
Her family included several prominent women who exercised power in politics, war, and administration as regents and queen-lieutenants. Her mother,
Isabella of Lorraine
Isabella (1400 – 28 February 1453) was suo jure Duchess of Lorraine, from 25 January 1431 to her death in 1453. She was also Queen of Naples by marriage to René of Anjou. Isabella ruled the Kingdom of Naples and her husband's domains in F ...
, fought wars on behalf of her husband while he was imprisoned in 1431-32 and 1434-36 by the duke of Burgundy,
Philip the Good
Philip III (french: Philippe le Bon; nl, Filips de Goede; 31 July 1396 – 15 June 1467) was Duke of Burgundy from 1419 until his death. He was a member of a cadet line of the Valois dynasty, to which all 15th-century kings of France belonge ...
, and ruled the
Duchy of Lorraine
The Duchy of Lorraine (french: Lorraine ; german: Lothringen ), originally Upper Lorraine, was a duchy now included in the larger present-day region of Lorraine in northeastern France. Its capital was Nancy.
It was founded in 959 following t ...
in her own right. Her paternal grandmother,
Yolande of Aragon
Yolande of Aragon (11 August 1384 – 14 November 1442) was Duchess of Anjou and Countess of Provence by marriage, who acted as regent of Provence during the minority of her son. She was a daughter of John I of Aragon and his wife Violant ...
, ruled the Duchy of Anjou as regent for her son while Margaret was a child. Yolande repelled English military presence and supported the disinherited
Dauphin.
[Kendall, p.19.] It has been suggested that this family example provided her with precedents for her later actions as regent for her son.
Attitudes to women's exercise of power were different in Western Europe than in England, and England at the time was more opposed to women exercising authority.
Marriage, concession of Maine, and subsequent rule
Margaret met with English envoys at
Tours
Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 ...
on 4 May 1444 to discuss her marriage to Henry VI of England.
On 24 May, she was formally betrothed to Henry by proxy. Her uncle,
Charles VII of France
Charles VII (22 February 1403 – 22 July 1461), called the Victorious (french: le Victorieux) or the Well-Served (), was King of France from 1422 to his death in 1461.
In the midst of the Hundred Years' War, Charles VII inherited the throne of F ...
, who may have suggested the marriage as part of peace efforts between France and England near the conclusion of the
Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French Crown, ...
, was present.
The marriage was negotiated principally by
William de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk
William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk, (16 October 1396 – 2 May 1450), nicknamed Jackanapes, was an English magnate, statesman, and military commander during the Hundred Years' War. He became a favourite of the weak king Henry VI of Engl ...
, and the settlement included a remarkably small dowry of 20,000 francs and the unrealised claim, via Margaret's mother, to the territories of
Mallorca
Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean.
The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...
and
Menorca
Menorca or Minorca (from la, Insula Minor, , smaller island, later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Majorca. Its capi ...
, which had been occupied for centuries by the
Crown of Aragon
The Crown of Aragon ( , ) an, Corona d'Aragón ; ca, Corona d'Aragó, , , ; es, Corona de Aragón ; la, Corona Aragonum . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of B ...
.
The marriage settlement also contained the promise of a twenty-three-month truce with France.
Opinions were mixed as to the wisdom of the marriage,
but the prevailing understanding was that it represented a genuine effort at peace.
![Vigiles du roi Charles VII 15](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/Vigiles_du_roi_Charles_VII_15.jpg)
Loans were taken out by the government in order to pay for the considerable expense of transporting Margaret to England. Solicitation for the loans emphasised the role that the marriage, and Margaret herself, would play in seeking peace with France. This was a theme that continued throughout the preparations for her wedding. She arrived in England on 9 April 1445 and travelled to London accompanied by various lords and courtiers.
She reached London on 28 May, where she was met by the mayor and
aldermen
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members the ...
of the city. The predicted turnout for her arrival and procession was so large that on 8 May, an inspection of roofs and balconies was ordered due to the expectation that spectators would use them as vantage points for her progress.
Her ceremonial progress through the city lasted two days, the intervening night spent, by custom, in the
Tower of London
The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...
. It was accompanied by eight theatrical pageants. Five of these pageants concerned the peace with France, casting Margaret as a symbol of, or the agent of, peace. Three spoke of her spiritual role as a redeemer and intercessor.
It is uncertain whether these pageants represented a propaganda effort on the part of the Crown
or reflected popular sentiment.
On 23 April 1445, Margaret married King
Henry VI of England
Henry VI (6 December 1421 – 21 May 1471) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. The only child of Henry V, he succeeded to the English thron ...
at
Titchfield Abbey
Titchfield Abbey is a medieval abbey and later country house, located in the village of Titchfield near Fareham in Hampshire, England. The abbey was founded in 1222 for Premonstratensian canons, an austere order of priests. The abbey was a mi ...
in
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
. She was fifteen, and he was twenty-three. She was then crowned
Queen of England on 30 May 1445 at
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...
by
John Stafford,
Archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...
, at the age of fifteen.
[Margaret Lucille Kekewich, ''The Good King: René of Anjou and Fifteenth Century Europe'', (Palgrave Macmillan, 2008), 101.] Those that anticipated the future return of English claims to French territory believed that she already understood her duty to protect the interests of the Crown fervently.
The wedding and her transport were very expensive, estimated by some historians at more than £5000.
Shortly after her coronation, René of Anjou entered negotiations with the English crown in an attempt to barter a lifetime's alliance and a twenty-year truce in exchange for the cession of the English-held territory of
Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...
to Anjou and Henry's agreement to abandon his claim to Anjou.
Ultimately, the agreement ended without an alliance with Anjou and with the loss of Maine.
Rumours that the concession of Maine was part of Margaret's marriage settlement, though false, circulated, and were repeated by chroniclers. Margaret, alongside Henry, corresponded closely with Charles VII regarding the agreement, attempting to act as a mediator.
The loss of Maine, regarded as a betrayal, was deeply unpopular with the English public,
who were already inclined to mistrust Margaret due to her French origins.
Blame was cast on William de la Pole, due to his role in negotiations. The reputation of Margaret's marriage suffered as a result, although she herself was not openly blamed for the loss.
In the early years of their marriage, prior to Henry's illness, Margaret and Henry spent significant proportions of their time together by choice. They shared an interest in education and culture. On 30 March 1448, she was granted license to found
Queens' College, Cambridge
Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the oldest colleges of the university, founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. The college spans the River Cam, colloquially referred to as the "light s ...
.
Prior to 1453, there is little evidence of public political efforts on her part.
Most of her surviving letters were written during this period, and the majority pertain to acts of intercession, mediation, and intervention in matters on which she had been asked to act, such as the arranging of marriages, the return of wrongfully taken property, and the collection of alms. These were expected and important parts of the role of a noblewoman or queen. Some were successful, and others regarded as high-handed or ill-thought-out. On one occasion, she recommended a man named Alexander Manning to the role of gaoler at
Newgate; shortly after, he turned the prisoners loose in an act of protest at his rumoured dismissal for negligence and was then jailed himself.
Birth of a son
Henry, who was more interested in religion and learning than in military matters, was not a successful king. He had reigned since he was only a few months old, and his actions had been controlled by protectors, magnates who were effectively regents. When he married Margaret, his mental condition was already unstable, and by the time of the birth of their only son,
Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales
Edward of Westminster (13 October 1453 – 4 May 1471), also known as Edward of Lancaster, was the only son of King Henry VI of England and Margaret of Anjou. He was killed aged seventeen at the Battle of Tewkesbury.
Early life
Edward was born ...
(born 13 October 1453), he had suffered a complete breakdown.
Beginnings of the dynastic civil wars
Enmity between Margaret and the Duke of York
After retiring from London to live in lavish state at
Greenwich
Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross.
Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...
, Margaret was occupied with the care of her young son and did not display any signs of political will until she believed her husband was threatened with deposition by the ambitious
Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York
Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York (21 September 1411 – 30 December 1460), also named Richard Plantagenet, was a leading English magnate and claimant to the throne during the Wars of the Roses. He was a member of the ruling House of Plantage ...
, who, to her consternation, had been appointed Lord Protector while Henry was mentally incapacitated from 1453 to 1454. The duke was a credible claimant to the English throne and by the end of his protectorship there were many powerful nobles and relatives prepared to back his claim. Whereas the Duke of York was ambitious and capable, Henry (surrounded with corrupt advisers) was trusting, pliable, and increasingly unstable, and Margaret was defiantly unpopular, grimly and gallantly determined to maintain the English crown for her progeny. Yet at least one scholar identifies the source of the eventual Lancastrian downfall not as York's ambitions nearly so much as Margaret's ill-judged enmity toward York and her over-indulgence in unpopular allies. Nevertheless, Queen Margaret was a powerful force in the world of politics. King Henry was putty in her hands when she wanted something done.
Margaret's biographer Helen Maurer, however, disagrees with earlier historians having dated the much-vaunted enmity between the Queen and York to the time he obtained the office of the protectorship. She suggests the mutual antagonism came about two years later in 1455 in the wake of the
First Battle of St Albans
The First Battle of St Albans, fought on 22 May 1455 at St Albans, 22 miles (35 km) north of London, traditionally marks the beginning of the Wars of the Roses in England. Richard, Duke of York, and his allies, the Neville earls of Salisb ...
, when Margaret perceived him as a challenge to the king's authority. Maurer bases this conclusion on a judicious study of Margaret's pattern of presenting gifts; this revealed that Margaret took a great deal of care to demonstrate that she favoured both York and
Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset
Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset, 4th Earl of Somerset, 1st Earl of Dorset, 1st Marquess of Dorset styled 1st Count of Mortain, KG (140622 May 1455), was an English nobleman and an important figure during the Hundred Years' War. His rival ...
, equally in the early 1450s. Maurer also claims that Margaret appeared to accept York's protectorship and asserts there is no substantial evidence to back up the long-standing belief that she was responsible for the Yorkists' exclusion from the Great Council following Henry's recovery (
see below).
The late historian
Paul Murray Kendall
Paul Murray Kendall (March 1, 1911 – November 21, 1973) was an American academic and historian, who taught for over 30 years at Ohio University and then, after his retirement, at the University of Kansas.
Biography
Kendall was born in Phila ...
, on the other hand, maintained that Margaret's allies Edmund Beaufort and
William de la Pole
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
, then Earl of Suffolk, had no difficulty in persuading her that York, until then one of Henry VI's most trusted advisers, was responsible for her unpopularity and already too powerful to be trusted. Margaret not only persuaded Henry to recall York from his post as governor in France and banish him instead to Ireland, she repeatedly attempted to have him assassinated during his travels to and from Ireland, once in 1449 and again in 1450. Edmund Beaufort and Suffolk's joint responsibility for the secret surrender of Maine in 1448, and then the subsequent disastrous loss of the rest of Normandy in 1449 embroiled Margaret and Henry's court in riots, uprisings by the magnates, and calls for the impeachment and execution of Margaret's two strongest allies. It also might have made an ultimate battle to the death between Margaret and the House of York inevitable by making manifest Richard's dangerous popularity with the Commons. Richard of York, safely returned from Ireland in 1450, confronted Henry and was readmitted as a trusted advisor. Soon thereafter, Henry agreed to convene Parliament to address the calls for reform. When Parliament met, the demands could not have been less acceptable to Margaret: not only were both Edmund Beaufort and Suffolk impeached for criminal mismanagement of French affairs and subverting justice, but it was charged as a crime against Suffolk (now a duke) that he had antagonised the king against the Duke of York. Further, the demands for reform put forward included that the Duke of York be acknowledged as the first councillor to the king, and the Speaker of Commons, perhaps with more fervour than wisdom, even proposed Richard, Duke of York, be recognised as heir to the throne. Within a few months, however, Margaret had regained control of Henry, Parliament was dissolved, the incautious Speaker thrown in prison, and Richard of York retired to Wales for the time being.
In 1457, the kingdom was again outraged when it was discovered that
Pierre de Brézé
Pierre de Brézé (or de Brezé) ( 1410 – 16 July 1465) was a French soldier and courtier in the service of kings Charles VII and Louis XI.
Early life
Pierre de Brézé was born circa 1410.
Career
De Brézé rose to prominence during the Hu ...
, a powerful French general and an adherent of Margaret, had landed on the English coast and burnt the town of
Sandwich
A sandwich is a food typically consisting of vegetables, sliced cheese or meat, placed on or between slices of bread, or more generally any dish wherein bread serves as a container or wrapper for another food type. The sandwich began as a po ...
. As leader of a French force of 4,000 men from
Honfleur
Honfleur () is a commune in the Calvados department in northwestern France. It is located on the southern bank of the estuary of the Seine across from le Havre and very close to the exit of the Pont de Normandie. The people that inhabit Honf ...
, he aimed at taking advantage of the chaos in England. The mayor, John Drury, was killed in this raid. It thereafter became an established tradition, which survives to this day, that the Mayor of Sandwich wears a black robe mourning this ignoble deed. Margaret, in association with de Brézé, became the object of scurrilous rumours and vulgar ballads. Public indignation was so high that Margaret, with great reluctance, was forced to give the Duke of York's kinsman
Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'strong ...
, a commission to keep the sea for three years. He already held the post of
Captain of Calais
The town of Calais, now part of France, was in English hands from 1347 to 1558, and this page lists the commanders of Calais, holding office from the English Crown, called at different times Captain of Calais, King's Lieutenant of Calais (Castle ...
.
Leader of Lancastrian faction
Hostilities between the rival Yorkist and Lancastrian factions soon flared into armed conflict. In May 1455, just over five months after Henry VI recovered from a bout of mental illness and Richard of York's protectorship had ended, Margaret called for a Great Council from which the Yorkists were excluded. The Council called for an assemblage of the peers at
Leicester
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city l ...
to protect the king "against his enemies". York apparently was prepared for conflict and soon was marching south to meet the Lancastrian army marching north. The Lancastrians suffered a crushing defeat at the
First Battle of St Albans
The First Battle of St Albans, fought on 22 May 1455 at St Albans, 22 miles (35 km) north of London, traditionally marks the beginning of the Wars of the Roses in England. Richard, Duke of York, and his allies, the Neville earls of Salisb ...
on 22 May 1455. Edmund Beaufort, the Earl of Northumberland and Lord Clifford were killed, Wiltshire fled the battlefield and King Henry was taken prisoner by the victorious Duke of York. In March 1458 along with her husband and leading nobles of the warring factions, she took part in
The Love Day
The Loveday of 1458 (also known as the Annunciation Loveday) was a ritualistic reconciliation between warring factions of the English nobility that took place at St Paul's Cathedral on 25 March 1458. Following the outbreak of the Wars of the Ros ...
procession in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
.
In 1459, hostilities resumed at the
Battle of Blore Heath
The Battle of Blore Heath was a battle in the English Wars of the Roses. It was fought on 23 September 1459, at Blore Heath in Staffordshire. Blore Heath is a sparsely populated area of farmland, two miles east of the town of Market Drayton in ...
, where
James Tuchet, 5th Baron Audley
James Tuchet, 5th Baron Audley, 2nd Baron Tuchet (c. 1398 – 23 September 1459) of Heleigh Castle was an English peer.
James Tuchet, 5th Baron Audley, son of Elizabeth Stafford and her husband John Tuchet, 4th Baron Audley, was a distinguished ...
, was defeated by a Yorkist army under
Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury.
The Wars of the Roses
Early campaigns
![Margaret of Anjou 1463](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Margaret_of_Anjou_1463.jpg)
While Margaret was attempting to raise further support for the Lancastrian cause in Scotland, her principal commander,
Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset
Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset (26 January 143615 May 1464) was an important Lancastrian military commander during the English Wars of the Roses. He is sometimes numbered the 2nd Duke of Somerset, because the title was re-created for his ...
, gained a major victory for her at the
Battle of Wakefield on 30 December 1460 by defeating the combined armies of the Duke of York and the Earl of Salisbury. Both men were beheaded and their heads displayed on the gates of the city of York. As Margaret was in Scotland at the time of the battle, it was impossible that she issued the orders for their execution, despite popular belief to the contrary. Next was the
Second Battle of St Albans
The Second Battle of St Albans was fought on 17 February 1461 during the Wars of the Roses in England. It took place at St Albans in Hertfordshire, the first battle having been fought in 1455. The army of the Yorkist faction under the Earl of W ...
(at which she was present) on 17 February 1461.
In this battle, she defeated the Yorkist forces of
Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'strong ...
, and recaptured her husband. After this battle, she ordered the execution of two Yorkist
prisoners of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold priso ...
,
William Bonville, 1st Baron Bonville
William Bonville, 1st Baron Bonville (12 or 31 August 1392 – 18 February 1461), was an English nobleman and an important, powerful landowner in south-west England during the Late Middle Ages. Bonville's father died before Bonville reached ...
, the rival of the loyal Lancastrian, the Earl of Devon, and
Sir Thomas Kyriell
Sir Thomas Kyriell (1396–18 February 1461) was an English soldier of the Hundred Years' War and the opening of the Wars of the Roses. He was executed after the Second Battle of St Albans.
Background
The de Criol, Kyriel or Kyriell family ...
. Both men had kept watch over King Henry, a prisoner to Warwick, to keep him out of harm's way during the battle. The king had promised the two knights immunity, but Margaret gainsaid him and ordered their execution by decapitation. It is alleged that she put the men on trial with her son presiding. "Fair son", she allegedly asked, "what death shall these knights die?" Prince Edward replied that their heads should be cut off, despite the king's pleas for mercy.
[Costain, p.305.]
Sojourn in France
The Lancastrian army was beaten at the
Battle of Towton
The Battle of Towton took place on 29 March 1461 during the Wars of the Roses, near Towton in North Yorkshire, and "has the dubious distinction of being probably the largest and bloodiest battle on English soil". Fought for ten hours between ...
on 29 March 1461 by the son of the late Duke of York, the future
Edward IV of England
Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England ...
, who deposed King Henry and proclaimed himself king. Margaret was determined to win back her son's inheritance and fled with him into Wales and later Scotland. Finding her way to France, she made an ally of her cousin, King
Louis XI of France
Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (french: le Prudent), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII.
Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revo ...
, and at his instigation she allowed an approach from Edward's former supporter, Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, who had fallen out with his former friend as a result of Edward's marriage to
Elizabeth Woodville
Elizabeth Woodville (also spelt Wydville, Wydeville, or Widvile;Although spelling of the family name is usually modernised to "Woodville", it was spelt "Wydeville" in contemporary publications by Caxton, but her tomb at St. George's Chapel, Wind ...
, and was now seeking revenge for the loss of his political influence. Warwick's daughter,
Anne Neville
Anne Neville (11 June 1456 – 16 March 1485) was Queen of England as the wife of King Richard III. She was the younger of the two daughters and co-heiresses of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick (the "Kingmaker"). Before her marriage to Ric ...
, was married to Margaret's son Edward, Prince of Wales, in order to cement the alliance, and Margaret insisted that Warwick return to England to prove himself before she followed. He did so, restoring Henry VI briefly to the throne on 3 October 1470.
Final defeat at Tewkesbury
By the time Margaret, her son and daughter-in-law (Anne) were ready to follow Warwick back to England, the tables had again turned in favour of the Yorkists, and the Earl was defeated and killed by the returning King Edward IV in the
Battle of Barnet
The Battle of Barnet was a decisive engagement in the Wars of the Roses, a dynastic conflict of 15th-century England. The military action, along with the subsequent Battle of Tewkesbury, secured the throne for Edward IV. On Sunday 14 April ...
on 14 April 1471. Margaret was forced to lead her own army at the
Battle of Tewkesbury
The Battle of Tewkesbury, which took place on 4 May 1471, was one of the decisive battles of the Wars of the Roses in England. King Edward IV and his forces loyal to the House of York completely defeated those of the rival House of Lancaster. ...
on 4 May 1471, at which the Lancastrian forces were defeated and her seventeen-year-old son
Edward of Westminster
Edward of Westminster (13 October 1453 – 4 May 1471), also known as Edward of Lancaster, was the only son of King Henry VI of England and Margaret of Anjou. He was killed aged seventeen at the Battle of Tewkesbury.
Early life
Edward was born ...
was killed. The circumstances of Edward's death have never been made clear; it is not known whether he was killed in the actual fighting or executed after the battle by the
Duke of Clarence
Duke of Clarence is a substantive title which has been traditionally awarded to junior members of the British Royal Family. All three creations were in the Peerage of England.
The title was first granted to Lionel of Antwerp, the second son ...
. Over the previous ten years, Margaret had gained a reputation for aggression and ruthlessness, but following her defeat at Tewkesbury and the death of her only son, she was completely broken in spirit. After she was taken captive by
William Stanley at the end of the battle, Margaret was imprisoned by the order of King Edward. She was sent first to
Wallingford Castle
Wallingford Castle was a major medieval castle situated in Wallingford in the English county of Oxfordshire (historically Berkshire), adjacent to the River Thames. Established in the 11th century as a motte-and-bailey design within an Anglo-Sa ...
and then was transferred to the more secure
Tower of London
The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...
. Henry VI was also imprisoned in the Tower in the wake of Tewkesbury and he died there on the night of 21 May; the cause of his death is unknown, though
regicide
Regicide is the purposeful killing of a monarch or sovereign of a polity and is often associated with the usurpation of power. A regicide can also be the person responsible for the killing. The word comes from the Latin roots of ''regis'' ...
was suspected. In 1472 she was placed in the custody of her former lady-in-waiting
Alice Chaucer, Duchess of Suffolk
Alice may refer to:
* Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname
Literature
* Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll
* ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...
, where she remained until ransomed by
Louis XI
Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (french: le Prudent), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII.
Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revol ...
in 1475.
[Hartley, Cathy (2003). ''A Historical Dictionary of British Women''. London: Europa Publications Ltd. p.298 ]
Final years and death
Margaret lived in France for seven years as a poor relation of the king. She was hosted by Francis de Vignolles and died, impoverished, in his castle of Dampierre-sur-Loire, near Anjou on 25 August 1482 at the age of 52. She was entombed next to her parents in
Angers Cathedral
Angers Cathedral (french: Cathédrale Saint-Maurice d'Angers) is a Roman Catholic church dedicated to Saint Maurice in Angers, France. It is the seat of the Bishops of Angers.
Built between the 11th and 16th centuries, it is known for its mixt ...
, but her remains were removed and scattered by revolutionaries who ransacked the cathedral during the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
.
Margaret's letters
Many letters written by Margaret during her tenure as queen consort are still extant. One was written to the
Corporation of London
The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the municipal governing body of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United King ...
regarding injuries inflicted on her tenants at the manor of
Enfield
Enfield may refer to:
Places Australia
* Enfield, New South Wales
* Enfield, South Australia
** Electoral district of Enfield, a state electoral district in South Australia, corresponding to the suburb
** Enfield High School (South Australia)
...
, which comprised part of her
dower lands. Another letter was written to the
Archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...
. Margaret's letters, which typically began with the words "By the Quene," are compiled in a book edited by
Cecil Monro
Cecil Owen James Monro (8 April 1883 – 1 May 1966) was an Australian politician and a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly between 1932 and 1941 and 1950–53. He was a member of the United Australia Party and the Liberal Party ...
published for the
Camden Society
The Camden Society was a text publication society founded in London in 1838 to publish early historical and literary materials, both unpublished manuscripts and new editions of rare printed books. It was named after the 16th-century antiquary a ...
in 1863.
Possible connection to Elizabeth Woodville
Elizabeth Woodville
Elizabeth Woodville (also spelt Wydville, Wydeville, or Widvile;Although spelling of the family name is usually modernised to "Woodville", it was spelt "Wydeville" in contemporary publications by Caxton, but her tomb at St. George's Chapel, Wind ...
(born ca 1437), later Queen of England as the wife of Margaret's husband's rival,
King Edward IV, purportedly served Margaret of Anjou as a
maid of honour
A maid of honour is a junior attendant of a queen in royal households. The position was and is junior to the lady-in-waiting. The equivalent title and office has historically been used in most European royal courts.
Role
Traditionally, a queen ...
. However, the evidence is too scanty to permit historians to establish this with absolute certainty; several women at Margaret's court bore the name Elizabeth or Isabella Grey.
[
Smith, George (1975). ''The Coronation of Elizabeth Wydeville''. Gloucester: Gloucester Reprints. p.28]
Ancestors
Depictions in fiction
Margaret is a major character in
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's
first tetralogy of History plays. ''
Henry VI, Part 1
''Henry VI, Part 1'', often referred to as ''1 Henry VI'', is a history play by William Shakespeare—possibly in collaboration with Christopher Marlowe and Thomas Nashe—believed to have been written in 1591. It is set during the lifetime ...
'', ''
Part 2'', ''
Part 3
Part, parts or PART may refer to:
People
*Armi Pärt (born 1991), Estonian handballer
*Arvo Pärt (born 1935), Estonian classical composer
*Brian Part (born 1962), American child actor
*Dealtry Charles Part (1882–1961), sheriff (1926–1927) an ...
'' and ''
Richard III
Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Battl ...
''. She is the only character to appear alive in all four plays, but due to the length of the plays many of her lines are usually cut in modern adaptations.
Shakespeare portrays Margaret as an intelligent, ruthless woman who easily dominates her husband and fiercely vies for power with her enemies. In ''Henry VI, Part 2'' Margaret has an affair with the Duke of Suffolk and mourns his death by carrying around his severed head. In ''Henry VI, Part 3'' Richard Plantagenet Duke of York famously calls her "She-wolf of France/ but worse than wolves of France/
Whose tongue more poisons than the adder's tooth!" Later, she personally stabs the Duke of York on the battlefield after humiliatingly taunting him, and becomes suicidal when her son Edward is killed in front of her. Although in reality, Margaret spent the rest of her life outside England after the death of her husband and son, Shakespeare has her return to the court in ''Richard III''. Margaret serves as a
Cassandra
Cassandra or Kassandra (; Ancient Greek: Κασσάνδρα, , also , and sometimes referred to as Alexandra) in Greek mythology was a Trojan priestess dedicated to the god Apollo and fated by him to utter true prophecies but never to be believe ...
-like prophetess; in her first appearance she dramatically curses the majority of the nobles for their roles in the downfall of the House of Lancaster. All of her curses come to pass as the noblemen are betrayed and executed by Richard of Gloucester, and each character reflects on her curse before his execution. Shakespeare had famously described Margaret: "How ill-beseeming is it in thy sex/ To triumph like an Amazonian trull/ Upon their woes whom Fortune captivates."
In the 1963 production by the
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...
of
The Wars of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These wars were fought bet ...
, broadcast by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
. In the second series of ''
'', a three-part television adaptation of the Tetralogy first broadcast in 2016, Margaret was portrayed by
.
Margaret's prominence in Shakespeare has led many theatre-makers to interpret the story with her at the center, drawing from the plays she is featured in. An adaptation called ''Margaret of Anjou'' by
and an adaptation of the three Henry VI plays and Richard III entitled ''War of the Roses'' by Eric Ting and Philippa Kelly at
in 2018 gave Margaret great prominence.
in Manchester premiered ''Queen Margaret'', using all the lines spoken by Margaret over the four plays with additional material by playwright
.