Margaret of Anjou

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Margaret of Anjou
Queen consort of England (first time)
Tenure	23 April 1445 – 4 March 1461
Coronation	30 May 1445
Queen consort of England (second time)
Reign as consort	30 October 1470 – 11 April 1471
Spouse	Henry VI of England
Issue
Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales
House	House of Valois (by birth) House of Lancaster (by marriage)
Father	René of Anjou
Mother	Isabella, Duchess of Lorraine
Born	23 March 1430(1430-03-23) Pont-à-Mousson, Lorraine
Died	25 August 1482 (aged 52) Anjou, France
Burial	Angers Cathedral, Anjou

Margaret of Anjou (French: Marguerite d'Anjou; 23 March 1430 – 25 August 1482) was the wife of King Henry VI of England. As such, she was Queen consort of England from 1445 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471 and Queen consort of France from 1445 to 1453.^[1]

She led the Lancastrian contingent in the Wars of the Roses; and due to the king's frequent bouts of insanity, Margaret virtually ruled the kingdom in lieu of her husband. It was she who in May 1455 called for a Great Council which excluded the Yorkist faction, and thus provided the spark which ignited the civil conflict that lasted for over thirty years, decimated the old nobility, and caused the deaths of thousands of men.

Marriage to Henry VI

Margaret of Anjou's arms as Queen consort of England^[2]

Margaret was born on 23 March 1430, in Pont-à-Mousson in the Duchy of Lorraine, an Imperial fief east of France that was ruled by the cadet branch of the French kings, the House of Valois-Anjou. Margaret was the second eldest daughter of René I of Naples, Duke of Anjou and Bar, King of Naples and Sicily and Isabella, Duchess of Lorraine.

On 23 April 1445, Margaret married King Henry VI of England, who was eight years her senior, at Titchfield in Hampshire. Henry at the time also claimed the Kingdom of France and controlled various parts of northern France. Margaret's uncle, Charles VII, who also claimed the crown of France, agreed to the marriage of his niece to his rival on the condition that he would not have to provide the customary dowry and instead would receive the lands of Maine and Anjou from the English.

Margaret was fifteen years old but already a woman, beautiful, passionate and proud, and knew her duty which was to zealously guard the interests of the Crown. She inherited this indomitability from her mother Isabella, who struggled to establish her husband's claim to the Kingdom of Naples, and her paternal grandmother Yolande of Aragon, who actually governed Anjou "with a man's hand", putting the province in order and keeping out the English.^[3] Thus by family example and her own strong-willed personality, she was fully capable of becoming the champion of the Crown.^[4]

Henry, who had more interest in religion and learning than in military matters, was not a successful king. He had reigned since he was a few months old and his actions had been controlled by regents. When he married Margaret, his mental condition was already unstable and by the time their only son, Edward of Westminster, was born on 13 October 1453, he had suffered a complete mental breakdown. Rumours were rife that he was incapable of fathering a child and that the new Prince of Wales was the result of an adulterous liaison on Margaret's part. Many have speculated that either Edmund Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset or James Butler, Earl of Wiltshire, both staunch allies of Margaret, was the young prince's actual father ^[5]. However, the political factions against her were intent on spreading the rumours to discredit Edward's claim to the throne, it is arguably much more likely that Henry is the father of Edward.^{[citation needed]}

The marriage of Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou is depicted in this miniature from Vigiles de Charles VII

Although Margaret was aggressively partisan, feudal and in possession of a volatile temperament, by dint of the cultured upbringing she received at her father's court, she shared her husband's love of learning and gave her patronage to the founding of Queens' College at Cambridge University. Elizabeth Woodville, the future Queen of England of the House of York, served as her Maid of Honour.

Beginnings of The Wars of the Roses

After retiring from London to live in lavish state at the palace of Greenwich, Margaret was occupied with the care of her young son and did not display any signs of overt belligerence until she believed her husband was threatened with deposition by the ambitious Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York^[6] who to her consternation had been appointed regent during the king's descent into mental incapacity from 1453 to 1454. The duke was a credible claimant to the English throne and by the end of York's regency there were many powerful nobles and relatives who were prepared to back his claim. There are perhaps few episodes in English history that give so much room for speculation and debate, however, as the origins and the proper place of blame, if any, in the Wars of the Roses. The Duke of York was powerful; Henry's advisors corrupt; Henry himself trusting, pliable, and increasingly unstable; Margaret 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-judging enmity toward York and her over-indugence in unpopular allies.^[7] Nevertheless, Queen Margaret was a powerful force in the world of politics. King Henry was putty in her hands when she wanted something done.^[8]

Margaret's allies, Somerset and William de la Pole, then Earl of Suffolk, had no difficulty in persuading the new queen that York, until then one of Henry VI's most trusted advisors, was responsible for her unpopularity and was already too powerful to be trusted. Margaret not only convinced 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.^[9] Somerset's 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, and uprisings by the magnates, and calls for the impeachment and execution of Margaret's two strongest allies to that point. It also may 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 Somerset 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 antagonized 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 fervor than wisdom, even proposed that Richard, Duke of York, be recognized as heir to the throne.^[10] Within a few months, however, Margaret had regained control of Henry, Parliament was dissolved, the incautious Speaker thrown in prison for his troubles, and Richard of York retired to Wales for the time being.^[11]

In 1457, the kingdom was again outraged, when it was discovered that Pierre de Brézé, a powerful French general and an adherent of Margaret, had landed on the English coast and burnt the town of Sandwich, as leader of a French force of 4,000 men from Honfleur, 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 a commission to keep the sea for three years. He already held the post of Captain of Calais.^[5]

Hostilities between the rival Yorkist and Lancastrian factions soon flared into armed conflict. In May of 1455, just over five months after Henry VI recovered substantially from his bout of mental illness at the end of 1454 and Richard of York's regency had duly ended, Margaret called for a Great Council from which the Yorkists were excluded. The Council called for an assemblage of the peers at Leicester to protect the king "against his enemies." York apparently was not unprepared for conflict, and soon was marching south to meet the Lancastrian army marching north.^[12] The Lancastrians suffered a crushing defeat at the First Battle of St Albans on 22 May 1455. Somerset was killed, Wiltshire fled the battlefield and King Henry was taken prisoner by the victorious Duke of York.

Although the king was captured, Margaret managed to escape and immediately began raising an army in Wales and the north of England, where she was assisted by Henry's half-brother, Jasper Tudor. In 1459, hostilities resumed at the Battle of Blore Heath, where Margaret is said to have witnessed her commander, James Touchet, Lord Audley defeated by a Yorkist army under Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury.

Campaigns

While she was attempting to raise further support for the Lancastrian cause in Scotland ^[13], her principal commander, Henry Beaufort, Third Duke of Somerset ^[14], gained a major victory for her at the Battle of Wakefield on 30 December 1460, by defeating the combined armies of Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, and the Earl of Salisbury. Margaret had both beheaded, and ordered their heads displayed on the gates of the city of York. She followed up with a victory at the Second Battle of St Albans on 17 February 1461, at which she defeated the Yorkist forces of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, and recaptured her husband. It was after this battle that she, in a blatant act of vengeance, ordered the execution of two Yorkist prisoners-of-war, William Bonville, 1st Baron Bonville and Sir Thomas Kyriel, who had kept watch over King Henry 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 executions by decapitation. It is alleged that she put the men on trial at which presided her son. "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.^[15]

On 29 March 1461, the Lancastrian army was beaten at the Battle of Towton by the son of the late Duke of York, Edward IV of 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, 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 and was now seeking revenge for the loss of his political influence. Warwick's daughter, Anne Neville, 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.

By the time Margaret, her son and daughter-in-law were ready to follow Warwick back to England, however, he had been defeated and killed by the returning King Edward IV in the Battle of Barnet on 14 April 1471, and Margaret was forced to lead her own army at the Battle of Tewkesbury on 4 May 1471, at which they were defeated and her seventeen-year old son was killed. Over the previous ten years, she had gained a reputation for aggression and ruthlessness, but now she was a broken spirit, imprisoned at both Wallingford Castle and in the Tower of London until ransomed by the French king in 1475.

She lived in France for the next seven years as a poor relation of the king. She died on 25 August 1482, at the age of fifty-two, in Anjou. She was entombed next to her parents in the cathedral of Angers. Her remains were removed and scattered by revolutionaries who ransacked the cathedral during the French Revolution of 1789.

Ancestors

A contemporary illumination of Margaret of Anjou

This representation of Margaret of Anjou comes from Illuminations From the Books of the Skinners Company, AD 1422. It was entered in the roll of the fraternity of Our Lady in 1475

Depictions in fiction

Margaret is a major character in William Shakespeare's three-part play Henry VI, Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3. She also appears as an old woman in Richard III.

Sharon Kay Penman's novel The Sunne in Splendour features her as an important character in the early parts of the book, up until the Battle of Tewkesbury.

Margaret features prominently in Anne Powers historical romance, The Royal Consorts.

She is also the title character of Giacomo Meyerbeer's opera Margherita d'Anjou of 1820.

References

1. ^ Hookham, Mary Ann, The life and times of Margaret of Anjou, queen of England and France, 1872.
2. ^ Boutell, Charles (1863), A Manual of Heraldry, Historical and Popular, London: Winsor & Newton, pp. 276 
3. ^ Kendall, Paul M., Richard The Third, p.19.
4. ^ ib. Kendall, p. 19.
5. ^ ^{a b} ib. Kendall, p. 32.
6. ^ ib. Kendall, pp. 30-31.
7. ^ ib. Kendall, pp. 18, 19, 24: "Excessive greed and ambition--the besetting sins of his contemporary peers--seem to have been largely absent from his character. It would require the unrelenting enmity of a queen to remind him that he owned a better title to the throne than Henry the Sixth," id. at 18. "It appears that Richard, Duke of York, was neither aiming at the crown nor seeking more of a voice in the government than he was entitled to. He represented, to many Englishmen of the day, the only hope of rescue from the swamp of disorder and evil rule in which the realm was floundering." Id. at p.517n8.
8. ^ Fraser, Antonia, The Lives of the Kings and Queens of England, p. 139.
9. ^ ib. Kendall, pp. 21-23, citing The Paston Letters, vol. 4, as original source.
10. ^ ib. Kendall, pp. 21-23.
11. ^ ib. Kendall, pp. 13-14. When York and the king and queen met again, on a field of truce at Blackheath in 1452, he found himself ambushed and taken prisoner while Somerset was again restored to honors. Id.
12. ^ ib. Kendall, pp.31-32.
13. ^ Haigh, Philip A., The Military Campaigns of the Wars of the Roses Stroud, Alan Sutton Publishing Ltd, 1995, p. 32. ISBN 978-0938289906.
14. ^ Wagner, J.A., Encyclopedia of the Wars of the Roses, Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO Inc., 2001, p. 26. ISBN 1851093583.
15. ^ Thomas B. Costain, The Last Plantagenets, p.305, published by Popular Library, New York, 1962

1. . Kendall, Paul Murray "Richard the Third", George Allen & Unwin Ltd., London, 1955, ISBN 0 04 942048 8

Further reading

• Maurer, Helen E. Margaret of Anjou: Queenship and Power in Late Medieval England. Boydell Press, 2003.
• Abott, Jacob. History of Margaret of Anjou, Queen of Henry VI of England. Reproduction of 1871 text by Kessinger Press, 2004.
• Bagley, J.J. Margaret of Anjou, Queen of England. Herbert Jenkins, London, 1948.
• Powlett-Jones, David. The Royal Tigress (as cited in R. F. Delderfield, To Serve Them All My Days. A Novel, pp. 404–405).

v • d • e Wars of the Roses Red Rose of Lancaster · White Rose of York Key figures Monarchs of England Henry VI · Edward IV · Edward V · Richard III · Henry VII Lancastrian Margaret of Anjou, Queen of England · Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland · Henry Percy, 3rd Earl of Northumberland · Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick · Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset · Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset · Edmund Beaufort, 4th Duke of Somerset · George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence Yorkist Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York · Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick · Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury · John Neville, 1st Marquess of Montagu · William Neville, 1st Earl of Kent · Thomas Neville Battles Lancastrian victories Battle of Ludford Bridge · Battle of Wakefield · Second Battle of St Albans · Battle of Ferrybridge (Indecisive) · Battle of Edgecote Moor · Battle of Bosworth Field · Battle of Stoke Field Yorkist victories First Battle of St Albans · Battle of Blore Heath · Battle of Sandwich · Battle of Northampton · Battle of Mortimer's Cross · Battle of Ferrybridge (Indecisive) · Battle of Towton · Battle of Hedgeley Moor · Battle of Hexham · Battle of Lose-coat Field · Battle of Barnet · Battle of Tewkesbury See also Act of Accord · Percy-Neville feud · Issue of Edward III of England

v • d • e House of Plantagenet Titles Count of Gâtinais (origin) · Count of Anjou · Count of Maine · King of Jerusalem (claim) · Duke of Aquitaine · Duke of Normandy · King of England · Lord of Ireland · Duke of Brittany · Lord of Cyprus · Prince of Wales · King of the Romans (claim) · King of France (claim) · King of Sicily (claim) · King of Castile (claim) Armorial of Plantagenet Branches House of Lancaster · House of York · House of Beaufort Monarchs, their queens and issue Henry II of England Spouse: Eleanor of Aquitaine William IX, Count of Poitiers · Henry the Young King · Richard I of England · Geoffrey, Duke of Brittany · Matilda of England, Duchess of Saxony · Eleanor, Queen of Castile · Joan, Queen of Sicily · John of England Illegitimates: William de Longespée, Earl of Salisbury · Geoffrey, Archbishop of York Henry the Young King Queen consort: Margaret of France William (died in infancy) Richard I of England Spouse: Berengaria of Navarre Illegitimates: Philip of Cognac John of England Spouse: Isabella of Angoulême Henry III of England · Richard, Earl of Cornwall · Joan, Queen of Scots · Isabella, Holy Roman Empress · Eleanor Illegitimates: Joan, Lady of Wales · Richard FitzRoy · Oliver FitzRoy · Geoffrey FitzRoy · John FitzRoy · Henry FitzRoy · Osbert Gifford · Eudes FitzRoy · Bartholomew FitzRoy · Maud FitzRoy · Isabel FitzRoy · Philip FitzRoy · William de Forz Henry III of England Spouse: Eleanor of Provence Edward I of England · Margaret, Queen of Scots · Beatrice, Duchess of Brittany · Edmund, Earl of Lancaster · Katherine Edward I of England Spouse:Eleanor of Castile · Margaret of France Eleanor, Countess of Bar · Joan, Countess of Hertford and Gloucester · Alphonso, Earl of Chester · Margaret, Duchess of Brabant · Mary Plantagenet · Elizabeth, Countess of Hereford · Edward II of England · Thomas, Earl of Norfolk · Edmund, Earl of Kent Edward II of England Spouse: Isabella of France Edward III of England · John, Earl of Cornwall · Eleanor, Countess of Guelders · Joan, Queen of Scots Edward III of England Spouse: Philippa of Hainault Edward, Prince of Wales · Isabella · Joan · Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence · John, Duke of Lancaster · Edmund, Duke of York · Mary, Duchess of Brittany · Margaret, Countess of Pembroke · Thomas, Duke of Gloucester Richard II of England Spouse: Anne of Bohemia · Isabella of Valois Henry IV of England Spouses: Mary de Bohun · Joanna of Navarre Henry V of England · Thomas, Duke of Clarence · John, Duke of Bedford · Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester · Blanche, Electorial Princess Palatine · Philippa, Queen of Denmark, Norway and Sweden Henry V of England Spouse: Catherine of Valois Henry VI of England Henry VI of England Spouse: Margaret of Anjou Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales Edward IV of England Spouse: Elizabeth Woodville Elizabeth, Queen of England · Mary of York · Cecily, Viscountess Welles · Edward V of England · Richard, Duke of York · Anne, Countess of Surrey · Catherine, Countess of Devon · Bridget of York Edward V of England no consort or issue Richard III of England Queen consort: Anne Neville Edward of Middleham, Prince of Wales Illegitimates: John of Gloucester · Katherine Plantagenet · Richard of Eastwell History Matilda, Lady of the English · Geoffrey V of Anjou · Treaty of Wallingford · Angevin Empire · Revolt of 1173–1174 · Third Crusade · Magna Carta · First Barons' War · Provisions of Oxford · Second Barons' War · Gothic architecture · University of Oxford · University of Cambridge · Parliament of England · Competitors for the Crown of Scotland · Treaty of Northampton · House of Capet · Hundred Years' War · Order of the Garter · College of Arms · Wars of the Roses Category · Royalty Portal