Welcome to a very special video, one in which todays
story is in collaboration with the Kings of France.
I'll have more about their channel later so please
stay tuned to the end of the video.
Now with that said let's begin our medieval tale.
A consort that ranks relatively high when it comes to being unpopular.
However, given the almost impossible situation she found herself
embroiled in, this lady could not have done
much more to help her husband and then her son.
A great deal of focus has been placed on her interactions
with French family members and allies,
as well as her position in England's Royal Court.
According to many historians, she was a major contributor
to the political tensions that eventually culminated
in the outbreak of hostilities known as the war of the Roses.
So join us now as we look back
at the extraordinary life and times of Margaret of Anjou.
She would have a poverty-stricken childhood yet
be born into a distinguished line,
although her family fell on hard times.
Her father was Rene of Anjou,
and her mother was Isabella, heir to the duchy of Lorraine.
Margaret was born on 23 March 1430.
Her father's sister was then married to the king of France, Charles VII,
who was still fighting the English and trying to regain his kingdom.
When the possibility of marriage rose for Margaret to a 24-year-old Henry VI,
she was delighted.
However, her father's intention was designed to regain his lands
of Anjou and reclaim Maine for his brother Charles.
So began an unlikely alliance, yet one that would make Margaret
not only the queen of England but also France, even though Henry's reign
was still far from certain after his coronation in Paris in 1430.
All seemed to be going well, the marriage was arranged,
and as part of the deal, Margaret's father was promised Maine as a reward.
However, not everyone was happy by these recent events.
Humphrey Duke of Gloucester, who was Henry's uncle, opposed the deal,
and his bitterness would turn to contempt and misery that would inevitably follow.
Margaret eventually arrived in England, but already the omens were not good!
She suffered illness and developed smallpox.
Due to her lack of funds, her wardrobe lacked quality garments,
so she had to have made new dresses befitting a queen
before being displayed to the public.
Henry himself was hardly swimming in money; he had to pledge the crown jewels
to pay for her new outfits, so all in all, it was a shaky start.
Margaret, as expected, was not liked by the people of England.
There was a brief display of happiness, but that soon waned,
and the euphoria died down.
But for all her problems, Margaret was now the queen and married to a king.
It's said that Henry was a kind and gentle fellow who was extremely religious.
Like his half brother Owen Tudor, he would have made a great monk as a king;
however, he was weak and pretty much insignificant in his role.
Margaret would soon overcome her initial worries about this new lifestyle and start
to dominate the relationship, yet remain loyal to her husband to the very end.
Their marriage had started
what would become a dynastic saga of epic proportions.
Both Lancastrians and Yorkists battled it out for supremacy, with so many fingers
in one pie it was bound to cause disruption on a scale not seen before.
The quarrel was about hereditary rights
but would, as per usual, come down to military might.
The clash between the white and red rose
factions would lead England into a thirty-year civil war.
Margaret had little in the way of choice
as to who she should give her support.
The Beaufort Lancastrian outfit was the one, yet
her husband Henry would struggle with what followed.
When Humphrey, duke of Gloucester, died in prison,
some say murdered by the Lancastrian duke of Suffolk, who was also murdered himself.
Richard of York would now become even closer to the throne;
if Henry died now without an heir, he would be king.
The ongoing battles continued, but then things changed on 13 October 1453.
Margaret gave birth to a son; it was her first
child in 8 years of marriage; he was named Edward.
Richard of York took the news badly; it had crushed
any expectation he may have had of becoming king.
Just a couple of months after the birth of Edward, Henry
was said to have had a bout of insanity.
York jumped on this and declared Margaret's son illegitimate,
only one outcome would solve this now awful situation,
and both sides began to arm for war.
In 1455 the wars of the roses began with a battle at St Alban's.
It was a bad day for the Lancastrians who were slaughtered.
Henry was captured,
and the last surviving Beaufort Edmund, duke of Somerset, was killed.
If Margaret was to save her crown, there was now only one
option left open to take leadership, and she did.
Richard declared himself regent, by 1460 had forced Henry to agree
that he would be his rightful heir and not his son Edward.
It was terrible news for Margaret, especially with her son
becoming disinherited.
She gathered troops and set out for Yorkist's estates.
At the battle of Wakefield, she overcame not only Richard of York
but also his younger son, earl of Rutland.
An excellent day for Margaret yet one that would backfire over time.
Although she crushed the leaders, Richard's eldest son Edward escaped
and became the new duke of York, his brothers George
and Richard had also managed to escape the fight unharmed.
Margarets biggest mistake was ordering her army to blitz
the countryside, which turned many people against her.
Over time the continuing battles just became progressively worse.
At Towton in 1461, it's said 35,000 men were slaughtered.
Some considered Margaret a monster;
her temper and outrage were classed as over the top by many.
Since her success at the battle of St Albans,
she had made her son pass death sentences on all her prisoners.
As for the king, he laboured on in a manner
that only provides more evidence of his state of mind.
After this battle, Henry was dragged to a tree about a mile
away from the field where he was left, apparently singing and laughing.
The royal family were reunited, but not for long.
Although, she had defeated the Yorkist army at St Alban's.
Their forces had won great victories at Mortimer cross in Wales.
After the subsequent upheaval at the battle of Towton, many now
would turn their backs on the Lancastrians it left Margaret in a perilous position.
She fled England with her son to Scotland.
Her husband Henry was again captured and placed in the Tower of London.
Edward of York was crowned as Edward IV at the end of 1461.
It now seemed that all was lost.
For the conclusion of this story,
i'm now going to hand you over to the Kings of France.
After this disastrous adventure to Scotland.
Margaret and her son returned to France,
where she lived in extreme poverty.
She had little clothing and sometimes no food.
Eventually, she retreated to her father's estate of San Michele Subar
where she lived on a meager pension provided by him.
Margaret refused to concede that her cause was lost and continued to request
for the support of Louis XI over the years with little success.
The news in 1465 that Henry VI had been captured
hiding in northern England came unexpectedly.
Margaret and Henry would never meet again.
Louis XI, happy to see the English troops gone from France,
negotiated a truce with Edward the fourth
agreeing not to support the Lancastrian.
Margaret now became an embarrassment to Louis and
it would not be until 1417 that Margaret would enter the political stage again.
Relations between Edward IV and his closest ally,
Richard Neville, the Earl of Warwick, whose military expertize
had been largely responsible for putting Edward IV on the throne,
had become increasingly strained during the 1460s.
In 1470 Warwick defected
to the Lancastrian cause and captured and imprisoned Edward.
But when the Warwick relented and released Edward,
Edward turned the tables on him and forced Warwick to flee to France.
Louis XI saw an opportunity
to attack Edward IV and offer to reconcile Margaret and Warwick
so that they could launch a joint invasion of England.
Margaret, who initially refused to see Warwick,
must have recognized the possibilities for the revival of her son's cause
and finally agreed to a reconciliation with Warwick.
A formal meeting was arranged and after keeping Warwick on his knees
for a quarter of an hour, Margaret formally forgave him.
It was agreed that Warwick would restore Henry VI to the throne
with the aid of France. To seal their alliance.
Margaret son would be married to Warwick's daughter.
Margaret was not happy with this betrothal But it was a small price to pay
for the restoration of her son's position.
Warwick sailed to invade England and Edward of Lancaster
married Warwick's daughter Anne Neville.
Warwick's efforts in England were successful, and he managed to depose Edward IV
Consequently, Henry VI
was restored to the throne of England.
Up to this point, Margaret and her son had remained in France
because she still did not completely trust Warwick.
But now that victory seemed assured.
They returned to England.
Their hope was soon crushed,
however, as Edward IV invaded the North with an Army meeting
Warwick at the Battle of Barnet in 1471.
The Lancastrian were defeated,
and during the battle Warwick was killed.
Margaret immediately began raising an army, and Edward
and Margaret met in battle at Tewkesbury on May 4 1471.
Their Margaret's cause died when her army was completely destroyed.
And her 17 year old son Edward was slain.
Margaret fled, but she was found shortly
after hiding in the convent with her daughter in law.
Both were taken to London, where they were led through the streets and jeering
crowds as the prize captives in Edward IV victory procession
Margaret was imprisoned in the tower.
Arriving there at the same time, her husband was murdered by the victorious
Yorkist king. With both her husband and son dead,
Margaret had nothing left to fight for.
After a while, Margaret, who was of no further political importance
after the death of her husband and son, was sent to Wallingford Castle and placed
in the custody of her friend Alice Chaucer,
the Dowager Duchess of Suffolk.
She remained there until November of 1475 when her release became one of the terms
of the Treaty of Picquigny between Edward IV and Louis XI
A ransom of 50,000 crowns, which was de facto
paid by Margaret's father was agreed upon before her departure.
Margaret was forced to renounce all her claims to the throne.
In January of 1476.
the heartbroken Margaret was allowed to cross the channel to Dieppe.
She was given the mother's pension by her father
and settled at the chateau Reculee in Anjou.
Her father tried to ensure her a comfortable future by grants of land
which were immediate vetoed and revoked by Louis XI
Margaret was forced
to renounce all her rights to her inheritance of both her parents
land, after which the king granted her a pension.
But half the time, Louis didn't actually make the payment,
and thus Margaret lived in extreme poverty.
After several years, she moved from Reculee to an even sorrier
residence at the Chateau de Moura, at
Dampierre-sur-Yèvre
By now, Margaret, who had aged before her
time, suffered from an eye condition and skin disease.
There on August 25
1482, Margaret of Anjou died.
She was buried in the cathedral of Angers.
After her death, the few possessions she had left
were confiscated by Louis XI.
If your focus is on French kings, queens and their entourage,
plus an insightful view of other European royal houses and some significant
historical figures, why not go and check out the Kings of France Channel?
The link is in the description.
So thank you from myself to Nieke and to you guys for watching.
We hope you enjoyed it.
Take care and we'll see you again soon here on the History Roadshow.