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Margaret of Anjou Portrait painting photo by Talbot Master –

Top 10 Little-known Facts about Margaret of Anjou

Margaret of Anjou was born on 23 March 1430 and died on 25 August 1482. She was Queen of England and nominally Queen of France by marriage to King Henry VI from 1445 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471.

Born in the Duchy of Lorraine into the House of Valois-Anjou, Margaret was the second eldest daughter of René, King of Naples, and Isabella, Duchess of Lorraine. In the article are the top ten little-known facts bout Margaret of Anjou.

1. She was one of the principal figures in the series of dynastic civil wars

The series of dynastic civil wars was also known as the Wars of the Roses. They at times personally led the Lancastrian faction. Some of her contemporaries, such as the Duke of Suffolk, praised Margaret of Anjou for her service in the wars.

They said that she had valiant courage and an undaunted spirit. The 16th-century historian Edward Hall described her personality as a woman who excelled all others, 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.

2. Margaret ruled the kingdom on behalf of her husband

Because her husband was in frequent bouts of insanity, a condition which was characterized by mental illness, she ruled the kingdom on his behalf. 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.

This provided the spark that ignited a civil conflict that lasted for more than 30 years. The old nobility of England was decimated and caused the deaths of thousands of men, including her only son Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales, at the Battle of Tewkesbury in 1471.

3. Margaret was born into a nobility

Margaret was born on 23 March 1430 at Pont-à-Mousson in Lorraine, a fief of the Holy Roman Empire east of France ruled by a cadet branch of the French kings, the House of Valois-Anjou. Margaret was the second daughter of René, King of Naples, and Isabella, Duchess of Lorraine.

Her father, popularly known as “Good King René”, was the duke of Anjou and titular king of Naples, Sicily, and Jerusalem. He has been described as a man of many crowns but no kingdoms.

4. Her family had several prominent women who were regents and queen-lieutenants

Her family included several prominent women who exercised power in politics, war, and administration as regents and queen-lieutenants.

Her mother, Isabella of Lorraine, 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, and ruled the Duchy of Lorraine in her own right.

Her paternal grandmother, Yolande of Aragon, ruled the Duchy of Anjou as regent for her son while Margaret was a child. Attitudes to women’s exercise of power were different in Western Europe than in England, and England was more opposed to women exercising authority at the time.

5. Henry VI of England was Margaret of Anjou’s spouse

King Henri VI of England portrait photo by anonymous –

Margaret met with English envoys at Tours 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, who may have suggested the marriage as part of peace efforts between France and England near the conclusion of the Hundred Years’ War, was present.

The marriage was negotiated principally by William de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk, 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 and Menorca, which had been occupied for centuries by the Crown of Aragon.

6. Margaret’s husband had had a complete mental breakdown when their son was born

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 and 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 born on 13 October 1453, he had suffered a complete breakdown.

7. Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset was Margaret’s principal commander

Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset was an important Lancastrian military commander during the English Wars of the Roses. He has sometimes numbered the 2nd Duke of Somerset because the title was re-created for his father after his uncle died.

While Margaret was attempting to raise further support for the Lancastrian cause in Scotland, her principal commander, Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset, 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.

8. The death of her son is not clear

Portrait photo of Edward of Westminster by Sylvester Harding –

By the time Margaret, her son and daughter-in-law (Anne) were ready to follow Warwick back to England, the Yorkiststurned the tables, and the Earl was defeated and killed by the returning King Edward IV in the Battle of Barnet on 14 April 1471.

Margaret was forced to lead her army at the Battle of Tewkesbury on 4 May 1471, at which the Lancastrian forces were defeated and her seventeen-year-old son Edward of Westminster 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.

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.

This is the main cause that she was taken into captivity by William Stanley at the end of the battle, Margaret was imprisoned by the order of King Edward.

9. It was her cousin who saved her from captivity

The victorious Yorkists took Margaret, prisoner, after the Lancastrian defeat at Tewkesbury. In 1475, she was ransomed by her cousin, King Louis XI of France. She went to live in France as a poor relation of the French king, and she died there at the age of 52.

10. Many letters written by Margaret during her tenure as queen consort are still extant

One was written to the Corporation of London regarding injuries inflicted on her tenants at the manor of Enfield, which comprised part of her dower lands. Another letter was written to the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Margaret’s letters, which typically began with the words “By the Quene,” are compiled in a book edited by Cecil Monro and published for the Camden Society in 1863.