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Margaret of Anjou (French: Marguerite; 23 March 1430 – 25 August 1482) was Queen of England by marriage to King Henry VI from 1445 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471. Through marriage, she was also nominally Queen of France from 1445 to 1453.
Apr 30, 2024 · Margaret was the daughter of René I of Anjou, titular king of Naples. Her marriage to the ineffectual, mentally unbalanced Henry VI in April 1445 was arranged as part of a truce in the Hundred Years’ War between France and England. Soon she became a key member of the king’s party, which was bitterly opposed by the powerful Richard, duke of ...
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Henry had inherited his crown when he was an infant, becoming king of England and claiming kingship of France. The French dauphin Charles was crowned as Charles VII with the aid of Joan of Arc in 1429, and Henry had lost most of France by 1453.
- Emma Irving
- Her marriage to Henry VI had an unusual requirement. Born in the French Duchy of Lorraine, Margaret of Anjou grew up in France before her marriage to Henry VI in 1445.
- She was fierce, passionate and strong-willed. Margaret was fifteen years old when she was crowned queen consort at Westminster Abbey. She was described as beautiful, passionate, proud and strong-willed.
- She was a great lover of learning. Margaret spent her early youth in at a castle in the Rhone Valley and at a palace in Naples. She received a good education and was probably tutored by Antoine de la Salle, a famous writer and tournament judge of the era.
- Her husband’s rule was unpopular. A breakdown in law and order, corruption, the distribution of royal land to the king’s court favourites and the continued loss of land in France meant Henry and his French queen’s rule became unpopular.
Sep 3, 2023 · No one could have guessed it in 1445, but this fresh-faced teenager was destined to play a critical role in English history. She emerged as one of the key players in the Wars of the Roses. Indeed, without her energetic leadership, it is unlikely the Lancastrian regime would have survived much beyond the First Battle of St Albans in 1455.
Jun 21, 2021 · Margaret’s connections to many important European ruling families, including the French royals, was the main reason why her marriage to Henry was arranged. Their union was meant to cement an alliance between England and France, ending the conflict that we know today as the Hundred Years’ War.
At the age of 14, her uncle, King Charles VII, and Henry VI’s chief minister, William de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk, arranged her marriage to the young English king to cement the Truce of Tours in 1444.
