Margaret of Anjou

Margaret of Anjou (French: Marguerite) was born in 23 March 1430 in Lorraine, and she was the second eldest daughter of René of Anjou and his wife, Isabella, Duchess of Lorraine.

She was Queen of England by virtue of her marriage with Henry VI of England and was one of the key figures of the Wars of the Roses; at times, she even led the Lancastrian faction personally. Henry VI suffered from frequent bouts of insanity, leaving Margaret to rule the kingdom in his place. It was Margaret who called for the Great Council in May 1455 that excluded the Yorkist faction. This provided the spark that would later ignite a civil conflict that lasted for more than thirty years, decimated England’s nobility and caused the deaths of thousands of men. One of the men fallen during the Wars of the Roses was her own son, Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales, at the Battle of Tewkesbury in 1471.

After the Lancastrian defeat at Tewkesbury, the victorious Yorkist faction took Margaret prisoner and four years later, in 1475, she was ransomed by her cousin, King Louis XI of France.

Margaret returned to France to live the rest of her life as a poor relation to the King. She died on 25 August 1482, in Anjou, at the age of 52.

The wedding of Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou
Martial d'Auvergne

(15th century)

Comentários

Mensagens populares deste blogue

Mihrimah Sultan

Mihrimah was born in Istanbul in 1522; she was the daughter of Sultan Süleyman I (aka The Magnificent) and his concubine, Hürrem Sultan . Her mother was freed in 1533 or 1534 and became the Sultan’s legal wife. On 26 November 1539, Mihrimah, aged 17, married Rüstem Pasha, who later rose to become her father’s Grand Vizier. Though this union was unhappy, Mihrimah flourished as a patroness of the arts and continued her travels with her father until her husband’s death. Mihrimah had two children: Osman and Hümaşah. Mihrimah travelled the Ottoman Empire with her father as he surveyed the lands and conquered new ones. In international politics, her mother sent letters to the Sigismund II, King of Poland, and the contents of these letters were mirrored in the letters Mihrimah sent. Although there is no proof of Hürrem and Mihrimah’s direct involvement in her half-brother Mustafa’s downfall, Ottoman sources and foreign accounts indicate that it was widely believed they worke...

Ler mais

Margaret of Provence

Margaret (French: Marguerite) was born during the spring of 1221, in Forcalquier. She was the eldest daughter of Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence, and Beatrice of Savoy. She had three younger sisters, who would all become queens like her: Eleanor (Queen of England), Sanchia (Queen of Germany) and Beatrice (Queen of Sicily). Margaret has a especially close relationship with Eleanor, and they remained friends until they grew old. In 1233, Blanche of Castile sent one of her knights to Provence to meet Margaret, whose grace and beauty was famous. Margaret and her father entertained the knight well, and soon Blanche and Ramon Berenguer were negotiating a marriage contract between Margaret and Louis IX of France, Blanche's son. Margaret was escorted to Lyon by her parents, where the marriage treaty was signed. From there, she was escorted to her wedding ceremony, in Sens. On 27 May 1234, Margaret became the wife of Louis IX and Queen of France; she was just 13. The marriage...

Ler mais

Charlotte of Prussia (Alexandra Feodorovna)

Friederike Luise Charlotte Wilhelmine, better known as Charlotte, was born a princess of Prussia on 13 July 1798. She was the eldest surviving daughter of Frederick William III of Prussia and his wife, Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Her childhood was marked by the Napoleonic wars and the death of her mother when she was just 12. On February 1814, Grand Duke Nicholas Pavlovich, the future Tsar of Russia, and his brother. Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich visited Berlin. Arrangements were made by the two families for Nicholas to marry Charlotte and strengthen the alliance between Prussia and Russia. On a second visit, Nicholas fell in love with Charlotte; the feeling was mutual. She wrote: I like him and am sure of being happy with him . By the end of this visit, they were engaged. On 9 June 1817, Princess Charlotte travelled to Russia. When she arrived in Saint Petersburg, she converted to Russian Orthodoxy, and took the Russian name of Alexandra Feodorovna. On her 19th birthday, ...

Ler mais

Cat's Historical Doodles

Pesquisar neste blogue