Born | 23 March 1429 | Born At | |
Died | 25 August 1482 | Buried At |
Born | 23 March 1429 / |
Died | 25 August 1482 / |
Related Episodes
Henry VI and Joan of Arc (click here)
Wars of the Roses Phase One (click here)
Wars of the Roses Phase Two (click here)
Wars of the Roses Phase Three (click here)
Event Location Map (click image to explore)
Family Tree Details
Margaret (of Anjou) (b.1429 - d.1482)
+Henry (VI, King of England 1422-1461, 1470-1471) (b.1421 - d.1471)
= Edward (of Lancaster, Prince of Wales) (b.1453 - d.1471)
+Neville, Anne (Duchess of Gloucester, Queen of England) (b.1456 - d.1485)
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Timeline
The rulers of Europe intervened when they saw that the ongoing war between England and France was doing destructive damage to both countries. Delegates including Cardinal Beauforta and the Earl of Suffolk from England met delegates from France to discuss a peace treaty. It wasn't until the followg year that the treaty was signed. The Treaty of Tours was signed by King Henry VI of England and Charles VII of France. The treaty resulted in five years of peace between the two countries and included the arrangement of marriage between Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou. ¹
To ensure peace between England and France the marriage between Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou was arranged. This agreement is known as the Treaty of Tours. ¹
The marriage of the King of England to Margaret of Anjou had been arranged as part of the treaty signed at Tours to ensure peace between England and France. ¹
After a triumphant entrance to London a few days earlier Margaret stayed at the Tower of London for a few days before going to Westminster Abbey where she was crowned. ¹
Margaret of Anjou, the wife of King Henry VI, founded Queen's College at Cambridge.
Queen Margaret had raised an army and with the King they confronted the Duke of York at Dartford. Outnumbered, York disbanded his army and surrendered. He was taken to London and later at St. Paul's Cathedral was forced to swear an oath saying he would not oppose King Henry. ¹
Edward of Westminster, also known as Edward of Lancaster, King Henry's and Margaret of Anjou's only son, was born at Westminster.
With the King unable to govern, Queen Margaret with the support of the powerful Neville Earls gave Richard, Duke of York the position of 'Protector of England'.
After the Lancastrian defeat at Northampton, Queen Margaret and her son Edward escaped to Wales and the safety of Harlech Castle. ¹
Queen Margaret had been building an army in the North and started attacking Yorkist held settlements. Richard left London with a small army to deal with the Queen. He had underestimated the Lancastrians and at his castle at Sandal Richard was confronted by superior forces. Although Richard sent word to the Earl of March for assistance he didn't wait and attacked. The battle left Richard Duke of York and his son Earl of Rutland dead.
The Lancastrians army led by the Queen met the Yorkist army led by Warwick at St. Albans. The Yorkist army was split in two and during the battle sections of the Yorkists defected to the Queen's side. The Yorkists were defeated and Warwick escaped. The King, who had been travelling with the Yorkists, was freed and he was reunited with his wife and son.
Edward and Warwick were allowed to enter the city of London. The citizens of London had refused to let the Queen enter and so she returned north with the King.
In an attempt to raise support for the Lancastrian cause, Queen Margaret sailed from Scotland to Brittany. She hoped she could get support from the French King, Louis XI. ¹
Queen Margaret of England and Louis XI of France signed a treaty. Margaret promised that Calais would be returned to the French if he helped her return her husband King Henry VI of England to the throne. ¹
Queen Margaret landed near Bamburgh Castle on the Northumbrian coast with a small army. The main castles in the area, Alnwick, Bamburgh and Dunstanburgh surrendered to the Queen. ¹
Edward acted quickly to Queen Margaret's arrival in the north. He raised a large army that marched towards Northumbria. Queen Margaret did not have the resources and local support required to fight Edward and so she decided to seek refuge in Scotland. A garrison of soldiers were left at the three Northumbrian castles.
Warwick took an army north to deal with the new threat from Queen Margaret. The Lancastrians had laid siege to Norham Castle on the Scottish border. Under the control of the Earl of Warwick, the Yorkists again proved too powerful for the Lancastrians and with her invasion plans in ruin Margaret decided to return to France. She took Prince Edward with her. ¹
Queen Margaret and King Henry VI with Scottish support besieged the castle at Norham. King Edward failed to react to the problem and it was left to the Earls of Warwick and Northumberland to come to the castle's rescue. King Henry, Margaret and the Scots fled.
King Edward IV agreed a peace treaty with France in which both sides promising not to assist each others enemies. This was a disaster for the Lancastrians who had hoped that they could get French assistance against the English king.
Edward IV agreed a truce with Scotland who had lost interest in fighting for the Lancastrians and Queen Margaret. The truce was signed at York and Edward spent Christmas in the city.
Louis XI, the French King devised a plan to remove Edward IV from the English throne. Louis persuaded the Yorkist Earl of Warwick and Margaret of Anjou the exiled wife of Henry VI, a Lancastrian, to combine forces and attempt to over through Edward. Warwick and Margaret met on 22 July at Anger Cathedral to put their differences aside and to agree on a course of action.
The betrothal of Prince Edward and Anne Neville formed part of the agreement between Queen Margaret and the Kingmaker to put King Henry VI back on the English throne. The act taking place at the Cathedral of Angers, ¹
The marriage between Edward of Lancaster, the son of Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou, to Anne Neville, the daughter of Richard Neville the Kingmaker was a marriage to cement the agreement that Richard and Margaret would support each other and try to get Henry VI back on the English throne. The marriage took place in France at the Chateau d'Amboise where Margaret and Edward were exiled.
Queen Margaret (wife of Henry VI) and her son Edward the prince of Wales landed at Weymouth on the very same day as the battle of Barnet. Their intention was to assist the Earl of Warwick, but she arrived too late. Determined to avenge the Barnet defeat, the Queen and her army marched north towards Wales and men she could count on to join her army. Edward had thought of this and to cut the Queen off from Wales, had taken control of the bridges across the River Severn.
The Yorkists led by King Edward IV and his brother Richard Duke of Gloucester met the Lancastrians at Tewkesbury. Richard was able to outflank the Lancastrians led by Edmund Beaufort, the self-proclaimed Duke of Somerset. Once Somerset's men had been dealt with, Richard attacked the rear of the Lancastrian line which broke apart and fled. Many of the Lancastrian leaders were caught and killed including Edward the Prince of Wales. Margaret of Anjou, the wife of King Henry VI, was also captured.
Louis and Edward agreed to a peace treaty to last seven years. The agreement signed at the Treaty of Picquigny meant Louis was to pay Edward an initial sum to leave France and a smaller yearly sum there-after. The French also paid a ransom to free Margaret of Anjou who had been held by the English since the Battle of Tewkesbury.
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Transport yourself back up to a thousand years and explore historical buildings as they may have appeared in the past. Built using the popular game development tool Unity 3D, these reconstructions will run in the most of the popular web browsers on your desktop or laptop computer.
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Explore the White Tower
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A Medieval Mystery
There appear to be some strange connections between the fourteenth century Old Wardour Castle and ancient stone circle Stonehenge.
1: Location
Old Wardour Castle appears to be aligned to ancient sites in the Stonehenge landscape.
2: Alignment
Stonehenge is aligned to the Summer Solstice. Old Wardour has a very similar alignment.
3: Size
Could the builders of Old Wardour used mesaurements from Stonehenge to layout the geometrical keep?
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