Tudor Queens of England (8 page)

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o his evident surprise, the assembled Lords and Commons did not accept his claim, pointing out the oaths that had been taken to Henry

– and to Prince Edward. However, there was no gainsaying the strength of his position, and on 31 October a compromise was agreed whereby Henry would retain the Crown for life, but York would be recognized as his heir in place of the Prince of W

ales.25 That the K
ing accepted this was more a refl ection of his weak understanding than of his weak position, because the attitude of the Lords, in particular, had indicated that a more robust defence might have produced a very different outcome. But why should anyone risk defending a position that the principal had already surrendered?

After Henry’s capture at Northampton, Margaret and Edward escaped and fl ed to Denbigh in north Wales, and from there retreated into Scotland. Within a few months the Queen’s worst fears were confi rmed. Henry had (in a sense) defended his own position but had totally failed to defend his son’s. Whatever respect Margaret might have had for her husband had by now disappeared. She had for some time been the real leader of the Lancastrian party and now she was that formidable animal – a mother in defence of her child. The Duke of York made the serious mistake of thinking that his cause was now won and underestimated both the Queen and her ability to inspire devoted service. He went to the north of England inadequately supported and was defeated and killed at Wakefi eld on 30 December by a Lancastrian army. Despite Shakespeare’s dramatic presentation

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of the scene, Margaret was not present at Wakefi eld, and was responsible for Richard’s death only in the most general sense.

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She was, however, now in the ascendant, and returned to England at the head of a mixed army of Scots and the affi nities of the northern lords. Marching south, she defeated the Earl of Warwick in a second battle at St Albans on 17 February 1461 and regained control of the King. This was symbolically important because she was still, of course, operating in his name but for all the input which he was now capable of making, she might just as well not have bothered. A stark choice had now been exposed. Did the English want to be ruled by a maverick Frenchwoman in the name of her 8-year-old son or by the Earl of March, the Duke of York’s eldest son who had now inherited his claim?

It was the City of London that made the critical move. Alarmed at the thought of a northern invasion, and by reports of indiscipline in the Queen’s army, the citizens refused to admit her

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nable either to take the city or to sustain herself in the hostile environment of the home counties, Margaret withdrew northwards. This was the signal for the Yorkists to rally and many waverers seem to have joined them on the grounds that oaths taken to Henry were now meaningless because of his supine attitude. The Earl of March was proclaimed king as Edward IV in London on 4 March, amid general acclamations. At Towton, on 29 March, he caught up with Margaret’s retreating army and totally defeated it. The Queen, taking Henry and Edward with her, escaped again into Scotland. The god of battles had now spoken to the satisfaction of enough of the lords of England to enable Edward to be crowned at Westminster on 28 June 1461.

This was not the end of the war and certainly not of Margaret’s involvement but it did represent a critical turning point. From now on Henry’s court, in so far as it existed, was a court in exile, dependent upon the hospitality of foreign rulers who might wish to use it for their own purposes. At the same time the Queen’s substantial revenues disappeared almost overnight, leaving her similarly dependent. It was Margaret’s misfortune that the supportive James II of Scotland had died in 1460, leaving his young son in the hands of his mother, Mary of Gueldres. Consequently, although the ex-Queen managed to arrange the handover of Berwick to the Scots in April 1461 and apparently promised Carlisle also in return for aid, nothing was forthcoming apart from some rather grudging hospitality. Margaret is alleged to have secured a betrothal between her 8-year-old son and the even younger sister of the new King of Scots but nothing came of it. At the same time Charles VII of France, who might have been willing to help, died on 22 July 1461 and his successor, Louis XI, was much more problematic to deal with. Nevertheless in April 1462, leaving Henry in Scotland, Margaret took 38

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Edward to France with the aid of a sympathetic French merchant, and there she managed to extract 20,000 crowns from Louis in return for a pledge to surrender Calais, but nothing signifi cant in the way of military assistance. By this time Lancastrian support within England was withering away. This was partly because Edward IV was doing quite a good job as king and partly because there seemed to be little point in maintaining an allegiance to so useless a creature as Henry VI, who was in any case run by his wife. A Scottish invasion did eventually take place in March 1463, which rallied enough enthusiasm among the northern lords to enable them to take Alnwick and Bamburgh, but they could not hold them and the invasion soon petered out once the enthusiasm for border plundering had been satisfi ed.

This appears to have convinced Margaret that nothing more was to be hoped for in the north and in August 1463 she returned to France, again taking Edward with her. Whether her relationship with Henry meant anything at all by this time is not known. They had spent a great deal of time apart over the previous three or four years and had probably had no sexual relationship for a decade. After the fall of Bamburgh at the end of 1463, he had fl ed into Lancashire, where he was betrayed and captured early in 1464. Although when she went to France on this occasion it was with the long-term objective of recovering power, it was with Prince Edward mainly in mind, and she seems to have had no scruples about leaving Henry behind. As it transpired they were never to meet again, although letters were exchanged as long as he was at Bamburgh. Once back in France, Margaret redoubled her diplomatic efforts. She was courteously received by the Duke of Burgundy but gained no assistance and, on 8 October Louis XI came to terms with Edward IV at Hesdin, one of the conditions of which was that he should not help the Lancastrians. She retreated to her father’s court at Nancy. The ageing Renée, who was beset by problems of his own, nevertheless accepted a parental responsibility to provide for her. She was assigned the chateau of Koeur in the Duchy of Bar, with 6,000 crowns a year, and remained there until 1468. She still had with her a number of English servants, both male and female, and a hard core of loyal followers, including Sir John Fortescue. The size of her household has been variously estimated at between 50 and 200 and money was always tight. Nevertheless Edward, by this time 11 years old, was apparently given an education suitable to his status and prospects and seems to have grown into a rather warlike youth. Meanwhile Louis’s relations with Edward IV had deteriorated again and the French king began to fi sh in troubled waters. Taking advantage of strains developing in the relationship of the English king with his erstwhile backer, the Earl of Warwick, Louis began to correspond with the latter as early as May 1467.

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The intention, which was not yet clearly formed, was to detach Warwick and

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the King’s brother the Duke of Clarence, with whom he was closely allied, from Edward’s allegiance, and to use them to restore Henry VI. When the English King signed a new treaty with Philip of Burgundy in 1468, sealed by the marriage of Philip’s heir to the King’s sister, Louis’ intentions hardened. One obstacle in the way of his proposed intention was the implacable hostility of Margaret towards Warwick. It would be diffi cult to restore Henry without her collaboration but so well known were her feelings that she seems not even to have been appraised of the negotiation at this stage. That was probably just as well because when Warwick and Clarence raised a rebellion in England in 1469, surprising and capturing the King, their intentions remained opaque. It appears that Clarence may have been intending to press his own claim and nothing was said about Henry. The latter had been in the Tower since his capture at Waddington Hall and the defeat of the last of his armies at Hexham in 1464 and it may have been doubted whether he any longer had even residual credibility. In any case, his claim was not advanced and the rebellion collapsed in confusion, Edward being somewhat inclined to treat it as a bad joke. Baffl ed, but less defeated than the King believed, Warwick and Clarence retreated to Calais. Having learned from this frustrating experience, the former now made two decisions: fi rst, that he would commit himself to Henry and, second, that he would come to terms with Margaret. Meeting with Louis, he agreed a plan of action, whereby he was to restore Henry with French military assistance and in return would enter into an alliance with Louis against Philip of Burgundy. Prince Edward would accompany him to England and would marry his daughter, Anne. Margaret, however, was not in a co-operative mood. She would at fi rst not hear of the marriage arrangement and was not prepared to allow Edward to go with Warwick. With considerable diffi culty, Louis managed to arrange a meeting between the two, at which a formal reconciliation took place – not without some self-abasement on Warwick’s part. Anne and Edward were betrothed and actually married at Amboise in August 1470. It was agreed that the Prince would go to England, but only in his mother’s company and after the real work had been done.

On 9 September 1470 the planned invasion took place. Submerged Lancastrian sentiment at once sprang to life and Warwick was able to recruit several noble retinues to his modest army. Meanwhile King Edward, quite inexcusably unprepared, was in Yorkshire. Warwick advanced on London, which received him, if not with joy, at least without hostility. The hapless Henry VI was taken out of the Tower and paraded at St Paul’s as king. What he thought of the proceedings (if anything) is not known. Meanwhile Edward, caught by the treachery of Lord Montague, was left virtually defenceless against the Lancastrian advance. 40

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Accompanied by his brother Richard and Lord Hastings, he fl ed to King’s Lynn and crossed to Burgundy.

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It appeared that Warwick’s victory was complete and virtually bloodless. He began reshaping the government and addressed himself to the promised French alliance. Attainders were reversed at a parliament that convened on 26 November and new appointments were made. However, relations with the Duke of Clarence became strained as the latter received less than he considered to be his due, and a potentially serious rift began to open in the restored Lancastrian regime. Meanwhile Margaret hesitated, apparently unconvinced by the ease of Warwick’s triumph and King Edward, with Burgundian support, planned his return. Philip knew perfectly well that if Henry became fi rmly re-established he would have a war with England on his hands, whereas if Edward were restored they would be friends. He also found his brother-in-law’s presence in his territories an embarrassment. Consequently, he sent him on his way as soon as possible, with his blessing and a few troops. On 16 March Edward landed on the Yorkshire coast.

This time confusion and treachery favoured him because many Lancastrian lords were hostile to Warwick, and, although not prepared to fi ght against him, would not declare their allegiance until Margaret arrived to claim it. A game of blind man’s buff ensued around Coventry, where news reached both sides that Clarence had abandoned Warwick and declared for his brother. In these circumstances the earl was not prepared to risk battle and Edward was allowed to proceed towards London unresisted. Nothing succeeds like success, and his forces were swelled by fresh retinues as they advanced. He reached the capital on 11 April and recovered the person of his ostensible rival, Henry. At the same time news reached Warwick that Louis had signed a three-month truce with the Burgundians. Just at the moment when he most needed them, neither of his main props were available. The French king had withdrawn and Margaret was still stuck at Harfl eur. Until she arrived, neither the Duke of Somerset, nor the Earl of Devon nor the Earl of Pembroke would join him. Warwick had no option now but to risk battle, even on unfavourable terms, and advanced to Barnet where, on 13 April, he confronted Edward’s forces coming from London. The result was an annihilating defeat and his own death. On the same day, Margaret, whose timely arrival might have saved the day, landed with Edward at Weymouth. Confronted with the news from Barnet, a lesser woman might well have re-embarked and returned to France but Margaret was made of sterner stuff. With the courage for which she had always been famous, she went to Exeter and marched north, recruiting men as she went, and this time the Duke of Somerset and the Earl of Devon were with her. Her intention seems to have been to cross into Wales to join forces with the Earl of Pembroke, but Edward, who was in hot pursuit, caught

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up with her forces at Tewkesbury on 4 May. The result was even more lethal than Barnet. Prince Edward, the Earl of Devon and numerous other lords and gentlemen died on the fi eld of battle. Margaret and the Duke of Somerset were captured and the latter was executed on 6 May.

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Edward re-entered his capital in triumph on 21 May, and that same night, ex-King Henry died in the Tower in mysterious circumstances but probably on Edward’s orders.

Totally defeated, and with neither son nor husband left to her, Margaret remained in captivity in London until 1475, her plight only marginally alleviated by the efforts of her former waiting woman, Elizabeth, now Queen. When Edward signed the peace of Pequingy with Louis in the latter year, one of the conditions was that that the French King should take this unwanted dowager off his hands and she was ransomed for 50,000 crowns. Margaret renounced all claims in England and returned to France in January 1476. Her father, by now an old man, appears to have ceded his interests in Provence to Louis to secure her redemption and the King behaved decently towards his cousin. He made her renounce any possible claims that may have lingered from the days when she was theoretically queen of a large part of France and then made her an allowance of 6,000 crowns a year – the same that she had received before Henry’s ill-fated readeption. By this time Margaret no longer had even the semblance of a court although a few die-hard Lancastrians still clung to her. Her entourage is alleged to have consisted of three ladies and seven gentlemen. Among these were some of the faithful women who had served her as Queen and when she came to make her will in August 1482, just a few days before her death, one of the witnesses was Margaret Vaux, who had been widowed at Tewkesbury, just a few days before her mistress. Even in her years of misfortune, Margaret still had the capacity to inspire devoted service.