General Notes

Margaret of Anjou, b.  Mar.  23, 1429, d.  Apr.  25, 1482, was queen consort
of Henry VI of England (1445-61) and Lancastrian leader in the Wars of the
Roses.  The daughter of Rene of Anjou, later king of Naples, she married Henry
as part of the Anglo-French peace settlement in 1445.

Strong-willed in contrast to her feeble husband, she established an
ascendancy at the court together with the Beaufort family.  Her position was
reinforced by the birth of a son, Edward, in 1453.  She led the Lancastrian
resistance to the claims to power of Richard, duke of York.  After the victory
of Richard's son Edward IV in 1461, Margaret fled with Henry to Scotland.  She
traveled several times to France in search of help.  Margaret was in France
during Henry's brief restoration (1470-71).  In 1471 her son and husband died,
and she was captured following another Yorkist victory.  She was freed,
however, and allowed to retire to France in 1476.