Margaret of Anjou

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Wars of the Roses
The War of the Roses were brief civil wars which started at around the early 1450s and went through to 1485. It was a war among fought among the Lancaster, Houses of York and also finally Tudor and their allies. Margaret contributed significantly to these Wars of Roses first when she married King Henry IV of England and got dedicated to leading the Houses of Lancaster especially in when her husband falls fatally ill- a spell of insanity. She was also committed to supporting the king’s reign after his recovery in 1455. She organized several campaigns through their supporters. She was the most cunning strategist queen in the war of roses especially when King Henry was unable to rule due to his insanity (Dockray, 442). She, in fact, masterminded most of Lancaster’s alliances and wars for power and supremacy. She for example arranged for the Lancastrian army which plotted and killed Richard of York who had declared himself the king when Henry fell ill. She even became more active in government matters when she bore Prince Edward to protect her husband’s and son’s inheritance in rulership against the opposition, Yorkists, who were also hungry for it.
After the recovery of King Henry, Margaret Anjou did not just want the restoration of the kingdom to her husband and friends, but rather she further pushed politics extremely. Eventually, her politics led to the first war of the Battle of St Albans where they were defeated for a year.

Margaret had to accept the rulership of Yorkists for that year reluctantly. During that time, 1455-1456, Margaret was arranging and putting in order her party (Dockray, 234). At Coventry in October 1456, she organized for some changes in the government and made allies with partisans in England and also in France like Pierre de Breze. Through her vindictiveness, she embittered her opponents in the parliament of Coventry after the failure of Yorkists at Ludlow. She could also use when the decision made by her young to execute judgment on their foes and prisoners of war.
Work cited
Dockray, Keith. Henry VI, Margaret of Anjou and the Wars of the Roses: From Contemporary Chronicles, Letters, and Records. Fonthill Media, 2017.