Agnes Strickland's Queens of England, Vol. 1. (of 3) / Abridged and Fully Illustrated

by Agnes Strickland; Elisabeth Strickland

For the first two years after Margaret's marriage, Cardinal Beaufort was her chief adviser, and she became so fond of him that she would often make visits at his house in Waltham Forest, where there was a room magnificently fitted up for her special use with hangings of spun gold from Damascus. Henry was attached to the good cardinal also, and was always glad to be guided by his advice. He was of the greatest assistance to the young couple on several occasions, for his immense wealth enabled him to help them out of many a debt that they could not otherwise have paid.

At this time Margaret was a woman of unusual intellect and grace of manners. One of the chroniclers of her reign says of her: "England had never seen a queen more worthy of a throne than Margaret of Anjou. No woman surpassed her in beauty, and few men equalled her in courage. It seemed as if she had been formed by Heaven to supply to her royal husband the qualities which he required in order to become a great king."

It was a pity that she was called to share the throne of England when she was so young, for her judgment was not formed, and she had a nature that was more likely to create enemies than friends. She was very foolish in her treatment of the Duke of Gloucester, Henry's uncle, who, she knew, had been one of those most strongly opposed to her marriage. For this she could not forgive him, and, like a spoiled child, took every opportunity of showing him what influence she had over the king, and how much she loved Cardinal Beaufort and the Duke of Suffolk, both of whom were his sworn enemies. But there was a great change in her life by the time she had been two years on the throne, for Henry's ministers met in parliament, and decided on the destruction of the Duke of Gloucester. He had shown a disposition to join the Duke of York for the purpose of opposing the queen and her influence in every possible way. Although the king had no particular evidence to offer against his uncle, he was convinced that he was his enemy, and had him arrested for high treason. The whole country was astonished at this charge, but the astonishment was changed to horror, when, seventeen days later, the Duke of Gloucester was found dead in his bed. Murder was suspected, but there was no proof of it. Some people even accused the queen of having had a hand in it, but it is not at all probable that so young a girl, and one of Margaret's open, candid nature, could have been guilty of so foul a deed.

Eight weeks later the venerable Cardinal Beaufort died, and the young queen was thus deprived of a friend and adviser, whose large experience and profound wisdom had made his counsel so valuable to her. This was, indeed, a most serious loss, for Henry had not the qualities requisite for the government of a kingdom, and this duty, therefore, fell upon the shoulders of Margaret, who was so young that she had scarcely learned to govern herself. The king was absorbed in his studies and in the regulation of the college at Eton, that he had just founded. Affairs of state interested him but little, so his wife naturally turned for advice to the nearest friend of the departed cardinal. This was the Duke of Suffolk, a gray-haired statesman and soldier, who had served in the English army for thirty-four years. He was also a member of the king's cabinet, and his wife was Margaret's favorite maid of honor.

During the interval of peace that the English nation enjoyed before they were again forced into war, Margaret laid the foundation for Queen's College. She also tried to get the people interested in the manufacture of woollen and silk goods that had been commenced there many years before, but the desire for fighting had grown so that it was impossible to make those men or their sons who had fought in France, till the soil or weave cloth. The silk manufacture was chiefly carried on by women, while the men thirsted for the excitement of war in spite of its miseries.

A.D. 1449. In 1449 Charles VII. renewed hostilities, and in the course of two years had got back most of the towns in Normandy. The Duke of York and his party blamed "that French woman," as they contemptuously called Margaret, for all their losses, and declared that the king was fit for a cloister rather than a throne, since he left all the affairs of his kingdom in the hands of a woman.

The Duke of York made himself so offensive to Margaret that she resolved to get rid of him at any cost; she therefore appointed him governor of Ireland. This was a serious mistake, for it only increased his power. He left a strong party in England who were opposed to the queen, though not openly, and did everything to make her and her favorite minister unpopular. They never ceased their efforts until they saw the Duke of Suffolk first imprisoned, then banished, and finally put to death by his enemies in defiance of the crown.

This tragedy was the first of many scenes of blood and horror that were in store for England. The misery of the lower classes caused by famine and disease was so great that they rose in rebellion, headed by Jack Cade, who gathered his rough motley forces about him at Blackheath. They numbered fifteen thousand, but when they heard that King Henry was coming in person to fight them, they got frightened, and fled to a place called Seven Oaks.

It was a pity that Queen Margaret went with her husband, for although she became warlike later in life, she was so little disposed to fight at that time that no sooner had Henry gained a victory than she persuaded him to go back with her to London. She could scarcely have committed a greater error, for the rebels mistook the king's departure for cowardice, and marched straight to the metropolis, where there is no telling what they would have done had not the churchmen interfered and calmed the storm. At their approach the king and queen fled to Kenilworth Castle, and the archbishop took it upon himself to pardon the rebels if they would return in peace to their homes.

A.D. 1450. Cade was not pardoned, but when he found himself deserted by his followers he made his escape. A thousand pounds were offered for his head, and the sheriff of Kent, who caught him, obtained the reward. It was afterwards proved that the Duke of York was at the bottom of this revolt.