Historical documentary looking at the second wife of King Edward I of England, Margaret of France. The documentary looks at Margaret's life through her childhood, marriage to Edward I and her life after the death of her husband and under the reign of her stepson, Edward II.
In 1291, the king of England, Edward I, sought peace with his neighbouring European superpower, France.
Edward, was also looking for a new wife, following the death of his beloved first wife, Eleanor of Castile.
Central to the diplomacy of these two countries was Margaret of France, daughter of King Philip III of France.
But who was Margaret, and what part did she play in the war, and following peace between England and France.
Margaret was the daughter of King Phillip III of France with his second wife, Maria of Brabant.
She was born around 1279, at a time when England and France signed the Treaty of Amiens, for peace between the two nations.
When she was six years old in October 1285, her father passed away and her half-brother, Philip IV inherited the throne.
Philip IV, was the son of Margaret’s father with his first wife, Isabella of Aragon.
Margaret grew up in the French Royal Court, and was cared for and educated by both her own mother, and Joan the first of Navarre, who was both wife and queen to her half-brother, Philip.
Peace though between the two nations became tense against following the death of Edward the first’s beloved queen, Eleanor of Castile.
Despite his grief, Edward had only one surviving male heir, Edward to inherit his throne, and searched for a new wife in order to secure the Plantagenet dynasty.
Initially, Edward planned a union between his own son and another half-sister of Philip IV, Blanche of France.
Blanche, who was also Margaret’s sister, was famous for her beauty and when word of this reached, Edward, he decided to marry Blanche for himself.
Philip IV agreed to this on the condition, that Edward gave up his claim of Gascony to France, which England had a duty to protect especially in the past from neighbouring Castile.
When Edward’s brother, Edmund Crouchback, Earl of Lancaster, travelled to France to conclude negotiations, Edward found out he had been deceived and Blanche was already to be married to the son of King Albert the first of Germany, Rudolph III of Austria.
Philip instead offered his half-sister, Margaret of France, in marriage to Edward.
The rebuttal from Philip saw England and France descend into war which was mainly fought in the duchy of Aquitaine.
Peace though was finally brokered in 1299 through Pope Boniface VIII.
The deal heavily weighed on the English side.
Edward agreed to marry Philip’s half-sister, Margaret, and Edward’s own son, married Philip’s daughter, Isabella of Valois.
As part of Margaret’s and Isabella’s dowry, Edward regained for England Guyenne and his first wife’s lands in Ponthieu and Montreuil.
At the time of their marriage, Margaret was only 20 years old, and Edward was now 60.
But still despite their age difference, there was still the opportunity for Edward and Margaret to produce a spare for the English crown.
Margaret travelled to Dover in September 1299 and then on to Canterbury, where she married Edward in Canterbury Cathedral.
Due to wars with both Scotland and France in the last decade, England was suffering big financial difficulties, which ultimately meant that the crown could not afford a coronation for Margaret.
This meant that Margaret became the first queen not to be coronated since the Norman Conquest over 200 years previously.
Nonetheless, Margaret retained all the dignities and rights of the queen, even wearing the queen’s crown for public appearance.
Margaret followed in the footsteps of her predecessor, Eleanor, and joined her new husband on all his military campaigns and travels.
Because of this she fell pregnant very quickly, and gave birth to a son in 13 hundred and gave Edward a much-needed spare to his throne.
Her first child was named in honour of Thomas Becket, and be called Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk.
Thomas Becket was the Archbishop of Canterbury, assassinated on the orders of Henry the second in 11 70.
And in just over a year from her first birth, a second son, Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent was born to truly cement Edward’s Plantagenet dynasty.
Edmund was the future of father of Joan of Kent, who married Edward the Black Prince, great grandson of Edward the first.
Edward as with his first wife, was totally devoted to Margaret.
And when Margaret’s sister passed way in 1305, Edward demanded that the English court should observe full mourning for her passing.
#history #britishking #royalhistory #britishmonarch #britishroyalty #englishking #plantagenet #theplantagenets # Plantagenet #plantagenets #edwardofmiddleham #historicaldocumentaries #historicaldocumentaries #historydocumentary #biographicalstories #biography #eleanorofcastile #edwardi
Негізгі бет Margaret of France - The Queen without a Coronation
Пікірлер