How important were the actions of margaret of anjoh in the development of the conflict?

Why did Margaret’s attitude change after St Albans?

• Convinced that York was a danger to her son’s future and that he must be destroyed it preserve his inheritance.

• Her key allies - Somerset and Suffolk were all head and HVI was too weak to offer any support, so she would have to do this job herself.

Why were the troops at Calais garrison in a state of rebellion?

• Lack of pay

• They initially refused to let Warwick into the town to command them but eventually got in and took up his new post - with disastrous results for Margaret.

April 1456:

• Queen and Prince Edward left for the midlands - her stronghold to build up a power base at Kenilworth castle.

Why was the household established?

• For Prince Edward.

• MOA surrounded herself with men she could trust.

Which men did MOA surround herself with?

• Earl of Wiltshire.

• Earl of Beaumont.

• The Duke of Exeter.

• The earl of Devon.

Who did the Duke of Exeter and earl of Devon make an enemy of?

• York.

August 1456:

• King joined the queen at Kenilworth - removed him from the influence of York in England.

• Allowed MOA to replace some of York’s men with her own in key government positions.

• E.g. September 1456: Laurence booth, Margaret’s private chancellor made keeper of the privy seal.

What other replacements were made?

• A new chancellor - the bishop of Winchester

• A new treasurer - the earl of Shrewsbury.

• Both were loyal to Margaret.

What was Margaret’s reality?

• Her and York’s powerbases were relatively narrow - most nobles refused to take sides.

How did Margaret set about recruiting neutrals to the court faction?

• The earls of Shrewsbury and Pembroke who had both supported York’s protectorate were brought over to Lancastrian side with the promise of a favourable marriage.

• E.g. Shrewsbury’s eldest son would marry Duke of Buckingham’s daughter.

• Buckingham’s 2nd son, Henry Stafford marries Margaret Beaufort - claimant from John of Gaunt and member of Somerset family.

• This helped shift Buckingham away from previous neutrality towards the Queen’s camp - did not shift completely until Warwick’s rebellion in 1458.

The impact of Margaret’s actions on Warwick = i.e. his rebellion:

• Queen saw to it that less and less money was sent to Calais with the result that Warwick was struggling to pay his men.

• Warwick’s solution: Piracy - attacked and seized a number of foreign merchant ships including the Hanseatic league - a trading company based in Hamburg.

• Major government embarrassment - MOA demanded Warwick’s resignation and summoned him to London.

• Warwick returned to London but escaped back to Calais after being attacked by royal guards - claimed they tried to murder him.

• 1458 - major turning point in drift towards war.

• Buckingham outraged by Warwick’s behaviour so shifted completely towards the Queen.

• Gave MOA the confidence to remove York - finally able to persuade HVI that York was plotting to overthrow him - York officially accused of treason.