OTD May 3rd.1446 Margaret of York
Margaret of York was born on May 3rd. 1446 in Fotheringhay Castle (England).
This was the chief seat of the House of York.
Family
Margaret had been born the 3rd daughter and the 6th child of the 12 children
of Richard Plantagenet (3rd. Duke of York) and Cecily Neville.
Margaret and her siblings would have been fully aware of their family history
and their royal rights.
Margaret already was 15 years old when her brother became King. In those
ages she was a young woman with a complete training and education.
Most of her brothers and sisters had their own households. But she had to
remain at the Royal Court for another 7 years ...
This was the chief seat of the House of York.
Family
Margaret had been born the 3rd daughter and the 6th child of the 12 children
of Richard Plantagenet (3rd. Duke of York) and Cecily Neville.
Margaret and her siblings would have been fully aware of their family history
and their royal rights.
Margaret already was 15 years old when her brother became King. In those
ages she was a young woman with a complete training and education.
Most of her brothers and sisters had their own households. But she had to
remain at the Royal Court for another 7 years ...
Margaret of York - Source picture: Wikipedia
Appearance
Margaret was described as a good looking and intelligent woman.
Chroniclers described her as tall, like her brother Edward. Margaret was
slim with a very straight carriage. The English princess had an oval face
with dark grey eyes.
She had a strong sens of duty and she was very loyal to the House of York
and later to the House of Burgundy.
Love and Marriage
Margaret of York first was betrothed to Dom Pedro of Aragon, but he
died before the wedding could take place.
After this, there were other possible candidates:
Philip, Count of Bresse;
René, Count of Alençon;
Philibert of Savoy, Prince of Piedmont.
However after a lot of negotiations, Margaret's father agreed that she
had to marry to Charles the Bold, the Duke of Burgundy.
On July 3rd. 1468, she married Charles the Bold in Damme (near Bruges now
located in Belgium). This was his 3rd marriage.
Charles already had a daughter Mary of Burgundy from his 2nd. marriage.
Margaret and Mary liked each other immediately.
On the occasion of the marriage of Charles the Bold and Margaret of York
the famous tournament of the Golden Tree took place in Bruges. During 9
days full of festivities banquets were given and tournaments were held.
Duty
After the death of Charles the Bold, both women moved to Mechelen
(Malines). Margaret advised Mary a lot. She arranged her wedding to
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor.
Margaret liked literature. She was a patron of William Caxton.
Death
Margaret died on November 23rd. 1503 in Mechelen (Malines).
Literature
Margaret of York, a diabolical duchess from Christine Weightmann,
certainly is a must read!
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