Margaret of York (3 May 1446 – 23 November 1503) was an English princess who became Duchess of Burgundy through marriage. She remained politically active in widowhood.
Margaret was the daughter of Cecilly Neville and Richard, Duke of York. Her father had a strong claim to the English throne. When the Lancastrian King Henry VI's reign was weakened by his insanity and mismanagement, he pressed his claim, which resulted in the Wars of the Roses. Her father and an older brother were killed, but her oldest brother became king as Edward IV in 1460.
As Edward had no daughters of marriagable age and her only surviving sisternote was already married at the start of his reign, she became important in the royal marriage market of Europe. She married the powerful Charles, Duke of Burgundy. Burgundy had been allied to England during the Hundred Years War before and the alliance was mostly aimed at France and the Lancastrians who had found refuge there. Louis XI of France tried to prevent the marriage, seeing the danger, but it went ahead anyway. Their marriage produced no children and Margaret didn't see her husband much, as he was constantly on the move, both for diplomatic and militaristic purposes. She did get on very well with his only child, Mary and they travelled together through the Burgundian state.
In 1477, her husband died at the Battle of Nancy. Margaret became the most important advisor to her stepdaughter, who now became Duchess of Burgundy. She advised her to marry Maximilian I in an alliance to protect the Low Countries after Louis XI had invaded the Duchy of Burgundy. Requesting and receiving military support from her brother Edward IV, Margaret further contributed in protecting the Low Countries by travelling to London and renewing the alliance with England.
Mary and Maximilian first had a son, Philip the Handsome, for whom she stood godmother and a daughter Margaret who was named after her.
The young Duchess Mary died in 1482, after a fall from her horse. Margaret aided Maximilian in trying to keep the Low Countries stable as he became regent for his young son. When he was recalled to Austria by his father, Margaret goverened these territories together with the Estates and also took care of her stepgrandson Philip. The younger Margaret had been sent to France to marry the French Dauphin by that point.
Margaret's three remaining brothers died in quick succession in England. After Richard III was killed at the Battle of Bosworth, The House of Tudor took power. She would support plots against them, including backing a man called Perkin Warbeck, who claimed to be the younger son of Edward IV and therefor the rightful king. Warbeck was eventually imprisoned and executed as an imposter by Henry VII, but a not insignificant minority of historians believe that he was genuine and that Margaret knew he was the real deal.
A recent book and documentary project spearheaded by Phillipa Langley and The Richard III Society, claims to have uncovered evidence that strongly supports the survival of both Edward V and Richard of York, whom they believe was Perkin, but Tudor historians believe their evidence is being misread or was just a part of Margaret's fraud. These competing claims will no doubt continue to be investigated, with Margaret of York's role being a central part of the research.
Portrayals of Margaret of York in fiction:
- Rachel Kempson in The Shadow of the Tower (1971)
- Has a cameo in Spanish series Isabel (2012)
- Madeleine Harris in The White Queen (2013)
- Joanne Whalley in The White Princess (2017)
- Alex Poisson in series Maximilian (2017)
- Appears in A Daughter of York by Anne Easter Smith (2008)
- Is a major supporting character in the I, Richard Plantagenet Series (2015-2022)
- Appears briefly in The Sunne in Splendour (1980)
- Appears as a supporting character in the Rose of York Series (2006-2007)
- She's a very loose inspiration for Arya Stark in Game of Thrones and A Song of Ice and Fire
- Is a supporting character in Amy Licence's House of York Series.
- Is a supporting character in Eleanor Fairburn's The Wars Of The Roses Quartet, which is about Margaret's mother, Cecily Neville.
Tropes associated with Margaret of York in fiction:
- Age Lift: In Isabel, Margaret greets Joanna of Castile as she arrives in Flanders. Margaret looks ancient, but was only in her early fifties at this point.
