Biography of margaret of anjou early life

23 March 1430 - 25 August 1482

Margaret of Anjou was born on the 23rd of March 1429 at Pont-à-Mousson in the Duchy of Lorraine. She was the daughter of René, Duke of Anjou and Isabella, Duchess of Lorraine.

Her father, René, of the House of Valois-Anjou, was Duke of Anjou and titular King of Naples, Sicily and Jerusalem and her mother was the Duchess of Lorraine in her own right.

Margaret spent her early years living in the castle of Tarascon in the Rhone Valley and at the palace at Capua in Naples, educated by her mother and Antoine de la Salle.

She was betrothed to King Henry VI of England by her uncle Charles VII of France, as part of a peace treaty between the two countries.

Biography of margaret of anjou early life

The terms of the marriage were that she would not provide a dowry and instead would receive the lands of Maine and Anjou from the English. The couple were married on 23rd April 1445 when Margaret was fifteen years old, her new husband was eight years older.