2B - The uneasy peace: the influence of Margaret of Anjou | AQA A-Level History

Learn why England avoided immediate civil war after St Albans yet failed to secure a durable peace. Examine Margaret of Anjou’s influence, the persistence of noble rivalry and the different ways political insecurity affected society.

Margaret and the Lancastrian interest

Margaret of Anjou became increasingly important because she had both a political position as queen and a direct interest in Prince Edward’s inheritance. Henry’s uneven leadership allowed a struggle over who could act in his name. Margaret opposed arrangements that gave York control over government and risked weakening the Lancastrian succession.

After York’s second protectorship ended in February 1456, influence shifted towards Margaret and nobles hostile to York and the Nevilles. The royal household’s increasing presence in the Midlands gave the court a base closer to Lancastrian estates and affinities. The heirs of men killed at St Albans supplied committed allies; shared loss could join them to the queen even when their individual regional interests differed.

Margaret’s influence was not unlimited. She could organise support and encourage appointments, but she did not possess an independent national administration or replace Henry’s legal authority. Many nobles still sought accommodation and wanted royal peace. Opposition also exploited her French origins and the unease that a politically active queen could provoke. Those attacks are evidence of political hostility and expectations about gender; they are not an impartial measurement of her character or proof that she caused every crisis.

Her role should therefore be evaluated through decisions and resources. Protecting her son and gathering a royal coalition gave the Lancastrian interest direction, but excluding York also increased his insecurity. The same action could strengthen one faction while weakening the chance of an agreed national settlement.

Rivalries and insecurity

The peace after 1455 was uneasy because neither side trusted the other with access to royal power. York and Salisbury lost influence, while Warwick retained the captaincy of Calais. This was an important surviving Yorkist resource: the port gave him a military base, access to shipping and connections with the wool trade. Royal attempts to control his conduct or resources therefore had both administrative and factional significance.

In the regions, disputes continued to overlap with national alliances. The Percy–Neville rivalry in the north had its own roots in land and authority, but St Albans made reconciliation harder because Northumberland had been killed by the side containing the Nevilles. Elsewhere, the Courtenay–Bonville rivalry in the south-west showed how great men and their followers could disrupt local order. These conflicts did not mean that every county was fighting a dynastic war throughout the decade.

In 1458 Warwick’s sea operations and a violent encounter during a visit to the royal court sharpened mutual suspicion. He escaped back to Calais rather than submit to demands that he return. This gave the court reason to portray him as defying royal authority, while Warwick could present the same conduct as necessary self-protection. When each faction interpreted the other’s security measures as a threat, ordinary negotiation became harder.

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Component 1 option 1B — Spain in the Age of Discovery, 1469–1598

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Component 3 — Historical investigation

2B - The uneasy peace: the influence of Margaret of Anjou

Margaret and the Lancastrian interest

Rivalries and insecurity

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