England’s Traitor Princess: Margaret of York, Duchess of Burgundy | Sister of Richard III

From History Calling

What made Margaret of York, Duchess of Burgundy, England’s most dangerous royal during the early Tudor period, and how did she try to overthrow Henry VII, the husband of her niece, Elizabeth of York? In this week’s Plantagenet history documentary from History Calling, I look at the life of Margaret of York, Duchess of Burgundy, the daughter of Richard, Duke of York and Cecily Neville, the sister of Edward IV, sister of Richard III, aunt of the Princes in the Tower and the only member of the Plantagenet royal family to support the Pretenders to the throne, Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck, in their attempts to oust Henry Tudor and take the crown for themselves. Did Margaret really believe that Perkin Warbeck was Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York though, or was she supporting this imposter for her own ends? The video will look at the early life of Margaret of Burgundy, from her birth in 1446 to the loss of her father and one of her brothers in 1460, her marriage to Charles, Duke of Burgundy in 1468 and her life as its Duchess. You’ll see the magnificent crown of Margaret of Burgundy and learn why it is so small and why it is one of the few pieces from the medieval English crown jewels to still survive today. I’ll also tell you about her marriage to Charles the Bold, how she supported her oldest brother, Edward IV in his attempt to hold onto the English throne, how she managed as a childless widow after Charles’ death and how she went about supporting Perkin after her brother Richard had been killed at the Battle of Bosworth and supplanted by Henry Tudor in 1485. The video will take you all the way up to the death of Margaret of York in 1503. This is the story of one of the forgotten women of the Wars of the Roses, yet one of those who was the most powerful, the most dangerous and even a traitor to her Plantagenet bloodline in the end.