By the time 1461 had ended, it became apparent that the Queen of England was expecting a second child. People were overjoyed and all, including Edward and Duchess Cecily, hoped that they would have a second son. Margaret, while excited, feared that she would not love this child as much as she loved Ned - as her love for her son was indescribable and she couldn't understand how she could feel that again for another baby. Also, Northern uprisings had been put down as a result of Warwick's efforts.
May 1462 saw the birth of Prince John Plantagenet, after which Margaret was pleasantly surprised to find she adored him as much as she did Ned. Though, she did suffer from a short period of depression following the birth. The same year saw Warwick treaty with the Scots, and be lavished to an almost absurd amount with titles, land and money. These endowments made Margaret wary of the Earl, whose wealth and array of lands were only second to the King now. In fact, Margaret and Edward were reported to have quarrelled over the matter for over a fortnight - both remembered to have willful, stubborn personalities - before the King forced the matter to be put to rest following the investment of Prince John as Duke of York. Elsewhere, Margaret of Anjou (now in France) entered an agreement with Louis XI 'The Spider' of France called the
Chinon Agreement in which Louis XI would give her men, supplies and money in order to overthrow King Edward IV, in return Louis XI would gain Calais. However, when Louis told the Dukes of Burgundy and Brittany about this, Burgundy refused to allow French troops to pass through their lands and the Bretons only gave modest assistance. Louis also became less inclined to keep to this agreement as he realised that to take Calais he would have to start up conflict with Burgundy to get there. In the end, Margaret was only given eight hundred men and had a lack of funds. Still, she sailed for Scotland, soon taking Alnwick and Bamburgh Castles - this meant there was Lancastrian resistance in the North once again.
Margaret Beaufort also began to hear more of her husband's indiscretions during this year, especially as he acknowledged an illegitimate daughter known as Grace Plantagenet by a woman called Elizabeth Lucy. Whilst viewing his lustful, greedy acts with disdain, she offered for Grace to join the Royal Nursery, lest her husband have a child that is out of her circle of influence, son or not. The offer was accepted, as was the proposition for Elizabeth Lucy to become one of her Ladies In Waiting. Margaret wanted to make his mistresses loyal to her and ensure that they had as little political influence over Edward as possible. For these actions, Margaret was viewed favourably by the commons and nobility who described her as '
fair of heart'. This was also a time of a very short-lived friendship with her cousin, Henry Beaufort, who soon defected back to the Lancastrians leaving Margaret feeling betrayed.
1463 and 1464 saw continuing Lancastrian resistance. In January '63, Warwick managed to retake the stolen castles. The Lancastrian rebels were then, due to Edward's
policy of conciliation, pardoned and given control over the castles. This, unsurprisingly, resulted in a backlash when the North soon rose up once more under Sir Ralph Percy, and the Yorkists lost control of Northumberland. The
Battle of Hedgeley Moor (1464) occurred in the North soon after, during negotiations with Scotland for an agreement, which killed Sir Ralph Percy. A month after Hedgeley, the
Battle of Hexham occurred, which saw the deaths of leading Lancastrians Somerset, Ros and Hungerford. Due to a lack of leadership, the rest of the rebellion soon fell in the North. By the end of the year, England had treaties with both France and Scotland (that they wouldn't assist Margaret of Anjou) and had stabilised the North.
Edward, ever eager to add more prestige and wealth into his family, had Margret named the Countess of Somerset after Henry Beaufort's death. He justified this as she was the daughter of the eldest son, and he placed an attainder placed upon Henry Beaufort’s immediate family. Upon Margaret's death, their son John was to become Duke of York and Earl of Somerset, which made Edward vindictively gleeful as his father's old rival's title would become the title of his blood. Margaret herself was pleased to have a title of her own, and her relationship with Edward continued to warm.
A power struggle between Margaret and Warwick began to swiftly emerge. Warwick favoured an alliance with France, proposing that Prince Ned would marry Princess Anne of France but the Queen staunchly disagreed. The arrangement with France would include England giving up any rights to French lands and Louis would not dower her with land but instead a reasonable amount of money, also due to Salic Law there was no chance of Anne inheriting. However, the French did agree to hand over Prince Edward of Westminster though they did not have possession of King Henry VI.
The King was described to be torn between the two for days, often leaving the castle without either of them. However, in September, Edward decided to turn down the marriage alliance with France, largely based on Margaret constantly reminding him of the glory he could gain by conquering French lands. Edward wanted to be remembered as a warrior King. Margaret was smug, and Warwick was fearful that his influence over Edward was slipping too far.
The month of September was also seen as eventful due to non-political matters as Queen Margaret announced her third pregnancy, and the King brought his new mistress - Elizabeth Woodville, daughter of Jacquetta of Luxembourg - to Court.
Portrait of a young Prince John, Duke of York
