Most unpopular English queen.

Who was the most unpopular or even hated English Queen? (1) Elizabeth Woodville (Edward IV). (2) Margaret of Anjou (Henry VI) (3) Isabella of France (Edward II).
 
How about Anne Boleyn, the "King's Whore"?

Schama said it was made legally treason to criticize her, the first act of its kind in England.
 
English Queens.

My personal opinion would be Elizabeth Woodville. The way she used her marriage to advance her family. All of those ridiculous marriages of her sisters to the high nobility of England is just one example. Of course, she does have her supporters. I would be interested in hearing about them. And very few appear to have much good to say about Margaret of Anjou!
 
Between those three, my first move (without thinking) would have been to vote for Isabella the She-wolf. Yet, if I look back, she only became unpopular after the fall and death of Edward II and because of Roger Mortimer, her lover.
Edward II wasn't really liked and was a fairly incompetent king... On top of that, he was homosexual and that was scandalous for Middle Age people. Isabella was first very well liked because of how she was treated by the Depensers, the family of Edward II's last lover. The Despensers were quite unpopular because they didn't thought of the good of England but of their own good. They were using their influence on Edward II because of that.
Thus, being so ill treated, Isabella was quite popular among the people who were seeing her plight as their own. That popularity fell after she overthrowed Edward II because of Roger Mortimer, who proved to be quite a dictator when he was Lord Protector for Edward III...
My knowledge only comes from The Accursed Kings by French Author Maurice Druon though : their maybe errors in my testimony...

I don't know much about the other, but seeing what was said on Elizabeth Woodville, I'd go for her.

I was quite surprised when I first read this thread... I thought "Bloody" Mary Tudor would be on the list because of her nickname. Yet, I remember reading on some threads that she was popular during her rule and only earned her nickname later.
 
Couple of points:

Do you mean Queen Regnant (Mary I, Elizabeth I, Mary II, Anne, Victoria, Elizabeth II) or do you mean Queen Consort.

Do you mean reviled during their own lifetime or after their deaths.

In terms of Queen Regnants - then Mary I was domestically unpopular at the time of her death so would probably be a clear winner.
In terms of Queen Consorts both during and after their lifetimes - then I suspect you could take your pick between Isabelle (wife of Edward II), Margaret of Anjou (wife of Henry VI), Elizabeth Wydeville (wife of Edward IV), Anne Boleyn (second wife of Henry VIII), and Henrietta Maria (wife of Charles I).
In all those cases the wives in question were seen to exert an undue political or domestic influence - and in almost all of those cases their unpopularity rested by enlarge on a fair dose of xenophobia and mysogeny.
On Elizabeth Wydeville as someone mentioned her - the historical evidence, according to two pro Richard III writers, for her unpopularity rests on some pretty weak and heavily biased. She was the victim of two orchestrated propoganda campaigns against her and her family during the readaption of 1470/1 and after the usurpation of Richard III in 1483. In an age where family was everything there is little surprising that her sisters were married well - and in almost all the cases they were to existing noble families already with strong connections to either her first husband or two Edward IV's family. The main problem in the early reign was that it cut Warwick out - however he had no real reason for complaint the Neville's far outstripped the Wydevilles in terms of monetary gain. If you want more pm me..
 

Thande

Donor
Bloody Mary was cheered and lauded by the public at the start of her reign...a couple of centuries later, so was Marie Antoinette in France. In both cases, it didn't last. I would say Mary Tudor.

Awesome kudos to the OP for saying English queen and actually meaning English queen. If we did extend the feel to Great Britain and the UK, however, the Hanoverians' spouses deserve a mention.
 
Bloody Mary was cheered and lauded by the public at the start of her reign...a couple of centuries later, so was Marie Antoinette in France. In both cases, it didn't last. I would say Mary Tudor.

Awesome kudos to the OP for saying English queen and actually meaning English queen. If we did extend the feel to Great Britain and the UK, however, the Hanoverians' spouses deserve a mention.

You mean like Queen Caroline? (not of George IV).

Mind you, seeing as Prince Frederick was described as 'the greatest fool, the greatest ass' by his own mother, it must have been expected to some degree.
 
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