The bride’s journey

How do you bring a soon-to-be queen to her new kingdom?

In November 1444, an expedition of over 300 people was sent to France with a specific mission: to bring Margaret of Anjou (b. 1430, d. 1482) to England for her marriage to King Henry VI (r. 1422–1461, 1470–1471). The receipts and expenses of the journey and of the preparations made for it were recorded in an account-book (Add MS 23938) which has been digitised for the British Library’s Medieval and Renaissance Women project. The volume in question, covering the period from 17 July 1444 to 16 October 1445, was compiled by two royal clerks, John Breknoke and John Everdon. blogs.bl.uk

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Queen Margaret of Anjou and King Henry VI in the ‘Talbot Shrewsbury Book’: Royal MS 15 E VI, f. 2v

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