Hello and thanks for joining me today for another Oak Academy history lesson.

My name is Mrs. Knox, and I'm here to help guide you through all of the materials and the resources needed in the lesson.

So let's begin.

Today's lesson is part of the unit on the Wars of the Roses.

We're asking what can the Wars of the Roses tell us about 15th century England.

Today's lesson will focus on the rule of Margaret of Anjou and the rise of Edward, the Duke of York.

And by the end of the lesson, you will be able to describe how the actions of Margaret of Anjou and the Yorkist created further instability in England.

One term that we'll use in the lesson today is the term queen consort.

A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king.

The lesson today has got two parts to it, and we'll start now on part one, which is called "Margaret of Anjou Wins Back the Throne." In May 1455, at the Battle of St.

Albans, the first battle in the Wars of the Roses, Henry the VI and his army had been beaten by Richard, the Duke of York.

York had then become the protector of England once more, and Henry was forced into hiding.

However, his wife, the queen consort, Margaret of Anjou, fought back on his behalf.

In 1445, Henry had married Margaret, the niece of the French king, Charles XII, as a way to form an alliance with France and to end their ongoing wars.

Margaret was determined to win back power for her husband and to ensure that their only son, Prince Edward, would one day become king.

Margaret was said to be an extremely strong-willed, powerful, and persuasive woman, qualities that mediaeval women were not typically known for.

Due to Henry's poor mental health, she effectively ruled on his behalf to ensure that the Yorkist did not take power away from the Lancastrians.

She skillfully removed Yorkist from her court and was able to persuade other Lancastrian family members to fight against Richard of York.

Time to check your understanding so far.

I'd like you to answer this true or false question.

The queen consort, Margaret of Anjou, was a typical mediaeval woman.

Is that true or false? Press pause and then press play when you're ready.

You should have said the correct answer was false, but why is the answer false? Is it because Margaret took on an active role in politics due to her husband being unwell or that she took on a military role due to her husband being unwell? Think carefully, press pause, and then press play for the answer.

Well done if you said that the correct justification was A, she took on an active role in politics due to her husband being unwell.

In this way, she was not a typical mediaeval woman.

Fighting broke out once again between the Lancastrians and Richard's Yorkist army on the 30th of December 1460, at the Battle of Wakefield.

The Yorkist had the support of one of the most powerful noblemen in England, Richard Neville, the Earl of Warwick, and they seemed set to win.

However, during the battle outside Richard of York sandal castle, he was taken by surprise and killed.

This meant that Henna VI was restored to power once again, much to the relief of the queen consort.

Peace was not set to last though, as the Duke of York's eldest surviving son, Edward, vowed to get revenge on the Lancastrians for the death of his father and to win back power for the Yorkists.

As a result, the argument between the House of Lancaster and the House of York escalated, despite the fact that they were all members of the same family.

And on the screen now, to the right, you can see a portrait of Richard Neville, the 16th Earl of Warwick.

He'll be featuring in our story of the Wars of the Roses again.

Okay, let's check your understanding of this section.

In what year was Richard, the Duke of York, killed at the Battle of Wakefield? Was it A, 1455, B, 1460, or C, 1465? Press pause now, and when you've got your answer, press play.

Well done if you said the correct answer was B, Richard Duke of York was killed at the Battle of Wakefield in 1460.

Okay, let's put everything you've learned here into practise.

I'd like you to answer this question.

Write one paragraph that describes the role of the following people in the start of the Wars of the Roses.

Henry VI, Richard, Duke of York, the queen consort, Margaret of Anjou, Prince Edward, Margaret and Henry's son, and Edward, Duke of York, Richard's son.

Press pause now whilst you write your paragraph, and then press play when you're ready to see what you might have written.

Welcome back.

Let's see how you got on.

Your answer might have included some of the following.

The defeat of Henry VI at the Battle of St.

Albans in 1455 allowed Richard, the Duke of York, to take control of England.

However, the queen consort, Margaret of Anjou, was not ready to give up the Lancastrian's claim to the throne.

She wanted to keep power for her husband and her son, Prince Edward.

And so she removed the Yorkist from her court and persuaded other Lancastrian family members to fight against the Yorkists.

At the Battle, of Wakefield in 1460, Richard, Duke of York, was killed, but his son, Edward, vowed to get revenge and restore the Yorkist to the English throne.

We're ready now to move on to the second section of our lesson today.

This section is called the "Yorkists Fight Back".

Edward, now Duke of York, following his father's death, raised an army with the support of the Earl of Warwick.

And on the 2nd of February 1461, the Lancastrians and the Yorkists clashed once more.

This battle known as the Battle of Mortimer's Cross was held in Herefordshire, close to the Welsh border.

Let's have a quick check of your understanding.

I'd like you to answer this question.

Two of the options are correct.

How did the Duke of York's son, Edward, react to the news of his father's death at Wakefield? Did he A, decide to accept that Lancastrians had won the right to rule, B, did he vow to get revenge for his father's death at Wakefield, C, did he immediately raise an army with the help of the powerful Earl of Warwick, or did he, D, decide to wait for the king's next episode of poor health before launching an attack? Press pause now, and when you're ready for the answers, press play.

Welcome back.

You should have said that the two correct options are, B, he vowed to get revenge for his father's death at Wakefield, and C, he immediately raised an army with the help of the powerful Earl of Warwick.

Edward of York believed that the Yorkists defeat of the Lancastrians at the Battle of Mortimer's Cross was due to something that had happened prior to the battle.

The Yorkists soldiers had witnessed what appeared to be three suns in the sky.

This site occurs due to meteorological event known as a parhelion, in which ice crystals reflect the sun's light giving the appearance of three suns, but the soldiers did not know this at the time.

Instead, the soldiers were initially worried that this could be a bad sign that God did not support the Yorkists' claim to the throne.

However, Edward interpreted the sight as a sign that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost were on their side, suggesting that God fully supported their mission.

This boosted the soldier's confidence and following the victory, Edward adopted the sun symbol on his crest and badges to show everyone who God supposedly supported.

Let's check your understanding.

I'd like you to answer this question.

Why did Edward, the Duke of York, adopt the sun symbol on his crests and badges? Was it because of A, prior to the battle of Wakefield, he had seen two suns in the sky, which he took as a good sign from God, B, prior to the Battle of Mortimer's Cross, he had seen three suns in the sky, which he took as a good sign from God, or C, prior to the Battle of Mortimer's Cross, he had seen three suns in the sky, which he took as a bad sign from God.

Press pause whilst you think of your answer and then press play.

That's right, you should have said the correct answer was B.

Prior to the Battle of Mortimer's Cross, he had seen three suns in the sky, which he took as a good sign from God.

Despite the Duke of York's victory at the Battle of Mortimer's Cross, the Lancastrians were not yet ready to give up their claim to the throne.

Subsequently, a few weeks later, on the 29th of March 1461 in the Yorkshire town of Towton, a second decisive battle, known as the Battle of Towton, was fought.

The fighting lasted for 10 hours and involved around 50,000 to 65,000 soldiers.

It was one of the most ferocious and bloodiest battles ever fought on English soil.

And by the end of the battle, around 28,000 soldiers had been killed.

The battle was a victory for Edward and the Yorkist and led the removal of Henry VI from the English throne.

Henry, his queen consort, Margaret, and their son, Prince Edward, were forced to flee to Scotland in exile.

Let's check your understanding.

I'd like you to answer this question.

What happened to Henry, his queen consort, Margaret, and their son, Prince Edward, following the battle of Towton in March 1461? Press pause now whilst you think of your answer and then press play.

You should have said something like this.

As Edward, Duke of York, and his Yorkist army had been victorious at the Battle of Towton in March 1461, Henry, Margaret, and Prince Edward were forced to flee to Scotland in exile.

On the 28th of June 1461, Edward, Duke of York, was crowned Edward IV at Westminster Abbey in London.

An impressive manuscript measuring nearly 20 feet in length was produced to celebrate his coronation.

However, if the people of England thought that the crowning of their new king would be the end of the Wars of the Roses, then they were wrong.

The political instability that had become a key feature of life for the past few years was set to continue for another two decades.

Here's a final check of your understanding.

When was Edward, the Duke of York, crowned Edward IV at Westminster Abbey? Was it A, on the 2nd of February 1461, was it B, the 29th of March 1461, or C, the 28th of June 1461? Press pause now whilst you write your answer, and then press play when you are ready.

You should have said that the correct answer was C.

Edward, the Duke of York, was crowned Edward IV at Westminster Abbey on the 28th of June 1461.

For our final task today, I'd like you to put these events in the correct order.

Press pause now whilst you think of the answer and then press play.

Welcome back.

The correct order is as follows.

Richard, Duke of York, was killed at Wakefield.

Then his son, Edward, with the help of Warwick, raised an army.

The Yorkists then defeated the Lancastrians at Mortimer's Cross and Towton.

And finally, Edward VI fled in exile, and Edward IV was crowned king.

Secondly, I'd like you to attempt this task with your learning partner.

I'd like you to describe to each other why England was unstable in the period 1455 to 1461.

Here are some ideas that might help you with your discussion.

You might want to discuss the actions of Margaret of Anjou, the death of Richard, Duke of York, or the actions of Edward and Warwick.

Press pause now to have your discussion, and then press play to see what you might have said.

Welcome back.

Your discussion might have looked something like this.

Margaret of Anjou try to keep power for her husband, Henry VI, and son, Prince Edward, by persuading the Lancastrians to fight against Richard, Duke of York.

The Battle of Wakefield then led to Richard's death.

Richard's son, Edward, and his supporter Warwick, then to revenge at Mortimer's Cross and Towton.

The issue of which side of the family should control the country made England very unstable as the country was split into Yorkists and Lancastrians, and the fighting went on for many years, even after Edward IV was crowned.

I hope you were able to offer a good explanation during the task.

Now we've reached the end of our lesson today.

Let's go through a quick summary of what you should have learned.

First of all, after the Battle of St.

Albans, the queen consort, Margaret of Anjou, tried to win back power for the Lancastrians.

The Yorkists were removed from her court and she persuaded the Lancastrians to fight against Richard, the Duke of York.

Following the death of Richard at the Battle of Wakefield in 1460, his son Edward and the Earl of Warwick fought back, winning battles at Mortimer's Cross and Towton in 1461.

Henry VI was forced into exile and Edward was crowned Edward IV, but arguments over which side of the family should rule continue to create instability.

Thanks for all your hard work in today's lesson.

I hope that you feel confident that you've met your learning objective.

I look forward to you joining me in a future lesson on the Wars of the Roses.

We'll be continuing to think about what the wars of the Roses tell us about England in the 15th century.