Page:The Queens of England.djvu/262

224 THE QUEENS OF ENGLAND. effect without the other. The King of France, too, had his share in this matter ; for he sought, by the revival of the wars in England, to prevent King Edward from interfering with foreign affairs. The terms of the agreement were that the Duke of Clarence and the Earl of Warwick should endeavor to restore Henry the Sixth to the throne ; that they should afterwards be allowed to rule the kingdom during the king's life and his son's mi- nority; and that, to confirm this unlooked-for agreement, the Prince of Wales should marry the youngest daughter of the Earl of Warwick. The young Edward was accordingly united to Anne of Warwick, and thus by the marriage of his two daughters, the earl became equally allied to the two rival houses of York and Lancaster. There were many severe struggles in the breast of the un- fortunate Queen Margaret before she could consent to the marriage of her beloved son with the daughter of her greatest enemy, and during twelve days she obstinately persisted in maintaining her refusal. But her scruples were at length over- come by persuasions on all sides, and moreover, it is probable, that when the earl for political reasons offered the hand of his daughter to the heir of Lancaster, it was willingly accepted by him ; and this union, which was based on mutual affection, was not less agreeable to the Princess Anne, who has been de- scribed as superior to her sister, the Duchess of Clarence, but whether in the accomplishments of the mind, or in the nobler qualities of the heart is left to conjecture. Prince Edward was at this time only in the nineteenth year of his age ; he was both handsome and accomplished, and had been well instructed under that learned preceptor, Fortescue, who was at one time Chancellor of England. No wonder, therefore, that the Lady Anne, now in her seventeenth year, should show a marked preference for the Lancastrian prince, in whom she must have perceived a lively contrast to her for- mer lover, the Duke of Gloucester. This unexpected marriage was celebrated immediately in the presence of Queen Mar- garet, the Earl of Warwick, the Duke and Duchess of Clar- ence, and the King of France and his court. It took place at Angers, in August, 1470. There are some writers, however, who affirm that only the contract for this union was signed, and that it was never the intention of Oueen Margaret that it should take place. Certain