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3 - The social queen
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 October 2019
Summary
‘[O]n the .iii. day of May she [Margaret] made her entry into London, riding on a white palfreye (which ye quene of England had sent to her) behynde syr Thomas par richely besene, & wt great company of lordes & ladyes, she roade thoroughe the citie to Baynardes Castel, & from thence she was conueyghed to Grenewiche, & there receaued ioyously of the kyng, the quene, the Frenche quene her syster, and highly was she feasted.’
In 1516 Margaret returned to London for the first time in thirteen years, where her brother Henry viii greeted her in magnificent Renaissance style. Her arrival in London began with lavish celebrations which included two days of jousting, banquets and a play. These celebrations not only honoured Margaret, but also featured Catherine of Aragon and occasionally Margaret's younger sister, Mary Tudor Brandon, the dowager queen of France, as spectators of the tournaments and hostesses of the entertainments and banquets. The three queens at the court of Henry viii provided the king with an opportunity to celebrate his dynasty and participate in the chivalric displays and courtly entertainments that the young Tudor monarch enjoyed. The queens’ presence added prestige and magnificence to these dynastic celebrations, and the events were deemed important enough to commemorate with a musical manuscript illuminated with the personal badges of the three queens – Catherine's pomegranates, Margaret's daisies and Mary's marigolds – surrounding the Tudor rose. The Venetian ambassador noted the occasion, remarking on the presence of three queens in England, and more specifically on the confluence of pregnancies that resulted in the birth of three royal cousins within the span of a year.
The presence of Catherine, Margaret and Mary at these entertainments show how important the queen (or queens) were to the social world of the Renaissance court, and in turn, how public spectacle and entertainment could incorporate, or in Margaret's case re-incorporate, queens into the political, dynastic and symbolic structures of the realm. While Margaret's visit was unusual, her presence emphasised the importance of women, including the queen and her ladies, to the Renaissance courts of Europe. Catherine's and Margaret's predecessor and nearest role model, Elizabeth of York, provided them with an example of how queens could participate in the pageantry and ceremonies of the court.
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- Queenship at the Renaissance Courts of BritainCatherine of Aragon and Margaret Tudor 1503–1533, pp. 70 - 96Publisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2018