Madeline of Gloucester

**Madeleine of Gloucester** (7 June 1537 - 6 July 1555) was **Queen Consort of England** from 1547 to 1553. She was the great-great granddaughter of Edward IV of England.

## Early Years

Madeleine Plantagenet, or Madeleine of Gloucester, was born to Edward and Mary Plantagenet in 1537. Madeleine was descended from the Plantagenet Dynasty, meaning she was a direct descendant of Edward III. Edward preferred to keep Madeleine away from London due to her being very fragile, however Mary wanted Madeleine to be used to the culture in London. So Madeleine and her family requested they move into one of the rooms at Hampton Court. Henry VIII did hesitate when they asked him, but eventually gave in when he saw the state of Madeleine. Madeleine grew up at Hampton Court and she lived there until she was nine.

Her aunt was Charlotte Plantagenet, the wife of Francis I of France. Her great-grandmother was Eleanor of York, the daughter of Edward IV.

## Marriage

In 1543, Madeleine was the subject of marriage negotiations. Following the call off of a royal engagement several months earlier between Mary, Queen of Scots and Edward Tudor, Henry VIII was looking for a new bride for his son. He found himself at Hampton Court, and he was asking the maids if there was any noble children living there. And one of them brought up Madeleine. In 1546 Henry wished to see Madeleine, and when they did meet he introduced her to Edward. It was love at first sight for the two. The two eventually got engaged and married several days later.

## Queen Consort

In 1547, Henry VIII died. More specifically, he died months after Madeleine and Edward's marriage. The throne was passed down to Edward, who became Edward VI at only nine years old. This meant that despite only being nine, Madeleine was now Queen Consort of England. She seeked help from Edward and Mary on how to run a country in 1548, but they couldn't provide her with anything. Madeleine was left to run things by herself. Madeleine was considered quite a smart girl, and she usually seeked help from the regents on things she didn't understand. Edward also usually seeked help from Madeleine.

When Madeleine was 13, in 1551, she suggested she have some power of the country as she believed she was ready. The regents agreed that she should have some freedom. Meanwhile Edward still didn't really know what to do, he understood how to run a country yet he didn't know what to do with that power. Madeleine helped him by introducing several new laws and steadily ran the country with Edward.

Meanwhile, the King's advisors didn't like a girl of Plantagenet blood to be running the country. They had arranged a marriage between Edward and a daughter of Henry II of France, Madeleine's cousin. However Madeleine had the people responsible sent to prison and executed for Treason.

## Dowager Queen

Madeleine soothly ran the country until 1553. Upon hearing of her husband's death she broke down in tears. Edward and Mary helped her get through it. And unfortunately for Madeleine, she died 2 years later because of tuberculosis. She requested she'd be buried next to Edward. Edward was buried next to Madeleine's aunt, Charlotte Plantagenet.