The times invited her to act. Margaret stepped onto the political stage as the country stood on the brink of civil war. After years without royal leadership, English politics was in the grip of a destructive rivalry between the two most powerful nobles in England. This was the beginning of what would become known - thanks to Shakespeare, and later art and literature - as the Wars of the Roses. Margaret watched as the nobles divided. On one side was the Duke of York, the King's cousin, who claimed to speak for the good of the whole country. On the other was the Duke of Somerset, who acted for the House of Lancaster, the line from which Henry descended. Both claimed the right to rule in the King's absence. And now their rivalry threatened to spill onto the battlefield. It was amid this tension and fear that Margaret made her bid to rule.


这一切是时势促成的，玛格丽特一脚迈进这个政治舞台时，这个国家正处在内战爆发的边缘。经历了多年没有皇帝领导的时代，现在英国的政权掌握在两个死对头手中，他们是英格兰最有权势的两大贵族。归功于莎士比亚及后来文学艺术润色，这便是后来被人们广为传唱的玫瑰战争的开始。玛格丽特眼看着贵族间分崩离析，一边是国王的堂弟，约克公爵。他声称，要为整个国家的利益而奋斗。一边是萨摩赛特公爵，他是兰开斯特机组的代表，跟亨利一脉相承。双方都声称，当国王不适时，自己有权利统治王国，现在他们间的斗争已经扩大到了战场上。正是在这紧张与不安的氛围中，玛格丽特开始争取自己统治英格兰。