4- Jacquetta Woodville- An Unlikely Marriage

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So, this is a long overdue post!

Let’s move on to the year 1432...back to Rouen....back to Jacquetta’s life.

Anne of Burgundy, Duchess Bedford has just succumbed to the deadly plague and left her husband, John, the Duke of Bedford, without an heir. Anne was married to the Duke in the year 1423 by the Treaty of Amiens between England and the Duke of Burgundy. It may be recalled that Bedford was the regent of France on behalf of his nephew, King Henry VI. The marriage, albeit childless, was a happy one.

(Wikipedia)

But, while the court was still in mourning for the beloved Duchess, in a move that surprised many, John, Duke of Bedford married the fifteen-year-old Jacquetta of Luxembourg! Not many records about this marriage survive so we may never know who initiated this very obvious political move. 
You may recall that the Duke of Bedford was the regent of France on behalf of his nephew, King Henry VI. Now, if the King were to die without providing a heir to the throne, it would be his uncle Bedford who would inherit the crown. 
(Wikipedia)

There is only one reason I can think of for the middle-aged Duke agreeing to marry a girl barely into her teens: heirs. The sole purpose of marriage in that era, barring a few exceptions, was to produce heirs to ensure that the family name does not come to an end. It is very likely that Bedford married Jacquetta for this very purpose: to provide heirs who might one day inherit the throne or England. And if the Duke, too, died childless, the crown would pass on to his younger brother, Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester who had a rather colourful reputation.  However, the ‘Good Duke’ was unlucky yet again. Just two years after this very unlikely and probably scorned upon marriage, the Duke passed away leaving Jacquetta a rich but a childless widow. The only thing that this union achieved was the souring of relations between England and Philip, Duke of Burgundy, Duchess Anne’s brother. 






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