# Margaret — Henry VI, Part I character guide

> Margaret in Henry VI, Part I by William Shakespeare.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Margaret Tush, Lady Margaret

**First appearance:** 0032-act-v-scene-v

## Snapshot

A proud, penniless French princess who trades her captivity for a crown, becoming the fierce young queen England will learn to fear.

## Who they are

Margaret enters the play as a prisoner of war, bargaining with Suffolk over her own fate with a wit sharp enough to match his flattery. She insists that 'to be a queen in bondage is more vile / Than is a slave in base servility,' revealing a will that will not be owned even when she is being traded. Her marriage to the young Henry is brokered as a diplomatic transaction, but her ambition and her bond with Suffolk plant the seeds of the court's coming fractures.

## In the story

### [Scene III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/henry_vi_part_i_se/chapters/act-v-scene-iii)

Captured by Suffolk, she agrees to marry King Henry if her father consents.

### [Scene V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/henry_vi_part_i_se/chapters/act-v-scene-v)

Discussed as the prospective queen; praised for beauty, virtue, and noble birth, but not present on stage.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/henry_vi_part_i_se/characters/margaret
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/henry_vi_part_i_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/henry_vi_part_i_se/characters