Margaret Lenton is passionate about the Magna Carta and has been delighted to have succeeded in ensuring that the 800th anniversary of the sealing of the first Magna Carta has increased awareness of this vital document and its importance to us today. She was a very special speaker at the monthly meeting and pointed out the far reaching effects that a very reluctant King John has had. The USA and all the commonwealth countries incorporated important elements of the Charter into their own Bills of Rights.
Margaret also upset a few other myths about our medieval kings pointing out that King Richard I probably only spent about six months in England during his 10 year reign. King John though was a thoroughly unpleasant person and seems to have deserved his poor reputation. The photograph shows Margaret with immediate past president Angela and a modern copy of the Magna Carta.