Margaret Tudor
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Margaret Tudor (November 28 30, 1489 October 15, 1541), the daughter of Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York, was a notable figure in the 16th century history of Scotland and England. There is some discrepancy about her exact birthdate, though scholars generally agree that it was between November 28 and November 30, at London's Palace of Westminster. She married three times, all to scions of the House of Stewart.
Contents [hide]
1 Early years
2 First marriage
3 Margaret as Regent and Advisor to James V
3.1 Third Marriage
4 Notes
5 References
6 External links
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Early years
Henry VII's court was opulent, and he expected his entire family to participate publicly from the time they were old enough to walk; Margaret was no exception. Her daily routine was full of courtly ritual, beginning with her first day on earth, when her birth was ushered in with a morning mass, spiced wine and cakes, and an hour of prayer. [1]
Margaret was devoted to her father the king, and took up some of his favorite pursuits, including music and hunting. Margaret was known to have played the lute and clavichord and was a fair archer. She also had her own consort of minstrels, including a bagpiper and fiddler. [2]
When she was five, Margaret was betrothed to King James IV of Scotland, who was 17 years her senior.
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First marriage
Her first marriage was to James IV. When he was killed in 1513, their son became James V. Margaret Tudor became the Regent for her infant son, but following her marriage the following year to Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, she lost the regency to John Stewart, 2nd Duke of Albany, who subsequently gained custody of the child. Margaret fled to England.
Margaret TudorWith Angus, Margaret had a daughter, Margaret Douglas, who became the mother of Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, who married Mary Queen of Scots and fathered James VI of Scotland. It was not long, however, before she became estranged from Angus, who now had custody of the boy James V, who had been proclaimed king in 1524, until the latter managed to escape in 1528.
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Margaret as Regent and Advisor to James V
As has been noted, the oldest of the Tudor daughters of King Henry VII, Margaret from a very young age was expected to participate and apparently came to enjoy court life. Though she is known mostly to history as the sister of Henry VIII, the mother of James V, King of Scotland, and the mother to what became the Stuart line of English Kings who would rule until the 18th Century, she was more than merely daughter, sister, and wife. Her participation in court life prepared her for a role as ruler of a country when the chance arose.
Margaret at first was regent for her infant son, who became King when his father died in 1513 at Flodden Field. Her actions as Regent angered many Scots as she openly believed Scotland should be a part of the English Kingdom, in fact, if not in name, and most of the Highland Nobility was opposed to her regency. The blunt fact was that the fractious Scottish clans were difficult to rule under any circumstances, by any King. That Queen Mother Margaret Tudor lasted 3 years as her sons regent is virtually a miracle, a great testament to her political skills, or both.
In 1516 Albany used the Scottish nobilitys inate distrust of Margaret to make himself regent and sent the Queen fleeing to England in 1516 with her second husband, Archibald Douglas, the Earl of Angus, whom she had married in 1514.
From 1516, to 1527, Margaret had no contact with her son, the infant King of Scotland, save a single recorded visit in 1517, when she was able to return to Scotland during Albany's absence and see her child. He was being virtually held prisoner by his regent, Albany. When he finally was able to flee to England, his mother became his chief advisor for a time. Their relationship ended, and badly, when he became convinced that her constant urging for him to meet with, and ally himself with, her brother King Henry VIII of England was treason against him. His refusal to allow her to divorce her third husband did not help the estrangement, but it began and festered on political grounds. James V intended to become King of Scotland in fact as well as name, and intended it remain a separate country from England. His mother, and uncle, intended otherwise. Almost a century later, Scotlands independence formally ended after the death of Elizabeth I and both countries united under one crown at last.
Margarets closeness to her brother who listened to her as much as he did anyone, which was not a great deal and her unfailing determination to bring Scotland into a greater England marked her reign as Regent, her time as her sons prime advisor, and her personal politics until she died. Her estrangement from her son caused her great personal sorrow, but her loyalty to her brother, Henry VIII, and her belief in a united Scottish/English realm never allowed a reconciliation.
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Third Marriage
Margaret had divorced Angus in 1527, and married Henry Stewart, later Lord Methven. Shortly thereafter, the young king escaped from Angus and joined his mother and Methven in England, who became his chief advisers for a time. Margaret's relationship with her son ended in estrangement, as noted above however, as he refused his mother's continual attempts to arrange a meeting between him and her brother, Henry VIII of England, accusing her of betrayal. His refusal to allow her to divorce Methven further damaged their already fractured relationship.
Margaret died of palsy at Methven Castle, in Perthshire. She was buried at the Carthusian Abbey of St John in Perth.
The line of succession to the English throne was passed through Margaret's heirs, as her brother's dynasty ended with Elizabeth I. Margaret's great-grandson became James I of England and began the Stuart Dynasty that would rule until the 18th century. The present queen Elizabeth II is therefore directly descended from Margaret, not her brother.
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Notes
? Chapman, Hester W., The Thistle and the Rose.
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References
Chapman, Hester W. (1969). The Thistle and the Rose: The Sisters of Henry VIII, Coward, McCann & Geoghegan Inc. LCC 79-159754.
Jansen, Sharon L, The Monstrous Regiment of Women: Female Rulers in Early Modern Europe (2002)
Routh, C.R. Who's Who in Tudor England(2001)
Sisters of Henry VIII, The: The Tumultuous Lives of Margaret of Scotland and Mary of France by Maria Perry ISBN 0306809893
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