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Born 1443, died 1509
With her fortune of £1,000 a year, Margaret Beaufort was the richest heiress in England. Even more importantly, as a direct descendent of John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster and younger son of Edward III, she was of the blood royal.
As a result, any alliance with Margaret was extremely desirable. She was first married – at the age of only six – to John de la Pole, 2nd duke of Suffolk, but the union was soon annulled. Then Henry VI, desperate to shore up his ailing Lancastrian dynasty, decided that the nine-year-old should marry his own half-brother Edmund Tudor.
Edmund proved to be a brutally selfish husband. Only by siring a child would he be guaranteed his life's interest in Margaret's land, so he was determined to get her pregnant quickly. Just before her 13th birthday, she announced that she was going to have a baby.
Widowed before her confinement, Margaret gave birth to the future Henry VII on 28 January 1457. It probably damaged her immature body for, despite two more husbands, she had no more children. But out of this traumatic event, an extraordinary bond was forged between mother and son.
In 1459, 16-year-old Margaret was again wed, this time to Henry Stafford, the younger son of the duke of Buckingham. The couple lived quietly in Woking in Surrey. When, in 1471, Henry VI was defeated and then murdered and Edward IV, head of the House of York, reigned supreme, Margaret realised the danger her 15-year-old son was in. She persuaded him to go into exile, even though this meant that she would be parted from him for many years.
When Lord Henry died in 1482, Margaret is said to have taken a vow of chastity. Despite this, the following year, at the age of 40, she married Thomas Stanley, 1st earl of Derby, who had made a career of switching sides during the Wars of the Roses.
Following the death of Edward VI and the disappearance of the princes in the Tower in June 1483, Richard III came to power. At his coronation, Stanley carried the mace and Margaret the queen's train. However, later that summer, Edward's queen Elizabeth Woodville received a secret message. Margaret proposed that the queen's eldest daughter Elizabeth of York should marry her own son Henry and they should all join together against the usurper Richard. Elizabeth Woodville agreed.
With his secret betrothal under his belt, Henry decided to risk an invasion of England. Two weeks later, on 21 August 1485, he met Richard at Bosworth Field. Here, too, Henry was helped by his mother. Her third husband Stanley, ostensibly a supporter of the York king, simply stood by with his troops and watched as Richard was defeated and died, and after the battle, he crowned his stepson.
Henry soon enjoyed an official coronation and his wedding to Elizabeth of York. The couple had a son Arthur, and at his christening, the dowager queen Elizabeth Woodville became his godmother. But within months, she had been banned from court. Her nemesis was Margaret Beaufort.
Henry had already honoured Margaret with the title of 'My lady the king's mother', but she had to play second fiddle to former queen Elizabeth Woodville. This incensed Margaret, who was scarcely willing to give precedence to Henry's own queen, Elizabeth of York. In fact, wearing similar robes, she signed herself 'Margaret R' and walked only half a pace behind the king. And she convinced him to get rid of his mother-in-law.
Margaret's behaviour was a disaster for Henry. She, a Tudor and a Lancastrian, had humiliated the Yorkist Elizabeth. This spurred on the Yorkist nobility to rebel.
Surprisingly Margaret was also renowned for her piety and philanthropy. She founded Christ's and St John's colleges in Cambridge, and was a patron of the printer/publishers William Caxton and Wynkyn de Worde. But she is best remembered for her devotion to her son, and outlived him by only two months, dying in June 1509.
Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby
http://tudorhistory.org/people/beaufort/
Brief biography on the Tudor History site, with links to more information, including a gallery of images of Margaret and of her signature.
The King's Mother: Lady Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby by Michael K Jones and Malcolm G Underwood (Cambridge University Press, 1993)
This well-documented study of Margaret Beaufort claims to be the first biography to explore the full range of archival sources related to her.
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Boscobel House
On minor road between the A41 and the A5, 8 miles north-west of Wolverhampton, 5 minutes from junction 3 on the M54
OS reference SJ 837083
Tel: 01902 850 244
Website: www.english-heritage.org.uk/server /show/conProperty.331
Now owned by English Heritage, Boscobel House was built in about 1632. According to tradition, it was intended to serve as a secret place for Catholics to shelter in time of need. After his defeat at Worcester, Charles II was forced to flee for his life and initially set out to cross the River Severn into Wales, but found his way blocked by Cromwell's patrols. He sought refuge at Boscobel, first hiding in what is now known as the Royal Oak and then spending the night in a priest-hole in the attic. He then escaped to France.
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