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| Keywords: people Margaret was born at Bletsoe Castle, Bedfordshire, the daughter of John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset and Margaret Beauchamp of Bletso. Her mother was the widow of Sir Oliver St John and daughter of John, 3rd Beauchamp of Bletso and Edith, daughter of Sir John Stourton. Through her father, Lady Margaret Beaufort was a granddaughter of John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset, and a great-granddaughter of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster and his mistress and third wife Katherine Swynford. Following Gaunt's marriage to Katherine, their children (the Beauforts) were legitimized, but the legitimation carried a condition: their descendants were barred from ever inheriting the throne. Despite this, Lady Margaret's own son King Henry VII (and several English, British, and UK sovereigns who followed) are descended from Gaunt and Swynford. * Edward IV and his younger brother Richard III of England were sons of Cecily Neville, grandsons to Joan Beaufort, great-grandsons to John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford. * Lady Margaret Beaufort's only son Henry, through her a great-great-grandson of the Gaunt-Swynford liaison, became King Henry VII. Margaret, less than two years old when her father died, was brought up by her mother until the age of six when the powerful Duke of Suffolk obtained her wardship and betrothed her to his seven-year-old son and heir. However, Suffolk was executed soon after, and the match was dissolved by Henry VI (who was her second cousin). Henry chose her as a suitable bride for his half-brother, Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond. Edmund was the eldest son of the king's mother, Dowager Queen Catherine (the widow of Henry V), by her second marriage to Owen Tudor. Queen Catherine had been born Catherine of Valois, daughter of Charles VI of France. Thus, in what is sometimes considered one of the great ironies of history, Margaret's son Henry, the Lancastrian claimant to the throne at the end of the Wars of the Roses — who stabilised the kingdom and united the two houses by marrying the Yorkist princess Elizabeth of York — had plenty of royal blood but no legal claim to the English throne. In fact, were it not for the Salic Law barring women from inheriting the French throne, he would have had a greater claim to the crown of France than that of England, through his paternal line, because his father Edmund's mother, Queen Catherine of England, was a princess of France. However, it was his maternal line on which his English claim relied. In addition, as Henry derived his claim to the English throne from his mother Margaret, and England did not bar women from inheriting the kingship, it is arguably she and not her son who should have claimed the crown. Margaret did not contest Henry's right to rule; however, she occasionally used the signature Margaret R, a form limited to queens regnant. (See discussion below.) Margaret was twelve when she married Edmund on 1 November 1455. Edmund died the following November, leaving a thirteen year old widow who was seven months pregnant with their child, Henry. Margaret and her son retired to Pembroke when the wars between Lancaster and York broke out and remained there until the Yorkist triumphs of 1461. The readeption of 1470 saw her return to court but her son fled to Brittany with his uncle, Jasper Tudor. Margaret married twice more after Edmund's death: * Sir Henry Stafford (c. 1447 - 4 October 1471), son of Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham. * Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby She had no children with either, and it has been suggested by historians that the birth of her son Henry when she was only thirteen years old was difficult enough to render her infertile. Margaret was instrumental in secretly conspiring against King Richard III with the Dowager Queen Consort, Elizabeth Woodville, whose sons, the Princes in the Tower, were presumed murdered. They were aided by the fact that Margaret's third husband, Thomas Stanley, the Lord High Constable, had switched sides because Richard III held captive his eldest son, George Stanley (styled Lord Strange by marriage to the female holder of that hereditary lordship). George was Thomas Stanley's son by his first wife, Eleanor Neville, whose brother, Richard Neville was very active in the Wars of the Roses. Margaret was Thomas Stanley's second wife. At the end of the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, it was Thomas Stanley who placed the crown on his stepson's — Henry VII's — head. Stanley was later made Earl of Derby, which made Margaret Countess of Derby, but she was styled "The Countess of Richmond and Derby." With her son winning the crown at Bosworth Field, Margaret was now referred to in court as "My Lady the King's Mother." However, Margaret was reluctant to accept a lower status than the dowager queen consort Elizabeth Woodville or even her daughter-in-law, Elizabeth of York, the current queen consort. She wore robes of the same quality as the queen consort and walked only half a pace behind her. Margaret sometimes signed herself Margaret R, the form of signature used by English queens regnant to indicate the title "Regina," the feminine form of "Rex." This referenced Margaret's own potential claim to the English throne, which would have had precedence over her son's claim, though she never asserted it. Had she successfully done so, she would have been a queen regnant — ruling in her own right, not through marriage — and entitled her to sign documents with the suffix "Regina." (See "Marriages" above for more on Margaret's own right to the English throne.) Many historians believe the banishment of Woodville in 1487 by Henry VII of England was partly at the behest of his influential mother. Margaret was known for her education and her piety, and her son is said to have been devoted to her. In 1497 she announced her intention to build a free school for the general public of Wimborne, Dorset. With her death in 1509, Wimborne Grammar School, now Queen Elizabeth's School, came into existence. In 1502 she established the Lady Margaret's Professorship of Divinity at the University of Cambridge. In 1505, following the accession of her son Henry VII to the throne, she refounded and enlarged God's House, Cambridge as Christ's College with a royal charter from the King. She has been honoured ever since as the Foundress of the College. A copy of her signature can be found carved on one of the buildings (4 staircase, 1994) within the College. In 1511, St John's College, Cambridge was founded by her estate, either at her direct behest or at the suggestion of her chaplain. Land that she owned around Great Bradley in Suffolk was bequeathed to St John's upon its foundation. Her portrait hangs in the Great Hall at St John's, and the college boat club is called the Lady Margaret Boat Club (LMBC). Lady Margaret Hall, the first women's college at the University of Oxford, was named in her honour. Margaret died on 29 June 1509 in the Deanery of Westminster Abbey, just over two months after the death of her son. She is buried in a black marble tomb topped with a bronze gilded effigy and canopy, between the graves of William and Mary and the tomb of Mary, Queen of Scots, in the Henry VII's Chapel in Westminster Abbey. Margaret was born at Bletsoe Castle, Bedfordshire, the daughter of John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset and Margaret Beauchamp of Bletso. Her mother was the widow of Sir Oliver St John and daughter of John, 3rd Beauchamp of Bletso and Edith, daughter of Sir John Stourton. Through her father, Lady Margaret Beaufort was a granddaughter of John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset, and a great-granddaughter of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster and his mistress and third wife Katherine Swynford. Following Gaunt's marriage to Katherine, their children (the Beauforts) were legitimized, but the legitimation carried a condition: their descendants were barred from ever inheriting the throne. Despite this, Lady Margaret's own son King Henry VII (and several English, British, and UK sovereigns who followed) are descended from Gaunt and Swynford. * Edward IV and his younger brother Richard III of England were sons of Cecily Neville, grandsons to Joan Beaufort, great-grandsons to John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford. * Lady Margaret Beaufort's only son Henry, through her a great-great-grandson of the Gaunt-Swynford liaison, became King Henry VII. Margaret, less than two years old when her father died, was brought up by her mother until the age of six when the powerful Duke of Suffolk obtained her wardship and betrothed her to his seven-year-old son and heir. However, Suffolk was executed soon after, and the match was dissolved by Henry VI (who was her second cousin). Henry chose her as a suitable bride for his half-brother, Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond. Edmund was the eldest son of the king's mother, Dowager Queen Catherine (the widow of Henry V), by her second marriage to Owen Tudor. Queen Catherine had been born Catherine of Valois, daughter of Charles VI of France. Thus, in what is sometimes considered one of the great ironies of history, Margaret's son Henry, the Lancastrian claimant to the throne at the end of the Wars of the Roses — who stabilised the kingdom and united the two houses by marrying the Yorkist princess Elizabeth of York — had plenty of royal blood but no legal claim to the English throne. In fact, were it not for the Salic Law barring women from inheriting the French throne, he would have had a greater claim to the crown of France than that of England, through his paternal line, because his father Edmund's mother, Queen Catherine of England, was a princess of France. However, it was his maternal line on which his English claim relied. In addition, as Henry derived his claim to the English throne from his mother Margaret, and England did not bar women from inheriting the kingship, it is arguably she and not her son who should have claimed the crown. Margaret did not contest Henry's right to rule; however, she occasionally used the signature Margaret R, a form limited to queens regnant. (See discussion below.) Margaret was twelve when she married Edmund on 1 November 1455. Edmund died the following November, leaving a thirteen year old widow who was seven months pregnant with their child, Henry. Margaret and her son retired to Pembroke when the wars between Lancaster and York broke out and remained there until the Yorkist triumphs of 1461. The readeption of 1470 saw her return to court but her son fled to Brittany with his uncle, Jasper Tudor. Margaret married twice more after Edmund's death: * Sir Henry Stafford (c. 1447 - 4 October 1471), son of Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham. * Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby She had no children with either, and it has been suggested by historians that the birth of her son Henry when she was only thirteen years old was difficult enough to render her infertile. Margaret was instrumental in secretly conspiring against King Richard III with the Dowager Queen Consort, Elizabeth Woodville, whose sons, the Princes in the Tower, were presumed murdered. They were aided by the fact that Margaret's third husband, Thomas Stanley, the Lord High Constable, had switched sides because Richard III held captive his eldest son, George Stanley (styled Lord Strange by marriage to the female holder of that hereditary lordship). George was Thomas Stanley's son by his first wife, Eleanor Neville, whose brother, Richard Neville was very active in the Wars of the Roses. Margaret was Thomas Stanley's second wife. At the end of the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, it was Thomas Stanley who placed the crown on his stepson's — Henry VII's — head. Stanley was later made Earl of Derby, which made Margaret Countess of Derby, but she was styled "The Countess of Richmond and Derby." With her son winning the crown at Bosworth Field, Margaret was now referred to in court as "My Lady the King's Mother." However, Margaret was reluctant to accept a lower status than the dowager queen consort Elizabeth Woodville or even her daughter-in-law, Elizabeth of York, the current queen consort. She wore robes of the same quality as the queen consort and walked only half a pace behind her. Margaret sometimes signed herself Margaret R, the form of signature used by English queens regnant to indicate the title "Regina," the feminine form of "Rex." This referenced Margaret's own potential claim to the English throne, which would have had precedence over her son's claim, though she never asserted it. Had she successfully done so, she would have been a queen regnant — ruling in her own right, not through marriage — and entitled her to sign documents with the suffix "Regina." (See "Marriages" above for more on Margaret's own right to the English throne.) Many historians believe the banishment of Woodville in 1487 by Henry VII of England was partly at the behest of his influential mother. Margaret was known for her education and her piety, and her son is said to have been devoted to her. In 1497 she announced her intention to build a free school for the general public of Wimborne, Dorset. With her death in 1509, Wimborne Grammar School, now Queen Elizabeth's School, came into existence. In 1502 she established the Lady Margaret's Professorship of Divinity at the University of Cambridge. In 1505, following the accession of her son Henry VII to the throne, she refounded and enlarged God's House, Cambridge as Christ's College with a royal charter from the King. She has been honoured ever since as the Foundress of the College. A copy of her signature can be found carved on one of the buildings (4 staircase, 1994) within the College. In 1511, St John's College, Cambridge was founded by her estate, either at her direct behest or at the suggestion of her chaplain. Land that she owned around Great Bradley in Suffolk was bequeathed to St John's upon its foundation. Her portrait hangs in the Great Hall at St John's, and the college boat club is called the Lady Margaret Boat Club (LMBC). Lady Margaret Hall, the first women's college at the University of Oxford, was named in her honour. Margaret died on 29 June 1509 in the Deanery of Westminster Abbey, just over two months after the death of her son. She is buried in a black marble tomb topped with a bronze gilded effigy and canopy, between the graves of William and Mary and the tomb of Mary, Queen of Scots, in the Henry VII's Chapel in Westminster Abbey. | ||||
