War of the Roses Margaret Beaufort
In the late 15th century, we saw this lady come to prominence. She was a major
figure in the War of the Roses, and the mother of the first Tudor Monarch. She
was influential in bringing the country together and orchestrating a new power
in the kingdom. From a precarious childhood to a political powerhouse. Join me
now, as we look at the life of Margaret Beaufort. Margaret was the daughter of John
Beaufort the Duke of Somerset. Her mother was Margaret Beauchamp of Bletsoe.
Margaret was born at Bletsoe Castle in Bedfordshire on the 31st of May 1443.
However, the year of birth is disputed. Her father had been preparing to visit
France it was to lead a military expedition on behalf of King Henry VI.
Somerset had talks with the King, saying if he should be killed whilst away
what authority would be placed on his daughter? Somerset was a tenant in chief
to the crown and this created a wardship which meant that his heir would be placed
under the crown in a feudal system. The system was part of a society that
organised political and military leadership and forced a formal structure based
on land tenure. However, Somerset returned from France, but he somehow managed
to have a falling out with the king. This didn't go down well, and he found himself
banished from the court, but now also on a charge of treason. It wouldn't be
long after the altercation that Somerset died, the evidence suggests that he had
become ill. Although the Crowland Chronicle described his death
as suicide.
For Margaret, this would be a trying time as she had not only secured a small
fortune as the only surviving heir, but she now also had a claim to the throne.
When Margaret reached her first birthday, the king decided to break the
arrangements he had with her father, meaning all her lands and wardship would now
be given to William de la Pole, the first Duke of Suffolk. Margaret's mother was
again pregnant, but unfortunately, she lost the child. This would still make
Margaret the sole heir. She was the only legitimate child of her father.
However, she did have half brothers and sisters from her mother's first
marriage. The age of three Yes, three, Margaret was married to John de la Pole, the
son of William first Duke of Suffolk. It didn't go well for Suffolk senior, he
was arrested on the charge of creating a secure future for his son, by betrothing
them to a wealthy ward, one that had a potential claim to the throne. But
remarkably, it all ended with a papal dispensation for the marriage in 1450.
Later in life, Margaret never accepted this marriage and gave it no recognition.
She was now looking for her next husband, and her marriage to John de la Pole was
dissolved. King Henry stepped into the fray and placed his arm around Margaret
by granting wardship to his half brothers, Jasper and Edmund Tudor. Her first
marriage wasn't recognised under canon law due to her being under the age of
12 at the time, so Henry VI now chose Margaret to become a bride for his
half brother, Edmund Tudor, the first Earl of Richmond, a decision made to
ensure an heir was in place if Henry became forced to give up his reign, as the
King had no legitimate children of his own. At the ripe old age of 12, Margaret
was now to be married. This time, there would be no repercussions. And on the
first November 1455, to Edmund, who was 12 years her senior, Margaret claimed
Edmond divinely guided her to do so. Throughout England, it was a time of civil
disruption, the Wars of the Roses had broken out for Edmund the timing couldn't
be worse, as a Lancastrian, he was captured and taken prisoner by the Yorkists
forces. Within a year he died of the plague while still in prison at Carmarthen
on the third of November 1456. He left Margaret now 13, a widow, but she was also
carrying his child and seven months pregnant. It would be Margaret's only child
and something that would resonate with her throughout her life. In her Will
she had specified that she wanted to be buried next to Edmund, although her third
husband and herself enjoyed an extraordinarily long and stable marriage. Yet
Margaret's roots remained with her beloved Edmund.
Jasper Tudor took Margaret into care,
and on the 28th of January 1457, she gave birth to a healthy son,
Henry Tudor, the delivery was complicated mainly due to her age at the time of
just 13. And the fact that she had not physically matured enough. Her confessor,
John Fisher said it was a miracle that she even got through this. But she
wouldn't be single for long it was important to get security in place for her
son, and at the age of 14, and now betrothed to Sir Henry Stafford, the son of
Humphrey Stafford, the first Duke of Buckingham, they were joined in wedlock on
the third of January 1458. Although the two were cousins, a special dispensation
allowed the marriage to occur. The couple lived at Woking palace and were given
400 marks worth of land from Buckingham. However, she still had sufficient funds
from her own estates to support their new lifestyle. As for her son Henry, he was kept
under the care of Jasper at Pembroke castle in Wales. The Wars of the Roses
continued Yorkist and Lancastrians were constantly at each other's throats,
culminating in the Battle of Towton, in 1461. Yorkists overwhelmed their opponents
and victory placed Edward IV, now as the new king of England. For
Margaret the battle was hard and a sad end, she lost her father in law, and it
forced Jasper Tudor to flee the scene, first to Scotland and over to France
to try and gain support, on behalf of his faction. Edward the new ruler took
away Margaret's lands and gave them to his brother, the Duke of Clarence. By
1469, Clarence had become tired of his brother's reign, and with the Earl of
Warwick incited a rebellion against Edward. Although Edward was captured, it
wouldn't be long before he regained power. There was a brief lull where Margaret
tried to communicate with Clarence and possibly gain back her lands and son.
However, in 1471, swords were drawn again, this time at the Battle of Barnet.
The Yorkists won and Edward was back in charge. It was now that Margaret begged
Jasper to flee once again. But this time take her now 13-year-old son Henry with
him, it would be another 14 years before Margaret saw her son again.
The battle not only decided the country's future monarchy, but also made
Margaret once again a widow, her husband had been killed in action. In the June
of 1472, Margaret remarried this time to Thomas Stanley, the Lord high constable
and King of Mann. It wasn't something she dwelled on, some say the marriage was of
convenience, but it did allow Margaret to return to Edwards court, and possibly
a route to access for her son to one day become king. It seems all her efforts
proved fruitful as the Queen Elizabeth Woodville chose Margaret to become a
godmother to one of her daughters. After Edward died, the throne was seized by
Richard of Gloucester. For Margaret, this was an opportunity to return to court
to serve the new queen, Anne Neville. Margaret had carried Anne's train at her
coronation, and quite possibly after having a word with Richard, it seemed she
successfully negotiated a return for her son. Yet despite the secret talks, it
is known Margaret had conspired with Elizabeth Woodville. The latter was the mother
of the two princes confined in the Tower of London by Richard and after rumours
circulated about their deaths, Margaret began to worry about her own son's
fortune. The secret correspondence between Margaret and Elizabeth continued to
drive out Richard, with the aim to replace him with Margaret's son Henry Tudor.
With the plan coming together, they agreed to betroth Henry to Elizabeth of
York. By doing so it would attract both Lancastrian and Yorkist followers to
come together. With regards to the princes, it always been suspected that
Richard was the man who gave the order to have them killed. And another
suggestion was that the events seem to have quickend Henry's rise to the
throne. Quite possibly, this gave Margaret enough motive herself to recommend the
order of be carried out. The narrative aside, Margaret's contemporaries
offered more enlightening words about her, claiming she would not contrive such
affairs. As a pious woman she should be removed from accusations of wickedness.
Erasmus who spoke with John Fisher only had praise for Margaret and her support
of religious institutions. This charitable act allayed any further criticism of
her, at least for the time being. In 1483, Buckingham raised a rebellion. This
time, Margaret was involved her motive to dethrone Richard, and get her son
Henry into power. Yet Henry was in Brittany, and although he set out for
England, his arrival was late. In October, Buckingham had failed and was
executed. As for Henry, he left once again across the channel, with his tail
between his legs. Luckily for Margaret, she survived Richard's wrath though she
was attained, which arose from being condemned for a serious capital crime.
Usually, this entailed losing your life and property, and hereditary titles,
and typically the right to pass them on to your heirs. Richard certainly could
have gone further in his vitriol, but the outcome was to be self isolated at
home without any further correspondence with her son. This was quite a mild
setback, Margaret if anything was cunning and ingenious, she would continue to
keep in touch with Henry and now Henry knew himself, his mother would leverage
support to bring him back to England. Margaret's husband kept a low profile
he did fight for Richard during the Buckingham rebellion but gave no response
to action at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. With victory secured,
Margaret was well, over the moon. The delight was there for everyone to see,
Richard was dead. And now Henry Tudor, the son she had fought for over many years
had the crown placed upon his head. A new time was in the offing for England, a
new house and a new regime as the Tudors were now in control.
With the Battle
of Bosworth now a distant memory, Margaret could settle down to a new life at
court as a Countess, but also referred to as my lady, the king's mother. Her
efforts in securing her son's reign were rewarded. She had the attainder placed
upon her by Richard removed, and Margaret was now at a very high stature, and
she gained much independence and social standing. As previously arranged before
the new regime Henry now married Elizabeth of York, Margaret was well
reluctant to say the least about gaining a lower status than her new queen
consort. So to appease her mood, Margaret, wore the same quality of clothing
was always just a pace behind her. Margaret now had much influence within the
Tudor court, it would be a Spanish envoy, Pedro de Ayala, who noticed and
commented on her 1498. He stated that Henry had been influenced so much by his
mother and that his followers also showed a great dedication to agree. Although her
position at court was undeniably at the king's request, her son Henry quite
possibly needed to pursue a more relaxed
area for his mother to operate. And although Margaret maybe regretted ever
becoming Queen herself, her passion for achieving and activating new political
rights would undoubtedly continue. Two legal acts were put in place, the first
avoid and annul the enforcement of taking land and property, as had happened to
her with Richard. The second was pursuing any legal challenge with regards to
property or title as a single unmarried person may do, even if still married. In
1485, the two acts were passed, both of course would be beneficial to herself
and her son. It also guaranteed that Margaret could use any wealth granted
to her for her purposes, which would stem any reasonable covert attempts by
others to consider this as an option against her. It would be Polydore Virgil the
chronicler at the time by stating the mother and son partnership involved a share
of Henry's private and public resources, which he freely gave to his mother.
This act contravenes any thoughts that Margaret may desire any further powers.
And in a letter to his mother, Henry wrote
Margaret's unique position allowed her to
operate beyond the duty of a queen. It was in a very
privileged position and one that would neither hinder nor irritate others
at court. Instead, her loyalty to others who she could trust were brought into
affairs to strengthen her son's position, and the Tudor Dynasty. In 1499,
Lady Margaret took a vow of chastity, which was given with her husband's
permission. It was a highly unusual declaration, although not an unprecedented
one at the time. Once agreed, she moved away and lived alone at Collyweston in
Northamptonshire. She was now actively living the domestic life of a royal. In
this time, she created a new protocol surrounding birth and upbringing. However,
her relationship with her daughter in law had been described as a little
hostile, but both worked together to plan future marriages of royal children,
especially the one of Catherine of Aragon, to Elizabeths son, Prince Arthur. When
Elizabeth died in 1503, Margaret stepped up again and now became the principal
female at court. Upon the death of Princess Arthur. It was Margaret that forced a
new heir apparent, the young Henry the Eighth into ensuring his upbringing was
fit for a king. Margaret was always renowned for dynamic actions and educational
theories. Everything in her life revolved around the well being of her son, a
love that was deep but also a resolve that committed her to an undying loyalty.
One of Henry's letters to his mother survived, and in it, he wrote his gratitude
and appreciation.
Henry VII died on the 21st of April 1509. He had designated his mother
to take charge of his Will. For now Margaret looked upon a swift and smooth
succession to the crown. This would take two days before finally her grandson
Henry VIII was proclaimed King. At her son's funeral, she was given
precedence over all the women of the royal family. Margaret now once again
offered help this time to Henry the new Tudor King. Henry was only 18 required
to choose new members of his Privy Council though it was Margaret suggestions
that he took the hold the roles. The day after her grandson Henry's 18th birthday.
The Countess died on the 29th of June 1509, this was also just two months after
her son had passed away. Her burial took place in the Henry the seventh Chapel
of Westminster Abbey. Her tomb depicts Margaret with her head resting on
pillows, and her hands raised in prayer. The black marble tomb is a lasting
memorial to the lady who endured much throughout her life. What a life this
lady had from birth, she was thrust into marriage, the first of four throughout
her life. By the age of 13, She was pregnant and gave birth to her one and only
son. But she would never forget her roots, especially her beloved Edmund.
Margaret was powerful. She gained much exposure throughout the Wars of the
Roses, and was extremely active in securing her son as the new king. And her
powers of persuasion were strong. She managed to gain help from numerous people
of the time, to switch loyalties and help create what she thought would be a
lasting dynasty. Henry Tudor claimed the throne of England with his mother by
side. She was his staunchest supporter without her aid who knows what might have
happened over the coming years. Margaret was a hero she overcame misery and
pain, her singular aim in life to create a new kingdom, one in which her son
would rule over. Margaret was always under scrutiny, accused of plotting the
princes in the towers death. Yet she was a wily character, and always that answers
to the most difficult questions. Yet she achieved so much. Margaret was a
lifelong artistic patron, and a big fan of education. She was practical and
astute. Lady Margaret Beaufort, and her story throughout medieval times, is
another story you really couldn't makeup, she would spend the best part of six
decades building upon her successes until her goal was finally achieved. She was
an influential figure of the day and best summed up as her motto suggests above the
Lady Margaret Hall in Oxford. "Think of me often" and we will, Margaret was
undoubtedly the matriarch of the Tudors.
Thank you so much for watching. I really appreciate it. For more amazing
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