Margaret Pole The Countess in the Tower
The story of a woman, a Plantagenet woman who overcame hardship and
suffering early in life, only to gain wealth and status at a court that would
always hold suspicions. The Countess of Salisbury's story is riveting, and tells of
life outside the inner circle of a Tudor royal family. But a life that would
prove just as divisive, add to that a retribution that would then only see her
finally fall after that of her accusers. But was she a plotter against the
crown and was the so called evidence she possessed destroyed before her King
and council incriminated her as a traitor. We now look at the life of Margaret Pole.
Margaret was born at Farleigh Hungerford Castle in Somerset, she was the
only surviving Daughter of George Plantagenet, the first Duke of Clarence and
his wife, Isabel Neville, who was the elder daughter of Richard Neville, the 16th
Earl of Warwick, and his wife Anne de Beauchamp, 16th Countess of Warwick. In a
time of constant battles and family feuds, it would be a maternal grandfather that fell
against her uncle Edward IV of the Battle of Barnet, a decisive
engagement in the Wars of the Roses. Her father was already a Duke then became
the Earl of Salisbury, yet it was Margaret's younger brother Edward, thanks to
courtesy of the king gained the title the Earl of Warwick, yet no peerage was
given or ever created to cement the role. Age of just three Margaret's mother
died. However, her father took a very different view of events, which culminated
in the deaths of two servants who he thought had poisoned his wife. In the meantime,
George her father had been plotting against Edward IV, but this didn't go
well and he was attained and executed for treason. Margaret was just 10 years
old, and as a start to life goes, you could say it was quite a traumatic one
for her. When Edward IV died in April 1483, Richard was named Lord
Protector of the realm for Edwards eldest son and successor, the 12 year old
Edward V. Arrangements were made for Edwards coronation on the 22nd of
June 1483. However, before the king could be crowned, the marriage of his
parents was declared bigamous and therefore invalid, now officially illegitimate
their children were barred from inheriting the throne. On the 25th of June an
assembly of lords and commissioners endorsed the declaration to this effect and
proclaim Richard as the rightful king. He was married to Anne Neville, younger
sister to Margaret's mother, Isabel. Richards reign, though would only last for
two years as he was defeated at the Battle of Bosworth and killed in 1485. The
plantagenet dynasty was now out and into their shoes would come Henry Tudor,
and the start of the all powerful House of Tudor. Henry VII now on the
throne married Margaret's cousin, Elizabeth of York, the marriage officially
marked the end to the Wars of the Roses. As for Margaret and her brother,
Edward, they were both taken into care. For young Edward his troubles were just
beginning he was the son of George Plantagenet, the first Duke of Clarence, and
a potential claimant to the English throne during the reigns of both his uncle
Richard III, and now Richard's successor, Henry VII, he moved to
the Tower of London, although he was briefly displayed at St. Paul's Cathedral
in 1487 to the masses, which was in response to the presentation of the
imposter, Lambert Simnel as the Earl of Warwick to the Irish lords, around
November 1487, the king gave Margaret a marriage to his cousin. Sir Richard Pole,
whose mother Margaret Beaufort was half sister to the king's mother. It would be
a match that reinforced the Tudor alliance between the houses of Lancaster and York.
The plot thickened and by 1499 factions within court and beyond, we're still
looking for ways to gain the ultimate crown and power. From the age of 10, Edward
had been held in the Tower of London his claim albeit tarnished, remained a
potential threat to Henry, particularly after the appearance of the pretender
Lambert Simnel in 1487. In 1490, Edward was confirmed in his title of Earl of
Warwick, despite his father's attainder his claim to the earldom of Warwick being
through his mother, but he remained a prisoner until 1499, when he became
involved in a plot to escape with Perkin Warbeck who had claimed to be Richard of
Shrewsbury, Duke of York, who was the second son of Edward IV and one of the
so called princes in the tower. On the 21st of November 1499, Edward appeared at
Westminster for a trial before his peers presided over by John de Vere the Earl
of Oxford. A week later, Warbeck was hanged for his misdemeanour, and Edward was
beheaded for treason on Tower Hill. Richard Pole held a variety of offices in
Henry VII government, the highest being Chamberlain for Arthur, Prince
of Wales, Henry's eldest son. When Arthur married Catherine of Aragon, Margaret
became one of her ladies in waiting, but her entourage was dissolved when the
teenager Arthur died. In 1502.
Richard himself died in 1505, leaving Margaret a widow with five children, very
little land and hardly any income or prospects. It would be the benevolent King
Henry you would pay for his funeral to help Margaret's current financial
situation. Margaret's third son Reginald Pole was given to the church yet he
was to have an eventful career as a Papal Legate and later Archbishop of
Canterbury. Although he resented his mother's abandonment of him later in life.
It was a time of need for Margaret she couldn't afford or support herself or her
children. In other words, she had little options left. After the death of her
husband, she was forced to live at Syon Abbey among Bridgettine nuns. And it would
be in 1509 that once again she returned to favour on the death of Henry VII
a new king was now proclaimed King Henry VIII.
When Henry VIII came to the throne, he married Catherine of Aragon himself.
Margaret was again appointed one of her ladies in waiting, and by 1512 Parliament
restored to her some of her brothers Edwards lands of the Earldom of Salisbury, but
at a price of around 2500 pounds. Henry VII who had feared Edward and his claim
to the English throne had controlled them, during her brother's imprisonment, and
had confiscated them all after his trial. It was also announced that Margaret would
gain back previously held lands and restore Margaret to the Earldom of Salisbury.
Life was on the up again now for Margaret, the new Countess of Salisbury, and
she maintained her good luck and her lands which enabled profits to soar. By 1538,
she was regarded as the fifth richest peer in England, quite a stride forward for
the once depleted family in which Margaret had so often tried to make ends meet.
And now popular and confident with her new life Margaret set about building on
her recent success. It was also a time her children who could now grow into a
more comfortable lifestyle. Her first son Henry Pole, was created Baron Montagu
another of the Neville titles. He regularly spoke for the family in the House of
Lords. The second son Arthur Pole an English knight, had a generally
successful career as a courtier, becoming one of the six gentlemen of the Privy
chamber, but he suffered a setback when he's patron Edward Stafford, the third
Duke of Buckingham was convicted of treason in 1521, but he was soon restored
to favour but he died young in about 1526. Margaret's third son, Reginald Pole,
continued his life within the church. He represented Henry VIII in Paris
in 1529, persuading the theologians of the Sorbonne to support Henry's divorce
from Catherine of Aragon. Her youngest son Geoffrey Pole married Constance, who
was the daughter of Edmund Pakenham, a very wealthy family of the time and
inherited the state of Lordington in Sussex. Margaret's one and only daughter
was Ursula, she became an English noblewoman and the wife to Henry Stafford,
the first Baron of Stafford. As for Margaret, her life at court was up and down.
In 1518, she had a dispute with King Henry after he had awarded contested lands,
to the Dukedom of Somerset. Then in 1520, Margaret was appointed governess to
Henry's daughter, Mary Tudor. But the following year when her sons were mixed up
with Buckingham, she was removed but eventually restored again by 1525. In 1533,
Mary Tudor was deemed illegitimate, her new title being the Lady Mary rather than
princess. This infuriated Margaret who refused to return Mary's gold plates and
jewels back to Henry. Mary's household was dissolved, and her servants including
Margaret were dismissed. And then in December 1533, she was sent to join the
household of the infant Elizabeth at Hatfield in Hertfordshire. It was a
troubling time for Mary who was basically ignored by her father Henry for the
next three years, the Imperial Ambassador Eustace Chapuys suggested later that
Mary be handed over to Margaret, but Henry refused, calling her "a fool, of no
experience". In 1531, Reginald Pole took a leap of faith, you could call it a
pole vault into the unknown when he had started to warn of the dangers caused by
Henry's marriage to Anne Boleyn. Life was once again getting complicated.
Chapuys, the Spanish ambassador to the English court had suggested to Emperor
Charles V that Reginald could marry Mary and combine their dynastic
claims. Chapuys also communicated with Reginald through his brother, Geoffrey
Reginald defended his corner and even have the audacity to reply to Henry VIII
himself with a pamphlet denouncing Henry's position on the marriage and
even royal supremacy. Questions were also asked of the Royal princes of Europe to
depose Henry immediately, Henry obviously took this with a pinch of salt.
Well, quite possibly not! It would take a letter from Henry and penned to Margaret
then sent another to her son Reginald, a letter conveying her disapproval of his
words and the danger they could bring. In May 1536 Reginald, finally and
definitively broke with the king, after Henry's Anne Boleyn was arrested and eventually
executed, and although Margaret was permitted to return to court albeit briefly,
Henry was now on the warpath. He was, after all, a man who didn't forget things
in a hurry. In 1537 Reginald was created a Cardinal. Pope Paul III put him in
charge of organising assistance for the Pilgrimage of Grace, a popular uprising
that began in Yorkshire in October 1536. And without doubt the most serious of
all the Tudor rebellions in protest against Henry VIII break with the
Roman Catholic Church. The plan was to march on London and install a conservative
Catholic government instead of Henry's increasingly Protestant leaning one.
But the plan faltered with little to no support from either Francis I of
France or the Emperor. It would be now that Henry sent out men to assassinate
Reginald. He was on the run. This was a time of terror for Reginald. Henry was
clearly looking for blood and now the whole of the Pole family were looking
over their shoulders. In 1538, The Exeter conspiracy was a supposed attempt to
overthrow Henry VIII who had taken control of the Church of England away
from the Pope, and replaced him with Henry Courtenay the first Marquess of
Exeter, who was a first cousin of the king. As part of the investigations.
Geoffrey Pole was arrested in August. He had been corresponding with Reginald
and the investigation of Henry Courtenay the Marquess of Exeter turned up his name
Geoffrey had appealed to Thomas Cromwell, who had him arrested and interrogated.
Geoffrey had given information that a Roman Catholic conspiracy was in the making!
Under interrogation in 1538, Courtenay was also found to be in
correspondence with his self exiled Cardinal Reginald Pole, both Geoffrey and
Reginald were accused of heading the conspiracy and Cromwell convinced the king
Courtenay was a part of it. By May 1539, Henry, Margaret, Exeter and others were
attained. This conviction meant they lost their titles and their lands. Henry's
reprisal would be swift, and the Poles were now teetering on the edge. The King
with Reginald Pole himself out of range took revenge on Poles family for
engaging in treason by word against the king. It's been said the conspiracy was
largely exaggerated by Thomas Cromwell. At this point Chancellor of the
Exchequer, and Richard Rich the first Baron Rich. Evidence at the time was pretty
weak as was usually the case, back in the day. However, Cromwell produced a
tunic bearing the five wounds of Christ symbolising Margaret's support for
Catholicism, and the rule of her son Reginald, and the king's Catholic daughter,
Mary. However, this supposed discovery took place six months after her house and
effects was searched at her arrest, and quite possibly, Margaret had a shout of
entrapment and of planting evidence, as in all likelihood, this was a
fabrication to bring down the Poles, It looked like the end of the road for
Margaret, she was now sentenced to death, and could be executed at the king's
will. Margaret Pole now without a title was held for the next two and a half
years in the Tower of London. She, her grandson, Henry, and Exeter's son were held
together and supported by the king. Maybe Henry was enjoying holding them
captive and giving little away to what he really had in mind for them. She was
even attended by servants and received an extensive grant of clothing in March 1541.
On the morning of 27th of May 1541, Margaret was told she was to die
within the hour. Visibly shaken, she replied that no crime had ever been placed
upon her. This proved fruitless and she was taken from a cell to the place
within the precincts of the Tower of London, where a low wooden block had been
prepared, instead of the customary scaffold. She was of noble birth, she was not
executed before the populace. Two reports have been written that survived
telling of her execution one by Marillac, the French ambassador and the other
by Chapuys, ambassador to the Holy Roman Emperor. Although the accounts differ
with Marillac stating that she was taken to a corner of the tower, where so few
people would attend. As for Chapuys, his account was a little more graphic. He
stated that around 150 people were present, including the Lord Mayor of London.
Chapuys wrote that,
but first, when the sentence of death was made known to her, she found the thing
very strange not knowing of what crime she was accused, nor how she had been
sentenced. And that because the main executioner had been sent north to deal
with rebels, the execution was performed by a wretched and blundering youth, who
literally hacked her head and shoulders to pieces in the most pitiful manner.
There was a third account which even to this day has a doubtful authenticity
about it, stating that Margaret refused to lay her head on the block. And
according to the account, she turned her head every which way, instructing the
executioner. That's if he wanted her head. He should take it as he could. Based
on the narrative this account can be put firmly as a storytellers licence to
convey drama, and in doing so, creating a mythical storyline. Whichever account
you want to believe it is a fact that afterwards Margaret was buried in the
chapel of St. Peter within the Tower of London. Her son Reginald Pole said
that he would never fear to call himself the "Son of a Martyr." She was later
regarded by Catholics as such, and was beatified on the 29th of December 1886,
by Pope Leo XIII. Margaret Pole was a woman with connections she rose to a
position of wealth and power. She also became accountable for other's actions and
ones which would ultimately lead to her own downfall. She became embroiled in
religious uncertainty, and although initially she gained support from Henry VIII,
her life would be crushed by the same man. Even in the time she proclaimed
her innocence and quite possibly she spoke the truth. Her main instigator Thomas
Cromwell, had been attained and executed even before her. Yet his so called
evidence from her house proved to be the final straw. Margaret was brought to the
town at the age of 65, her mental state must have been shot to pieces, along
with growing anxiety at her families woe. Could the blame be all placed upon one
woman shoulders? And should she have had more control over her offspring? Maybe
a few words to the wise would have healed the situation and placed herself in
line for a happy retirement. Henry had always shown no inclination to help the
Poles any further. He saw her as a traitor, a woman whose son had breached court
and crown etiquette by denouncing his king. This was treason and it was a case
of if you couldn't trap the culprit, who could be brought to the block to pay
for his misdemeanours. Unfortunately for Margaret, she paid the price. A highly
publicised case which was considered a grave miscarriage of justice both at the
time and later. As for Reginald, after the death of Edward in 1553, and the
accession of Mary I to the throne of England. This gave him the signal
to return from exile as Papal Legate in 1554. He came back to England to
receive the kingdom back into the Catholic fold, but he died in London during an
influenza epidemic on the 17th of November 1558. Margaret's death was
unnecessary and regrettable. She never committed treason and her age of 67 at the
time of her death, is a cruel reminder to everyone that Henry VIII was not a man to be
treated lightly. Margaret was caught up in the wider net of Cloak and Dagger
activities of the time. And although once described by Henry as the “the saintliest
woman in Christendom.” words which would as per usual mean nothing, Margaret,
after all, was a Plantagenet. She guided herself and her family through some
of the most turbulent years under Tudor supremacy.
Well, thank you so much for watching. I really appreciate it. For more amazing
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