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The House Of Stewart |
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Margaret Tudor
1489-1541
Early Life
The eldest daughter and second child of Henry VII
and Elizabeth of York, (daughter of King Edward IV) Margaret Tudor was born on 29 November, 1489 at the Palace of Westminster and was christened
on St. Andrew's Day, 30th November at St. Margaret's Church, Westminster.
Before the princess was six, negotiations for her marriage commenced to Scotland's King James IV, which were to drag on for many years, by the marriage her father hoped to end Scottish support for the pretender Perkin Warbeck.
Marriage to James V
On 24 January 1502 Scotland and England concluded the Treaty of Perpetual Peace, which involved the marriage between the Princess Margaret and James IV, sixteen years her senior, which was completed by proxy. It lead to a rise in Margaret's status at the English court, as she was now regarded as Queen of Scots. Reportedly her young brother, Henry, Duke of York (the future Henry VIII), reacted in a tantrum upon realizing his sister now held higher precedence than he did.
Margaret's mother died at the Tower of London in 1503, from complications after childbirth and shortly after Margaret commenced the long journey to her new home in Scotland. James IV professed himself well pleased with his young bride and the couple were duly married on 8 August at Holyrood Abbey. The poet William Dunbar wrote the The Thistle and the Rose to commemorate the occasion. The new Queen of Scotland was crowned at Edinburgh in March 1504.
Although the bride was initially homesick, the marriage was to prove a relatively happy one by royal standards and the couple were to produce four surviving children:-
*James, Duke of Rothesay (21 February 1507, Holyrood Palace – 27 February 1508, Stirling Castle).
*Arthur, Duke of Rothesay(20 October 1509, Holyrood Palace – 14 July 1510, Edinburgh Castle).
*King James V(April 10, 1512, Linlithgow Palace - December 14, 1542, Falkland Palace).
*Alexander Duke of Ross (30 April 1514, Stirling Castle – 18 December 1515, Stirling Castle).
On the death of Henry VII in 1509, the volatile and aggressive Henry VIII ascended the English throne and soon involved himself in war with France, Scotland's ancient ally. In 1513 James invaded England in Henry's absence in support of his French allies where he met his death at the Battle of Flodden. Queen Margaret became Regent for her young son James V, by the terms of her husband's will.
Soon after the battle, the Scottish Parliament met at Stirling, where it confirmed Margaret's position as Regent. A pro-French party however urged her replacement in the office by John Stewart, 2nd Duke of Albany, the closest Stewart relative to the infant king and next in line to Scotland's throne after Margaret's sons, who returned to Scotland from France.
Marriage to Douglas
To acquire a powerful ally, Margaret secretly married Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus (1489-1557), on the 6th of August 1514. By the terms of her the late husband's will she had now lost the regency and was obliged to consent to the appointment of Albany. It was also decided that she had also forfeited her rights to the supervision of her sons, Margaret fled with her sons to Stirling Castle. She was finally forced to surrender her sons and shortly after fled to seek refuge in England. A month later she gave birth to a daughter, Lady Margaret Douglas. While in England, she recieved news of the death of her youngest son, Alexander, Earl of Ross,
In the summer of 1516 Margaret returned to her brother, Henry VIII''s court, Angus himself returned to Scotland, where his estates were restored to him by Albany. Margaret attempted to commence divorce proceedings, which her brother viewed with displeasure, although the move gained Albany's support. Albany returned to Scotland in 1521 and the Queen joined forces with him against her errant husband. Angus was eventually forced to withdraw to France, where he remained a virtual prisoner.
The hectic minority of James V was proclaimed to end in 1524, when he reached the age of twelve, which saw Albany ousted from power. Margaret became involved with Henry Stewart. With the aid of Henry VIII, the troublesome Angus returned to Scotland in 1524, when he arrived in Edinburgh Margaret ordered cannons to be fired at her husband. He was finally admitted to the Council of Regency and Parliament subsequently declared him Lord of the Articles. Taking custody of the person of the young king he remained in a position of total power in Scotland for three years.
Margaret finally obtained her divorce from Angus in March, 1527, and promptly married Henry Stewart, who was created Lord Methven, despite the thoroughly outraged protests of her brother that marriage was "divinely ordained". James emeged from the unwanted attentions of Angus, and began to rule Scotland in his own right.
Later Years
Her third marriage to Lord Methven proved as equally unsatisfactory as her second, Methven seemed to be interested only in her money and the pursuit of other women. She wrote frequently to her brother in England with requests for money and bemoaning her situation. She even tried to escape to England but was captured at the border and returned to Scotland. Margaret's attempts to again divorce were thwarted by her son. She attempted to arrange a meeting between James and Henry VIII in 1534, but James accused her of disloyalty and ceased to trust her.
Margaret Tudor died at Methven Castle on 18 October, 1541, she was buried at the Carthusian Priory of St John in Perth. Her tomb was demolished at the Reformation.