Meg Tudor - Blog Posts

Margaret was born in Westminster Palace on November 28th, 1489, she was the second child and first daughter of Henry VII and his queen Elizabeth of York. She was named in honor of her grandmother, Margaret Beaufort. Margaret was betrothed to James IV, King of Scots in 1502 when Margaret was 12, her mother and grandmother insisted that her marriage wait until she was older and so Margaret was married by proxy on 25 January 1503. Her younger brother Henry succeeded their father in 1509 and tensions between England and Scotland began to rise which came to a head with the battle of Flodden in 1513, where Margaret’s husband James would be killed in battle leaving Margaret a young widow and their young son James as king.

Margaret was made regent to her son, but Margaret would make an ill fated marriage with Archibald Douglas the earl of Angus which would make Margaret flee to England in 1515 where she gave birth to her daughter and only other surviving child, Margaret Douglas. Margaret returned to Scotland in 1517, she would marry for the third time in 1528 to Henry Stewart, Lord Methven. Margaret was never able to achieve peace between England and Scotland, her brother and her son James would never be true allies and the relationship between her two countries would remain tense.

Margaret died in 1541, her son would outlive her for only a year and Margaret’s granddaughter, Mary, become queen at only a week old. Margaret’s great grandson through both her son and daughter, James VI, would follow her nice Elizabeth as the next king of England in 1603, uniting the crowns of England and Scotland, Margaret is the ancestress of every British monarch since.