Mother of Henry VII. Descendant of Edward III through John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster and his third wife Katherine Swynford. Margaret was bethrothed at a young age to John de la Pole, but the marriage never took place. Her first husband was Edmund Tudor, the son of Katherine of Valois (widow of Henry V) and Owen Tudor, a Welsh squire. Edmund died in November 1456 and a few months later the 13-year-old Margaret gave birth to his posthumous son - the future Henry VII. As a wealthy heiress and young widow, Margaret remarried shortly after Henry's birth. Leaving her son with his uncle Jasper Tudor in Wales, Margaret went to England to marry Henry Stafford, the younger brother of the Duke of Buckingham. After Stafford's death, Margaret married once again, this time to Thomas, Lord Stanley. She persuaded her husband to support her son's cause at the Battle of Bosworth Field, which ended in Henry's victory. During her son's reign, Margaret built a fine estate at Collyweston and was the patron of educational and religious foundations. Margaret died just a few months after Henry VII and is buried in a fine tomb in Westminster Abbey near her son and his wife and many of her descendents.
|