![]() Somerset fell out with the king after coming back from France and was banished from the royal court pending a charge of treason against him. Īs Somerset was a tenant-in-chief of the crown, the wardship of his heir fell to the crown under the feudal system. ![]() Somerset negotiated with the king to ensure that if he were to die the rights to Margaret's wardship and marriage would be granted only to his wife. Early years Īt the moment of her birth, Margaret's father was preparing to go to France and lead an important military expedition for King Henry VI. Dugdale has been followed by a number of Lady Margaret's biographers however, it is more likely that she was born in 1443, as in May 1443 her father had negotiated with the king concerning the wardship of his unborn child should he die on campaign. William Dugdale, the 17th-century antiquary, suggested that she had been born in 1441, based on evidence of inquisitions post mortem taken after the death of her father. The day and month are not disputed, as she required Westminster Abbey to celebrate her birthday on 31 May. Lady Margaret was born at Bletsoe Castle, Bedfordshire, either on or, more likely, on. She was the daughter and sole heiress of John Beaufort, Duke of Somerset (1404–1444), a legitimised grandson of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster (third surviving son of King Edward III), by his mistress Katherine Swynford, whom he married. Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, a nineteenth-century foundation named after her was the first Oxford college to admit women. She is credited with the establishment of two prominent Cambridge colleges, founding Christ's College in 1505 and beginning the development of St John's College, which was completed posthumously by her executors in 1511. She was also a major patron and cultural benefactor during her son's reign, initiating an era of extensive Tudor patronage. With her son crowned Henry VII, Lady Margaret wielded a considerable degree of political influence and personal autonomy – both now considered unusual for a woman of her time. She was thus instrumental in orchestrating the rise to power of the Tudor dynasty. Beaufort's efforts ultimately culminated in Henry's decisive victory over King Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field. Capitalising on the political upheaval of the period, she actively manoeuvred to secure the crown for her son. Ī descendant of King Edward III, Lady Margaret passed a disputed claim to the English throne to her son, Henry Tudor. 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.Lady Margaret Beaufort (usually pronounced: / ˈ b oʊ f ər t/ BOH-fərt or / ˈ b juː f ər t/ BEW-fərt – 29 June 1509) was a major figure in the Wars of the Roses of the late fifteenth century, and mother of King Henry VII of England, the first Tudor monarch. William Caxton was commissioned by Margaret Beaufort to translate and print the romance Blanchardyn and Eglantine (1489). She translated into English the fourth book of the “Imitation of Christ” and “The Mirroure of Golde for the sinful soule”. John’s Hospital, by provision made in her will. John’s College, Cambridge, was also established, in the place of the ancient foundation of St. ![]() “God’s House” at Cambridge was re- founded as Christ’s College. She was a generous patron of learning, establishing Readerships (now Professorships) in Divinity at Oxford and Cambridge. The poor would miss her bounteous alms: the students of both universities, “to whom she was as a moder”, and the learned her patronage. Her chaplain John Fisher said in her funeral oration, “All England had cause to mourn her death. She persuaded her husband to support her son’s cause at the Battle of Bosworth Field, which ended in Henry’s victory.ĭuring her son’s reign, Margaret built a fine estate at Collyweston and was the patron of educational and religious foundations. Margaret went to England to marry Henry Stafford, the younger brother of the Duke of Buckingham.Īfter Stafford’s death, Margaret married, for a third time, Thomas, Lord Stanley. Leaving her son in Wales with his uncle Jasper Tudor. 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.Īs a wealthy heiress and young widow, Margaret remarried shortly after Henry’s birth. Her first husband was Edmund Tudor (half brother of Henry VI), the son of Katherine of Valois (widow of Henry V) and Owen Tudor, a Welsh squire. Margaret was betrothed when very young to John de la Pole, but the marriage never took place. ![]() She was a descendant of Edward III through John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster and his third wife Katherine Swynford. Margaret Beaufort was the mother of Henry VII. ![]()
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