Margaret Tudor (28 November 1489 - 18 October 1541) held the title of Queen of Scotland from 1503 to 1513 through her marriage to James IV. Beyond her role as queen consort, she served as regent of Scotland during her son's minority and actively fought to extend her regency. Margaret's lineage was significant; she was the eldest daughter of Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York, making her the sister of the infamous Henry VIII.
Royal Beginnings and Marriage
Margaret was born on 28 November 1489 in the Palace of Westminster in London to King Henry VII and his wife, Elizabeth of York. She was their second child and firstborn daughter. Her siblings included Arthur, Prince of Wales, the future King Henry VIII, and Mary, who would briefly become Queen of France. Margaret was baptised in St.
Her marriage to James IV at the young age of 13 was a key component of the Treaty of Perpetual Peace between England and Scotland. This union produced six children, but only one, James V, survived to adulthood. The marriage between Margaret and James was historically important as it linked the royal houses of England and Scotland, eventually leading to the Union of the Crowns a century later.
On 30 September 1497, James IV's commissioner, the Spaniard Pedro de Ayala concluded a lengthy truce with England, and the marriage with Margaret became a serious possibility. James was in his late twenties and still unmarried. Pedro de Ayala heard that both Elizabeth of York and Margaret Beaufort opposed the marriage, contending that Margaret was too young to become a mother. The Italian historian Polydore Vergil said that some of the English royal council objected to the match, saying that it would bring the Stewarts directly into the line of English succession, to which the wily and astute Henry replied: What then?
On 24 January 1502, Scotland and England concluded the Treaty of Perpetual Peace, the first peace agreement between the two realms in over 170 years. The marriage treaty was concluded the same day and was viewed as a guarantee of the new peace. The marriage was completed by proxy on 25 January 1502 at Richmond Palace. Henry pledged a £10,000 dowry, while James promised his bride £1,000 Scots per annum together with lands and castles yielding a further yearly income of £6,000. The Earl of Bothwell was proxy for the Scottish king and wore a gown of cloth-of-gold at the ceremony in the Queen's great chamber. He was accompanied by Robert Blackadder, archbishop of Glasgow, and Andrew Forman, postulate of Moray. The herald, John Young, reported that "right notable jousts" followed the ceremony.
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Life as Queen of Scotland
Margaret's transition to Queen of Scotland involved significant preparations and customs. The new queen was provided with a large wardrobe of clothes, and her crimson state bed curtains made of Italian sarcenet were embroidered with red Lancastrian roses. Later in 1503, months after the death of her mother, Margaret left England for Scotland; her progress was a grand journey northward. She left Richmond Palace on 27 June with Henry VII, and they travelled first to Collyweston in Northamptonshire. At York a plaque commemorates the exact spot where the Queen of Scots entered its gates. After crossing the border at Berwick upon Tweed on 1 August 1503, Margaret was met by the Scottish court at Lamberton. At Dalkeith Palace, James came to kiss her goodnight. He came again to console her on 4 August after a stable fire had killed some of her favourite horses. At a meadow a mile from Edinburgh, there was a pavilion where Sir Patrick Hamilton and Patrick Sinclair played and fought in the guise of knights defending their ladies. On 8 August 1503, the marriage was celebrated in person in Holyrood Abbey. One English guest recorded the menu of the banquet in a copy of the Great Chronicle of London. Dishes included solan geese with sauce, baked apples and pears, and jelly moulded with the arms of England and Scotland. In the English parliament, Thomas More opposed Henry VII's plan for a tax to recover expenses for the wedding.
Margaret's crown was made by an Edinburgh goldsmith, John Currour. By her marriage contract, Margaret was allowed a household with 24 English courtiers or servants. These included her cook Hunt, her chamberer Margaret, John Camner who played the lute, her ushers Hamnet Clegg and Edmund Livesay, and her ladies in waiting, Margaret Dennet, Eleanor Johns, Eleanor Verney, Agnes Musgrave, and Elizabeth Berlay. Some of her ladies in waiting had been members of the household of Elizabeth of York. Richard Justice and Harry Roper worked in the wardrobe, making her sheets, washing clothes, mending her tapestries and perfuming them with violet powder. Roper had been Page of the Beds to Elizabeth of York, and Justice was her Page of Robes. Roper returned to England to serve Catherine of Aragon. Elizabeth Maxtoun, a Scottish woman, washed the queen's linen.
Courtly life involved various customs and traditions. On Maundy Thursday, known as Skyre Thursday or "Cena Domini", it was the custom for the monarch and consort to give gifts to the poor and symbolically wash their feet. On 4 April 1504 Margaret gave 15 poor women blue gowns, shoes, a purse with 15 English pennies, and a wooden tankard with a jug and a plate, a token of the Last Supper. The number of poor women matched her age. Another custom was to give gifts on New Year's Day, and James IV gave Margaret two sapphire rings in 1504. In 1507 James IV gave her a "serpent's tongue" (really a shark tooth) set in gold with precious stones, which was believed to guard against poison. Margaret suffered from nosebleeds, and an apothecary William Foular provided a bloodstone or heliotrope as a remedy. The king named the Scottish warship Margaret after her.
Regency and Political Maneuvering
Following the death of James IV at the Battle of Flodden in 1513, Margaret was appointed regent for their son, James V. However, her position was challenged by a pro-French party who wanted John Stewart, Duke of Albany, to take her place. In response, Margaret sought allies in the House of Douglas and married Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, in 1514. This marriage further complicated her political situation, alienating other nobles and leading to Albany replacing her as regent.
The treaty of 1502, far from being perpetual, barely survived the death of Henry VII in 1509. His successor, the young Henry VIII, had little time for his father's cautious diplomacy, and was soon heading towards a war with France, Scotland's historic ally. In 1513, James invaded England to honour his commitment to the Auld Alliance, only to meet death and disaster at the Battle of Flodden. Parliament met at Stirling not long after Flodden, and confirmed Margaret in the office of regent. A woman was rarely welcome in a position of supreme power, and Margaret was the sister of an enemy king, which served to compound her problems. Albany, who had been born and raised in France, was seen as a living representative of the Auld Alliance, in contrast with the pro-English Margaret. She is considered to have acted calmly and with some degree of political skill. By July 1514, she had managed to reconcile the contending parties, and Scotland - along with France - concluded peace with England that same month. In seeking allies Margaret turned more and more to the powerful House of Douglas. She found herself particularly attracted to the Earl of Angus, whom even his uncle, the cleric and poet Gavin Douglas, called a "young witless fool". Margaret and Douglas were secretly married in the parish church of Kinnoull, near Perth, on 6 August 1514. Not only did this alienate the other noble houses but it immediately strengthened the pro-French faction on the council, headed by James Beaton, Archbishop of Glasgow. In September, the Privy Council decided that she had also forfeited her rights to the supervision of her sons, whereupon in defiance she and her allies took the princes to Stirling Castle.
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Conflict and Exile
Albany arrived in Scotland in May 1515 and was installed as regent in July. The Scots, believing that a man of his eminence was needed to keep order in the country against England, persuaded the French to allow the duke to cross to Scotland; he landed in Dumbarton on 18 May 1515 with eight ships bearing supplies and French soldiers. His first task was to get custody of James and Alexander, politically essential for the authority of the regency. Margaret, after some initial defiance, surrendered at Stirling in August. With the princes in the hands of their uncle, Margaret, now expecting a child by Angus, retired to Edinburgh. However, once Margaret's two sons were in the custody of their uncle, Margaret secretly accepted her brother's offer of her personal safety at the English Court. Pregnant with Angus' child, Margaret feared for her life under the rule of the Privy Council of Scotland. As queen dowager she was forced to beg permission from the Privy Council even to travel.
Margaret was received by Thomas Dacre, Henry's Warden of the Marches, and taken to Harbottle Castle in Northumberland. Here in early October she gave birth to Lady Margaret Douglas, the future Countess of Lennox and mother of Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, cousin and second husband to Mary, Queen of Scots, and father of the future James VI. Margaret was in a lot of pain after the birth and may have been suffering from sciatica. By 21 November she had travelled the 5 miles to Brinkburn Priory, but it was the end of the month before Dacre received her at Morpeth Castle. While still in the north of England, Queen Margaret learned of the death of her younger son, Alexander. Dacre hinted that Albany - cast in the role of Richard III - was responsible. Margaret, even in her vulnerable state, refused to accept this, saying that if he really aimed at securing the throne for himself the death of James would have suited his purpose better. It was also at this time that she at last began to get the measure of Angus, who, with an eye on his own welfare, returned to Scotland to make peace with the Regent, "which much made Margaret to muse". When Henry VIII learned that Angus would not be accompanying his sister to London he said, "Done like a Scot". However, all of Angus's power, wealth and influence was in Scotland; to abandon the country would mean possible forfeiture for treason.
Margaret was well received by Henry and, to confirm her status, was lodged in Scotland Yard, the ancient London residence of the Scottish kings, and at Baynard's Castle. In May 1517, having spent a year in England, she returned north, after a treaty of reconciliation had been worked out by Albany, Henry and Cardinal Wolsey.
Estrangement and Divorce
Although Margaret and Angus were temporarily reconciled, their relationship soon deteriorated. She discovered that her husband had been living with Lady Jane Stewart, a former lover, while she was in England. This situation presented a challenge for Henry VIII, who, despite his later marital history, was generally opposed to divorce. Furthermore, Angus was a valuable ally and a counterweight to Albany and the pro-French faction. Angered by Angus's behavior, Margaret aligned herself with the Albany faction and called for his return from France.
Albany returned to Scotland in November 1521, and Margaret established cordial relations with him. From exile in England, Gavin Douglas, the Bishop of Dunkeld, spread scurrilous rumours that their relationship embraced more than politics. Angus went into exile while the Regent - with the full cooperation of the queen dowager - set about restoring order to a country riven by three years of intense factional conflict. Albany was useful to Margaret: he was known to have influence in Rome, which would help ease her application for a divorce. Angus and his allies spread the rumour that the two were lovers, and Lord Dacre wrote to Wolsey predicting that James would be murdered and Albany would become king and marry Margaret.
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Political Intrigue and Later Life
In most essentials, Margaret remained an Englishwoman in attitude and outlook, and sought a better understanding between the land of her birth and her adopted home. But no sooner was Albany off the scene than she set about organising a party of her own. In 1524, the Regent was finally removed from power in a simple but effective coup d'état. In August, Parliament declared the regency at an end, and James was elevated to full kingly powers. In practice, he would continue to be governed by others, his mother above all. When Beaton objected to the new arrangements, Margaret had him arrested and thrown into jail.
Margaret's alliance inevitably alienated other noble houses. Her situation was not eased when her brother, Henry VIII, allowed Angus to return to Scotland. Both of these factors were to some degree beyond her control. The most damaging move of all was not. Stewart was promoted to senior office, angering the Earl of Lennox, among others, who promptly allied with her estranged husband. That same November, when Parliament confirmed Margaret's political office, her war with Angus descended into a murderous farce. When he arrived in Edinburgh with a large group of armed men, claiming his right to attend Parliament, she ordered cannons to be fired on him from both the Castle and Holyrood House. Angus withdrew for the time being, but under pressure from various sources, the Queen finally admitted him to the council of regency in February 1525. It was all the leverage he needed.
Margaret attempted to resist but was forced to bend to the new political realities. Besides, by this time her desire for a divorce had become obsessive, taking precedence over all other matters. She was prepared to use all arguments, including the widespread myth that James IV had not been killed at Flodden. Despite the coup of 1524, she corresponded warmly with Albany, who continued his efforts on her behalf in Rome. In March 1527, Pope Clement VII granted her petition. Because of the political situation in Europe at the time it was not until December that she learned of her good fortune.
In June 1528, James V finally freed himself from the tutelage of Angus - who once more fled into exile - and began to rule in his own right. Margaret was an early beneficiary of the royal coup, as she and her husband emerged as the leading advisors to the king. James created Stewart Lord Methven "for the great love he bore to his dearest mother". It was rumoured - falsely - that the Queen favoured a marriage between her son and her niece Mary Tudor.
In 1527, Pope Clement VII approved Margaret's annulment from Angus. The following year, she married Henry Stewart, whom the King created Lord Methven.