Margaret Beaufort's Agenda
Posted April 9th, 2012 at 07:53 AM by Crystal Rainbow
The Protector
II
Margaret Beaufort’s, year of birth seemed to be to be a debatable subject as no one knows for sure what year she was born. An17th century historian called William Dugdale had suggested that she had born in 1441 based on evidence that was taken at the time of Margaret’s father’s death as he had died in captivity. Margaret’s claim to the throne was a very weak one. Edward III had a large family and he had a son called John of Gaunt and he was married at the time and he had a mistress called Katherine Swynford and during this relationship produced children. Margaret was the granddaughter of John Beaufort. http://www.timeref.com/tree580.htm
Margaret’s young life was a very interesting one as her father had died when Margaret was young. Her mother was a very ambitious having just assuming her title as the Countess of Somerset she had only had one child from her marriage with John Beaufort. Margaret’s mother side of the family was from the Beauchamp of Bletso. Margaret’s mother had wanted the best possible marriage for her daughter as she had some grand plans that for her daughter from when she was a young girl as a marriage was arranged and her mother had found a suitable candidate. Margaret Beaufort was married between the dates of 28th of January to the 7th of February 1450 to the Duke of Suffolk son, John de la Pole. The marriage did not last the year as apparently the marriage was dissolved because they were too closely related. Later in life Margaret Beaufort had denied knowledge that this marriage had happened.
Margaret’s mother was on the hunt again for the best match that she could get for her daughter and she found one with Edmund Tudor the eldest son of the mother Dowager Queen Catherine the widow of Henry V and Owen Tudor. The two had an affair and had some children when Owen Tudor was executed he his last alleged words were “the head, which used to lie in the Queen Catherine’s lap would now lie in the executioner’s basket.” The marriage happened on the 1st of November 1455 to a 24 year old Edmund Tudor. It had been recorded, as Margaret Beaufort was only 12 and half years of age at the time of her marriage. She was seven months pregnant at the time of her husband’s death in November 1456 and she gave birth to a boy in February 1457 that was christened Henry Tudor. It had been reported that Margaret could not have anymore children, as she was pregnant at such a young age. The Tudor family looked after Henry and was under the care of his uncle Jasper Tudor. While Margaret was wearing her mourning gowns her Mother was out looking for suitable marriages she found a suitable marriage to a son of Humphrey Stafford, Henry Stafford who was descended from Edward III youngest son Thomas of Woodstock. They got married on the 3rd of January 1462 and the groom was in his early forties at the time of their marriage. The marriage had lasted until 1471 and she became a widow again but not for long as she had chosen another marriage to Thomas Stanley the marriage was considered to be a marriage of convenience. Thomas Stanley was Lord high Constable and the last Stanley to call himself the King of Mann and she seen this as way to get into the court of Edward IV. Thomas Stanley was a man that sat on the fence and went along with what had suited him. The marriage was never was one that had been noted for any intimacy and Margaret had publicly announced that she had taken a vow of chastity.
Margaret was a feisty and determined woman of her age and she was very ambitious to her cause. Although she was a Lancasterian she never had taken an active role in Margaret of Anjou cause. Nobody really knew the true Margaret Beaufort as assumed her role as a deeply religious woman in the court of Edward IV, which must have been quite comical in a court where morals were lacking. She had cleverly had gained the confidence of Elizabeth Woodville as she had supported her when those many stories of Edward’s infidelities. Those stories had dented Elizabeth’s pride and she was only too happy to stoke up Elizabeth’s resentment by offering sympathy. Margaret had played her cards very close to her chest; she had kept up with correspondence in Brittany where her son was in exile and kept him up to date with affairs that were happening in Edward’s court. Margaret knew that she had a long way to go before she could achieve her ambitions of putting her son on the throne of England and she had taken the part of setting one person against the next. When the revelations came out that the Duke of Clarence had mentioned that the King was bastard born and he had married another lady called Eleanor Butler she supported the Queen in wanting Clarence in being silenced. Elizabeth Woodville was none the wiser in Margaret’s schemes she just seemed just content that she was getting support and a sympathetic ear.
As the King was dying she kept a low profile as Elizabeth and her family planed to rule the country. The Woodvilles had made a lot of enemies during the reign of Edward IV and they were that were wanting revenge and as Richard became the protector of Edward V and Elizabeth had gone into sanctuary and her family went into disgrace. Margaret had watched on as Hastings was at loggerheads with the Marquess of Dorset with each other resulting in a death of Edward V and the execution of Hastings. Margaret had kept herself busy with her correspondence with stories of Richard murdering the princes in the tower. A long time friend and associate of Margaret’s John Morton, Bishop of Ely had started to make up some strange tales about the events that had taken place. Margaret had seen someone else had that had suddenly risen to power and had decided to take him into her confidence and the Duke of Buckingham who was working very closely with William Brandon was taken in with her plans of a rebellion. Her plan had failed and her secret ambition had come out into the open she had no choice but to flee the country with the Bishop of Ely to be with her son in Brittany. She had left the Duke of Buckingham to his fate and the Duke of Buckingham had confessed to everything that Margaret had planned and plotted before he was beheaded. William Brandon was taken prisoner but later was pardoned in March 1484. Where he boarded a ship at Mersea in November 1484 and sailed to France where he joined his brother Thomas at releasing the Earl of Oxford at Hammes Fortress.
It had seemed that William Brandon was in contact with Margaret Beaufort and was still planning another invasion. However I have written about Margaret Beaufort she was capable of love and Margaret had loved William Brandon and he could do no wrong in her eyes. It had been mentioned when Henry Tudor had landed on the beach of Milford Haven he was knighted Sir William Brandon. He was married and he had three children William, Charles later to become a life long friend of Henry VIII and wife of Mary Tudor and Anne. He also had two illegitimate children called Elizabeth and Katherine. He died as Henry Tudor’s standard bearer at the battle of Bosworth; Margaret was devastated when she heard the news of William Brandon’s death.
Amongst all other Knight, remember
Which were hardy & therto wright;
Sir william Brandon was of those,
King Heneryes Standard he kept on height
Vanted itt with manhood & might
Untill with dints hee was dr(I)ven downe
& dyed like an ancyent Knight,
with Henry of England that ware the crowne
Bosworth ffeilde, annoymous author.
With Margaret’s ambitions had come through for her she and she and her son to reinvent their claim to the throne. The Duke of York that was still on the run as they tried to tell the nation that he was murdered in the tower along side his brother. Before Richard’s death at Bosworth had named his nephew his by his older sister Elizabeth as heir to the throne as John de la Pole, Earl of Lincoln. Henry had renamed him as an impostor that was Lambert Simnel. There was another convincing contender to the throne, who was Richard of Shrewsbury, who had been living in exile before the battle of Bosworth and Henry Tudor renamed him Perkin Warbeck. Elizabeth was actively involved in the plot for her son and was banished from court to live out her remaining years at Bermondsey Abbey.
II
Margaret Beaufort’s, year of birth seemed to be to be a debatable subject as no one knows for sure what year she was born. An17th century historian called William Dugdale had suggested that she had born in 1441 based on evidence that was taken at the time of Margaret’s father’s death as he had died in captivity. Margaret’s claim to the throne was a very weak one. Edward III had a large family and he had a son called John of Gaunt and he was married at the time and he had a mistress called Katherine Swynford and during this relationship produced children. Margaret was the granddaughter of John Beaufort. http://www.timeref.com/tree580.htm
Margaret’s young life was a very interesting one as her father had died when Margaret was young. Her mother was a very ambitious having just assuming her title as the Countess of Somerset she had only had one child from her marriage with John Beaufort. Margaret’s mother side of the family was from the Beauchamp of Bletso. Margaret’s mother had wanted the best possible marriage for her daughter as she had some grand plans that for her daughter from when she was a young girl as a marriage was arranged and her mother had found a suitable candidate. Margaret Beaufort was married between the dates of 28th of January to the 7th of February 1450 to the Duke of Suffolk son, John de la Pole. The marriage did not last the year as apparently the marriage was dissolved because they were too closely related. Later in life Margaret Beaufort had denied knowledge that this marriage had happened.
Margaret’s mother was on the hunt again for the best match that she could get for her daughter and she found one with Edmund Tudor the eldest son of the mother Dowager Queen Catherine the widow of Henry V and Owen Tudor. The two had an affair and had some children when Owen Tudor was executed he his last alleged words were “the head, which used to lie in the Queen Catherine’s lap would now lie in the executioner’s basket.” The marriage happened on the 1st of November 1455 to a 24 year old Edmund Tudor. It had been recorded, as Margaret Beaufort was only 12 and half years of age at the time of her marriage. She was seven months pregnant at the time of her husband’s death in November 1456 and she gave birth to a boy in February 1457 that was christened Henry Tudor. It had been reported that Margaret could not have anymore children, as she was pregnant at such a young age. The Tudor family looked after Henry and was under the care of his uncle Jasper Tudor. While Margaret was wearing her mourning gowns her Mother was out looking for suitable marriages she found a suitable marriage to a son of Humphrey Stafford, Henry Stafford who was descended from Edward III youngest son Thomas of Woodstock. They got married on the 3rd of January 1462 and the groom was in his early forties at the time of their marriage. The marriage had lasted until 1471 and she became a widow again but not for long as she had chosen another marriage to Thomas Stanley the marriage was considered to be a marriage of convenience. Thomas Stanley was Lord high Constable and the last Stanley to call himself the King of Mann and she seen this as way to get into the court of Edward IV. Thomas Stanley was a man that sat on the fence and went along with what had suited him. The marriage was never was one that had been noted for any intimacy and Margaret had publicly announced that she had taken a vow of chastity.
Margaret was a feisty and determined woman of her age and she was very ambitious to her cause. Although she was a Lancasterian she never had taken an active role in Margaret of Anjou cause. Nobody really knew the true Margaret Beaufort as assumed her role as a deeply religious woman in the court of Edward IV, which must have been quite comical in a court where morals were lacking. She had cleverly had gained the confidence of Elizabeth Woodville as she had supported her when those many stories of Edward’s infidelities. Those stories had dented Elizabeth’s pride and she was only too happy to stoke up Elizabeth’s resentment by offering sympathy. Margaret had played her cards very close to her chest; she had kept up with correspondence in Brittany where her son was in exile and kept him up to date with affairs that were happening in Edward’s court. Margaret knew that she had a long way to go before she could achieve her ambitions of putting her son on the throne of England and she had taken the part of setting one person against the next. When the revelations came out that the Duke of Clarence had mentioned that the King was bastard born and he had married another lady called Eleanor Butler she supported the Queen in wanting Clarence in being silenced. Elizabeth Woodville was none the wiser in Margaret’s schemes she just seemed just content that she was getting support and a sympathetic ear.
As the King was dying she kept a low profile as Elizabeth and her family planed to rule the country. The Woodvilles had made a lot of enemies during the reign of Edward IV and they were that were wanting revenge and as Richard became the protector of Edward V and Elizabeth had gone into sanctuary and her family went into disgrace. Margaret had watched on as Hastings was at loggerheads with the Marquess of Dorset with each other resulting in a death of Edward V and the execution of Hastings. Margaret had kept herself busy with her correspondence with stories of Richard murdering the princes in the tower. A long time friend and associate of Margaret’s John Morton, Bishop of Ely had started to make up some strange tales about the events that had taken place. Margaret had seen someone else had that had suddenly risen to power and had decided to take him into her confidence and the Duke of Buckingham who was working very closely with William Brandon was taken in with her plans of a rebellion. Her plan had failed and her secret ambition had come out into the open she had no choice but to flee the country with the Bishop of Ely to be with her son in Brittany. She had left the Duke of Buckingham to his fate and the Duke of Buckingham had confessed to everything that Margaret had planned and plotted before he was beheaded. William Brandon was taken prisoner but later was pardoned in March 1484. Where he boarded a ship at Mersea in November 1484 and sailed to France where he joined his brother Thomas at releasing the Earl of Oxford at Hammes Fortress.
It had seemed that William Brandon was in contact with Margaret Beaufort and was still planning another invasion. However I have written about Margaret Beaufort she was capable of love and Margaret had loved William Brandon and he could do no wrong in her eyes. It had been mentioned when Henry Tudor had landed on the beach of Milford Haven he was knighted Sir William Brandon. He was married and he had three children William, Charles later to become a life long friend of Henry VIII and wife of Mary Tudor and Anne. He also had two illegitimate children called Elizabeth and Katherine. He died as Henry Tudor’s standard bearer at the battle of Bosworth; Margaret was devastated when she heard the news of William Brandon’s death.
Amongst all other Knight, remember
Which were hardy & therto wright;
Sir william Brandon was of those,
King Heneryes Standard he kept on height
Vanted itt with manhood & might
Untill with dints hee was dr(I)ven downe
& dyed like an ancyent Knight,
with Henry of England that ware the crowne
Bosworth ffeilde, annoymous author.
With Margaret’s ambitions had come through for her she and she and her son to reinvent their claim to the throne. The Duke of York that was still on the run as they tried to tell the nation that he was murdered in the tower along side his brother. Before Richard’s death at Bosworth had named his nephew his by his older sister Elizabeth as heir to the throne as John de la Pole, Earl of Lincoln. Henry had renamed him as an impostor that was Lambert Simnel. There was another convincing contender to the throne, who was Richard of Shrewsbury, who had been living in exile before the battle of Bosworth and Henry Tudor renamed him Perkin Warbeck. Elizabeth was actively involved in the plot for her son and was banished from court to live out her remaining years at Bermondsey Abbey.
Total Comments 0
