View source for Lady Margaret Beaufort

{{Short description|English noblewoman and politician (1443–1509)}}
{{Other people|Margaret Beaufort}}

{{Infobox noble
| title        = The King's Mother<br />Countess of Richmond and Derby
| image        = File:Margaret Beaufort Wewyck Portrait.png
| caption      = Portrait by [[Meynnart Wewyck]], {{circa|1510}}
| birth_date   = 31 May 1443
| birth_place  = [[Bletsoe Castle]], [[Bedfordshire]], England
| death_date   = 29 June 1509 (aged 66)
| death_place  = [[Westminster Abbey]], London, England
| burial_place = [[Henry VII Lady Chapel]], Westminster Abbey
| noble family = [[House of Beaufort|Beaufort]]
| spouse       = {{Ubl|{{Marriage|[[John de la Pole, 2nd Duke of Suffolk]]|1450|1453|reason={{Abbr|ann.|annulled}}}}|{{Marriage|[[Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond]]|1455|1456|reason=died}}|{{Marriage|[[Sir Henry Stafford]]|1458|1471|reason=died}}|{{Marriage|[[Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby]]|1472|1504|reason=died}}}}
| issue        = [[Henry VII of England]]
| father       = [[John Beaufort, Duke of Somerset]]
| mother       = [[Margaret Beauchamp of Bletso]]
}}

'''Lady Margaret Beaufort''' ({{small|pronounced}} {{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|oʊ|f|ər|t}} {{Respell|BOH|fərt}} {{small|or}} {{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|juː|f|ər|t}} {{Respell|BEW|fərt}}; 31 May 1443 – 29 June 1509) was a major figure in the [[Wars of the Roses]] of the late 15th century, and mother of [[Henry VII of England]], the first [[House of Tudor|Tudor]] monarch.<ref>{{Harvnb|Jones|Underwood|2004}}</ref> She was also a second cousin of [[Henry VI of England|Henry VI]], [[Edward IV]] and [[Richard III of England]].

A descendant of King [[Edward III]], Lady Margaret passed a disputed claim to the English throne to her son, [[Henry VII of England|Henry Tudor]]. Capitalising on the political upheaval of the period, she actively manoeuvered to secure the crown for her son. Margaret's efforts ultimately culminated in Henry's decisive victory over King [[Richard III]] at the [[Battle of Bosworth Field]]. She was thus instrumental in orchestrating the rise to power of the Tudor dynasty. With her son crowned Henry VII, Margaret wielded a considerable degree of political influence and personal autonomy. She was also a major patron and cultural benefactor during her son's reign, initiating an era of extensive Tudor patronage.

Margaret is credited with the establishment of two prominent Cambridge colleges, founding [[Christ's College, Cambridge|Christ's College]] in 1505 and beginning the development of [[St John's College, Cambridge|St John's College]], which was completed posthumously by her executors in 1511.<ref>[http://www.christs.cam.ac.uk/college-life/history-christs-college The History of Christ's College]; accessed 22 June 2015.</ref><ref>[https://www.joh.cam.ac.uk/welcome-st-johns#lps-2 St. John's College History]; accessed 1 March 2019</ref> [[Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford]], a 19th-century foundation named after her, was the first Oxford college to admit women.<ref>[http://www.lmh.ox.ac.uk/about-lmh/history-and-archives/college-timeline "College Timeline"], Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, accessed 4 June 2021.</ref>

==Origins==
Lady Margaret Beaufort was the daughter and sole heiress of [[John Beaufort, Duke of Somerset]] (1404–1444), (a legitimised grandson of [[John of Gaunt]] and Gaunt's mistress [[Katherine Swynford]]), and John Beaufort's wife [[Margaret Beauchamp of Bletso|Margaret Beauchamp]]. Lady Margaret was born at [[Bletsoe Castle]], [[Bedfordshire]], either on 31 May 1441 or, more likely, on 31 May 1443. The day and month are not disputed, since she required [[Westminster Abbey]] to celebrate her birthday on 31 May.

The year of her birth is less certain. [[William Dugdale]], the 17th-century antiquary, suggested that she had been born in 1441, based on evidence of [[Inquisition post mortem|inquisitions ''post mortem'']] taken after the death of her father. 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.<ref>Jones & Underwood, 34.</ref>

==Early years==
At the moment of her birth, Margaret's father was preparing to go to France and lead an important military expedition for King [[Henry VI of England|Henry VI]]. 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.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tallis |first=Nicola |title=Uncrowned Queen: The Fateful Life of Margaret Beaufort, Tudor Matriarch |publisher=Michael O'Mara Books Limited |date=2020 |isbn=978-1-7892-9258-9 |location=London |pages=9 |language=English}}</ref>

As Somerset was a [[tenant-in-chief]] of the crown, the wardship of his heir fell to the crown under the [[Feudalism in England|feudal system]]. 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. He died shortly afterwards. According to [[Thomas Basin]], Somerset died of illness, but the ''[[Crowland Chronicle]]'' reported that his death was a suicide. As his only surviving child, Margaret was heiress to his considerable fortune and inheritor of his contested claim to the throne. Both effectively rendered Margaret, as her biographers Jones and Underwood write, "a pawn in the unstable political atmosphere of the [[House of Lancaster|Lancastrian]] court".<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Jones & Underwood |first=Michael & Malcolm |date=1985 |title=Lady Margaret Beaufort|journal=History Today |volume=35 |page=23 }}</ref>

Upon her first birthday, the king broke the arrangement with Margaret's father and granted the wardship of her extensive lands to [[William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk]], although Margaret herself remained in the custody of her mother. Margaret's mother was pregnant at the time of Somerset's death, but the child did not survive and Margaret remained the sole heir. Although she was her father's only legitimate child, Margaret had two maternal half-brothers and three maternal half-sisters from her mother's first marriage whom she supported after her son's accession to the throne.<ref>Jones & Underwood, 33–36.</ref>

[[File:Edmund Tudor St David's Cathedral.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|[[Monumental brass]] of [[Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond]], the husband of Lady Margaret Beaufort, in [[St David's Cathedral]], Pembrokeshire]]
Margaret was married to Suffolk's son, [[John de la Pole, 2nd Duke of Suffolk|John de la Pole]]. The wedding may have been held between 28 January and 7 February 1444, when she was perhaps a year old but certainly no more than three.{{Citation needed|reason=It is not clear where the theory that she was married at age 1 to 3 comes from|date=January 2020}} However, there is more evidence to suggest they were married in January 1450, after Suffolk had been arrested and was looking to secure his son's future by betrothing him to a conveniently wealthy ward whose children could be potential claimants to the throne.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gristwood |first=Sarah |title=Blood Sisters: The Women Behind the Wars of the Roses |publisher=Basic Books |date=2013 |location=New York |page=27}}</ref> Papal [[Dispensation (canon law)|dispensation]] was granted on 18 August 1450, necessary because the spouses were closely related (Lady Margaret and de la Pole being the great-grandchildren of two sisters, [[Katherine Swynford]] and [[Philippa Chaucer]], respectively), and this concurs with the later date of marriage.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gristwood |first=Sarah |title=Blood Sisters |date=2012 |page=36}}</ref> Three years later, her marriage to de la Pole was dissolved, and King Henry VI granted Margaret's wardship to his own half-brothers, [[Jasper Tudor|Jasper]] and [[Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond|Edmund Tudor]].<ref name="Jones & Underwood, 37">Jones & Underwood, 37.</ref><ref name="Richardson">{{Cite book |last=Richardson, Henry Gerald |first=Sayles, George Osborne |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iVVK-yrcTdUC&q=Lady+Margaret+Beaufort+dispensation+John+de+la+Pole&pg=PA189 |title=The English Parliament in the Middle Ages |publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group |date=1993 |isbn=0-9506-8821-5 |access-date=25 July 2009}}</ref><ref name="Wood">{{Cite book |last=Wood |first=Diana |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jhApAAAAYAAJ&q=%22securing+a+dispensation+for+a+marriage+which+was+within+prohibited%22 |title=Women and religion in medieval England |publisher=Oxbow |date=2003 |isbn=1-8421-7098-8 |access-date=25 July 2009}}</ref>

Margaret never recognised the marriage to de la Pole. In her will, made in 1472, Margaret refers to Edmund Tudor as her first husband. Under [[canon law]], Margaret was not bound by her first marriage contract as she was entered into the marriage before reaching the age of 12.<ref name="Jones & Underwood, 37"/>

Even before the annulment of her first marriage, Henry VI chose Margaret as a bride for his half-brother, [[Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond]]. This was likely to strengthen Edmund's claim to the throne should Henry be forced to designate Edmund his heir; the king was then without child or legitimate siblings.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Gristwood |first=Sarah |title=Blood Sisters: The Women Behind the Wars of the Roses |publisher=Basic Books |date=2013 |location=New York |page=32}}</ref> Edmund was the eldest son of the king's mother, [[Catherine of Valois]], by [[Owen Tudor]].<ref name="Jones & Underwood, 37"/>

At nine years of age, Margaret was required to assent formally to the marriage. Later, she claimed she was divinely guided to do so.<ref name=":0"/>

At the age of 12, Margaret married Edmund Tudor, who was 12 years her senior, on 1 November 1455. The [[Wars of the Roses]] had just broken out. Edmund, a Lancastrian, was taken prisoner by [[Yorkist]] forces less than a year later. He died of the plague in captivity at [[Carmarthen]] on 3 November 1456, leaving a 13-year-old widow who was pregnant with their child.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bevan |first=Richard |title=The Kingmaker Margaret Beaufort: Mother of the Tudor Dynasty |url=https://www.history.co.uk/articles/margaret-beaufort-the-kingmaker-and-mother-of-the-tudor-dynasty |access-date=6 December 2021 |website=A&E Networks}}</ref>

The Countess always respected the name and memory of Edmund as the father of her only child. In 1472, 16 years after his death, Margaret specified in her will that she wanted to be buried alongside Edmund, even though she had enjoyed a long, stable and close marriage with her third husband, who had died in 1471.{{Citation needed|date=January 2017}}

===Motherhood===
[[File:Pembroke Castle 1.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.2|[[Pembroke Castle]] in 2007, the Norman castle where Margaret gave birth to Henry Tudor in 1457]]
[[File:A young woman, believed by some to be a young Margaret Beaufort.jpg|thumb|19th-century portrait, perhaps intended as Lady Margaret Beaufort, [[National Portrait Gallery, London]]]]
While in the care of her brother-in-law [[Jasper Tudor, Earl of Pembroke]], on 28 January 1457, the 13-year-old Margaret gave birth to a son, [[Henry VII of England|Henry Tudor]], at [[Pembroke Castle]]. As she was not yet physically mature, the birth was extremely difficult. In a sermon delivered after her death, Margaret's confessor, [[John Fisher]], deemed it a miracle that a baby could be born "of so little a personage".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gristwood |first=Sarah |title=Blood Sisters: The Women Behind the Wars of the Roses |publisher=Basic Books |date=2013 |location=New York |page=49}}</ref> Her son's birth may have done permanent physical injury to Margaret; despite two later marriages, she never had another child. Years later, she enumerated a set of proper procedures concerning the delivery of potential heirs, perhaps informed by the difficulty of her own experience.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gristwood |first=Sarah |title=Blood Sisters: The Women Behind the Wars of the Roses |publisher=Basic Books |date=2013 |location=New York |page=48}}</ref>

Shortly after her re-entry into society after the birth, Jasper helped arrange another marriage for her to ensure her son's security.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tallis |first=Nicola |title=Uncrowned Queen: The Fateful Life of Margaret Beaufort, Tudor Matriarch |publisher=Michael O'Mara Books Limited |date=2020 |isbn=978-1-7892-9258-9 |location=London |page=58}}</ref> She married [[Sir Henry Stafford]] ({{Circa|1425}}–1471), the second son of [[Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham]], on 3 January 1458, at the age of 14. A dispensation for the marriage was necessary because Margaret and Stafford were second cousins; it was granted on 6 April 1457. They enjoyed a fairly long and harmonious marital relationship and were given [[Woking Palace]], to which Margaret sometimes retreated and which she restored. Margaret and her husband were given 400 marks' worth of land by Buckingham, but her own estates were still their main source of income. For a time the Staffords were able to visit Margaret's son, who had been entrusted to Jasper Tudor's care at Pembroke Castle in Wales. {{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}

== Involvement in the Wars of the Roses ==

=== Reign of Edward IV ===
Years of Yorkist forces fighting Lancastrian for power culminated in the [[Battle of Towton]] in 1461, where the Yorkists were victorious. [[Edward IV]] was King of England. The fighting had taken the life of Margaret's father-in-law and forced Jasper Tudor to flee to Scotland and France to muster support for the Lancastrian cause.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gristwood |first=Sarah |title=Blood Sisters: The Women Behind the Wars of the Roses |publisher=Basic Books |date=2013 |location=New York |page=70}}</ref> Edward IV gave the lands belonging to Margaret's son to his own brother, the [[George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence|Duke of Clarence]]. Henry became the ward of [[William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke (died 1469)|Sir William Herbert]]. Again, Beaufort was allowed some visits to her son.

In 1469 the discontented Duke of Clarence and [[Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick|Earl of Warwick]] incited a rebellion against Edward IV, capturing him after a defeat of his forces. Beaufort used this opportunity to attempt to negotiate with Clarence, hoping to regain custody of her son and his holdings.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jones & Underwood |first=Michael & Malcolm |title=The King's Mother: Lady Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby |date=1992 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |page=49}}</ref> Soon, however, Edward was back in power.

Warwick's continued insurrection resulted in the brief reinstallation of the Lancastrian Henry VI in 1470–71, which was effectively ended with the Yorkist victory at the [[Battle of Barnet]]. Faced with York rule once again, Margaret allegedly begged Jasper Tudor, forced to flee abroad once more, to take 13-year-old Henry with him.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gristwood |first=Sarah |title=Blood Sisters: The Women Behind the Wars of the Roses |date=2013 |publisher=Basic Books |location=New York |page=114}}</ref> It would be 14 years before Beaufort saw her son again.

In 1471, Margaret's husband, Lord Stafford, died of wounds suffered at the [[Battle of Barnet]], fighting for the Yorkists. At 28 years old, Margaret became a widow again.<ref>Jones & Underwood, 58.</ref>

In June 1472, Margaret married [[Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby|Thomas Stanley]], the [[Lord High Constable of England|Lord High Constable]] and [[King of Mann]]. Jones and Underwood have suggested that Margaret never considered herself a member of the Stanley family.<ref>{{Harvnb|Jones|Underwood|1993|p=144}}</ref> Their marriage was primarily one of convenience; marrying Stanley enabled Margaret to return to the court of [[Edward IV]] and [[Elizabeth Woodville]]. Indeed, Gristwood speculates Beaufort organized the marriage with the sole aim of rehabilitating her image and securing herself a prime position from which to advocate for her son.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gristwood |first=Sarah |title=Blood Sisters: The Women Behind the Wars of the Roses |date=2013 |publisher=Basic Books |location=New York |pages=126–135}}</ref> Evidently her efforts were successful; Margaret was chosen by [[Elizabeth Woodville|Queen Elizabeth]] to be godmother to one of her daughters.

Holinshed, a Tudor chronicler, claims King Edward IV later proposed a marriage between Beaufort's son and his own daughter, [[Elizabeth of York]], intending to force Henry Tudor out of his safe haven on the continent. Poet Bernard Andre seems to corroborate this, writing of Tudor's miraculous escape from the clutches of Edward's envoys, allegedly warned of the deception by none other than his mother.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gristwood |first=Sarah |title=Blood Sisters: The Women Behind the Wars of the Roses |date=2013 |publisher=Basic Books |location=New York |page=163}}</ref>

=== Reigns of Edward V and Richard III ===
[[File:MargaretBeaufort LoRez.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Statue of Margaret Beaufort in the Chapel of [[St John's College, Cambridge]], which she founded]]
Following Edward IV's death in April 1483 and the seizure of the throne in June by [[Richard III]] from [[Edward V]], Margaret was soon back at court serving the new queen, [[Anne Neville]]. Margaret carried Anne's train at the coronation.<ref>[http://www.westminster-abbey.org/our-history/royals/coronations/richard-iii Westminster Abbey: Coronation of Richard III], westminster-abbey.org; accessed 17 August 2013.</ref> Seeking her son's return to England, Margaret appears to have negotiated with Richard.

Despite what these negotiations may suggest, Lady Margaret is known to have conspired with [[Elizabeth Woodville]], mother of the two York princes whom Richard confined to the Tower of London, after rumours spread of the boys' murder. It was at this point, according to Polydore Vergil, that Beaufort "began to hope well of her son's fortune".

Beaufort is believed to have initiated discussions with Woodville, via mutual physician, Lewis Caerleon, who conveyed secret correspondences between the two women. Together they conspired to supplant King Richard and by joint force replace him with Margaret's son, Henry Tudor. Their solidified alliance further secured the subsequent dynasty by the agreed betrothal of Henry to [[Elizabeth of York]]. They hoped this proposal would attract both Yorkist and Lancastrian support.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gristwood |first=Sarah |title=Blood Sisters: The Women Behind the Wars of the Roses |publisher=Basic Books |date=2013 |location=New York |pages=195–196}}</ref>

As to the fate of the princes, it is widely held that [[Richard III]] ordered the death of his two nephews to secure his own reign. Gristwood, however, suggests that another was responsible; Henry Tudor's path to the throne was certainly expedited by their disappearance, perhaps motive enough for his mother – his "highly able and totally committed representative" – to give the order.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gristwood |first=Sarah |title=Blood Sisters: The Women Behind the Wars of the Roses |publisher=Basic Books |date=2013 |location=New York |page=200}}</ref>

Despite this suggestion, no contemporary sources corroborate the implication, whilst most contemporary accounts outline "her outstanding qualities, her courage, presence of mind, family loyalty, and a deeply felt awareness of the spiritual responsibilities of high office," as clarified by Jones and Underwood.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jones |first=Michael K. |title=The King's Mother: Lady Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby |publisher=Cambridge University Press |date=1992 |location=New York |page=259}}</ref> Before Jones and Underwood, there was no consensus within the scholarly community regarding Margaret's role or character: historiographical opinions ranged from celebrating her to demonizing her.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jones |first=Michael K. |title=The King's Mother: Lady Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby |publisher=Cambridge University Press |date=1992 |location=New York |page=4}}</ref>

It was not until the 17th century that religious retrospective speculations began to criticize Lady Margaret, but even then only as a "politic and contriving woman,"<ref>{{Cite book |last=Buck |first=George |title=The History of the Life and Reigne of Richard the Third |publisher=Creative Media Partners, LLC |date=1619 |location=London |pages=36}}</ref> and never anything beyond shrewd or calculating. All things considered, the words of her own contemporaries, such as Tudor historian Polydore Vergil, continue to extol Lady Margaret's noble virtues as "the most pious woman,"<ref>{{Cite book |last=Vergil |first=Polydore |title=Anglica Historia |date=1555}}</ref> further removing her from accusations of wickedness.

[[Erasmus]], in writing about his friend the Bishop, [[Saint John Fisher]], praised Margaret's support of religious institutions and the Bishop,<ref>{{Cite book |title=Extracts Regarding Margaret, Countess of Richmon |publisher=Lansdowne Manuscripts |page=83}}</ref> further attesting the simultaneously pragmatic and charitable nature testified in the funerary sermon dedicated by the Bishop himself, as laid out in a following section.

In 1483 Margaret was certainly involved in – if not the mastermind behind – [[Buckingham's rebellion]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Ronald H. Fritze |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=INmdwCSkvIgC&pg=PA77 |title=Historical dictionary of late medieval England, 1272–1485 |last2=William Baxter Robison |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |date=2002 |isbn=978-0-3132-9124-1 |page=77 |access-date=5 April 2013}}</ref> Indeed, in his biography of Richard III, historian [[Paul Murray Kendall]] describes Beaufort as the "Athena of the rebellion".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kendall |first=Paul |title=Richard the Third |publisher=Norton |date=2002}}</ref> Perhaps with duplicitous motives (as he may have been desirous of the crown for himself), [[Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham|Buckingham]] conspired with Beaufort and Woodville to dethrone Richard. Margaret's son was to sail from Brittany to join forces with him, but he arrived too late.

In October, Beaufort's scheme proved unsuccessful; the Duke was executed and Tudor was forced back across the English Channel. Beaufort appears to have played a large role in financing the insurrection. In response to her betrayal, [[Richard III of England|Richard]] passed an act of Parliament stripping Margaret of all her titles and estates, declaring her guilty of the following:

{{blockquote|Forasmoch as Margaret Countesse of Richmond, Mother to the Kyngs greate Rebell and Traytour, Herry Erle of Richemond, hath of late conspired, consedered, and {{sic|comit|ted|hide=y}} high Treason ayenst oure Soveraigne Lorde the King Richard the Third, in dyvers and sundry wyses, and in especiall in sendyng messages, writyngs and tokens to the said Henry... Also the said Countesse made chevisancez of greate somes of Money... and also the said Countesse conspired, consedered, and imagyned the destruction of oure said Soveraign Lorde...<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Parliament |date=1483 |title=6. An Act for the Attaynder of Margaret Coutesse of Richmond |journal=Rotuli Parliamentorum}}</ref>}}

Richard did, however, stop short of a full [[attainder]] by transferring Margaret's property to her husband, [[Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby|Lord Stanley]]. He also effectively imprisoned Margaret in her husband's home with the hope of preventing any further correspondence with her son. However, her husband failed to stop Margaret's continued communication with her son. When the time came for Henry to press his claim, he relied heavily on his mother to raise support for him in England.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gristwood |first=Sarah |title=Blood Sisters: The Women Behind the Wars of the Roses |publisher=Basic Books |date=2013 |location=New York |page=226}}</ref>

Margaret's husband Stanley, despite having fought for Richard III during the Buckingham rebellion, did not respond when summoned to fight at the [[Battle of Bosworth Field]] in 1485, remaining aloof from the battle, even though his eldest son, George Stanley (styled [[Lord Strange#1299 creation|Lord Strange]]), was held hostage by Richard. After the battle, it was Stanley who placed the crown on the head of his stepson (Henry VII), who later made him Earl of Derby. Margaret was then styled "Countess of Richmond and Derby".<ref name="Norton2012">{{Cite book |last=Elizabeth Norton |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BDGIAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA35-IA38 |title=Margaret Beaufort: Mother of the Tudor Dynasty |date= 2012 |publisher=Amberley Publishing Limited |isbn=978-1-4456-0734-4 |pages=35ff}}</ref> She was invested as a [[Lady of the Order of the Garter]] (LG) in 1488.
{{Wars of the Roses family tree}}

==Margaret Beaufort in power==
[[File:Enrique VII de Inglaterra, por un artista anónimo.jpg|thumb|[[Henry VII of England]], Margaret's only child]]
{{Anchor|Countess of Richmond and Derby Act 1491}}
{{Infobox UK legislation
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of England
| long_title            = Pro Comitissa Richemond & Derby.
| year                  = 1491
| citation              = [[7 Hen. 7]]. c. 15{{Br}}(Ruffhead c. 8)
| repealing_legislation = [[Statute Law Revision Act 1948]]
| status                = repealed
}}

After her son's victory at the [[Battle of Bosworth Field]], the Countess was referred to in court as "My Lady the King's Mother". Her son's first Parliament reversed the attainder against her and declared her a ''[[feme sole]]''. This status granted Beaufort considerable legal and social independence from men. She was allowed to own property separately from her husband (as though she were unmarried) and sue in court – two rights denied to contemporary married women.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Seward |first=Desmond |title=The Wars of the Roses: And the Lives of Five Men and Women in the Fifteenth Century |publisher=Constable and Company Limited |date=1995 |location=London |page=326}}</ref>

[[File:Coat of arms of Margaret of Beaufort from Christ’s College Book of Donors Cambridge 1623.svg<!-- Do NOT change the spelling of the image file! -->|thumb|Coat of arms of Lady Margaret Beaufort<ref>Christ’s College Book of Donors, Cambridge 1623</ref>]]
As arranged by their mothers, Henry married [[Elizabeth of York]]. The Countess was reluctant to accept a lower status than the [[Elizabeth Woodville|dowager queen Elizabeth]] or even her [[Elizabeth of York|daughter-in-law]], the [[List of English royal consorts|queen consort]]. She wore robes of the same quality as the queen consort and walked only half a pace behind her. Elizabeth's biographer, Amy Licence, states that this "would have been the correct courtly protocol", adding that "only one person knew how Elizabeth really felt about Margaret and she did not commit it to paper."<ref>[http://authorherstorianparent.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/elizabeth-of-york-forthcoming-biography.html his story, her story: Interview with Amy Licence], 1 February 2013; accessed 19 August 2013.</ref>

Margaret had written her signature as ''M. Richmond'' for years, since the 1460s. In 1499, she changed her signature to ''Margaret R.'', perhaps to signify her royal authority (''R'' standing either for ''regina'' – queen in [[Latin]] as customarily employed by female monarchs – or for Richmond). Furthermore, she included the Tudor crown and the caption ''et mater Henrici septimi regis Angliæ et Hiberniæ'' ("and mother of Henry VII, king of England and Ireland").<ref>Jones & Underwood, 292.</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Krug|2002|p=85}}</ref>

Many historians believe the departure from court of dowager queen [[Elizabeth Woodville]] in 1487 was partly at the behest of Henry's influential mother, though this is uncertain.<ref>{{cite book|last=Okerlund|first=Arlene |date=2006|title=Elizabeth: England's Slandered Queen|location= Stroud|publisher= Tempus|page= 245}}</ref>

Beaufort exerted considerable political influence within the Tudor court. The power she exercised was evidently obvious; a report from Spanish envoy [[Pedro de Ayala]] dating to 1498 claimed Henry was "much influenced by his mother and his followers in affairs or personal interest and in others." In the earlier years of her son's reign, records indicate Margaret usually accompanied the royal couple when they traveled.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gristwood |first=Sarah |title=Blood Sisters: The Women Behind the Wars of the Roses |publisher=Basic Books |date=2013 |location=New York |pages=257–259}}</ref>

While Margaret's position in the royal court was, to some extent, an expression of gratitude by her son, she was likely far less the passive recipient of Henry's favor one might expect. As Gristwood suggests in the following, Beaufort instead actively contrived to further her standing:

"A place had to be created for the sort of 'king's mother' Margaret was determined to be. Perhaps if Margaret had become a queen, a role that she clearly felt Fortune had denied her, she would not have felt the need to press for her rights quite so stridently."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gristwood |first=Sarah |title=Blood Sisters: The Women Behind the Wars of the Roses |publisher=Basic Books |date=2013 |location=New York |page=258}}</ref>

However, Lady Margaret's immediate petitions were not for queenly powers of rule over others, but were two succinct demands for independence and liberty of self, which were products of expert legal advice, as opposed to a desperate desire to rule.<ref name="Jones 1992 99">{{Cite book |last=Jones |first=Michael K. |title=The King's Mother: Lady Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby |publisher=Cambridge University Press |date=1992 |location=New York |page=99}}</ref>

The first Act reversed the legislation that had robbed Margaret of her properties under the reign of Richard III, deeming it "entirely void, annulled and of no force or effect".<ref name="Jones 1992 99"/> The second Act of November 1485 stated that she would enjoy all her properties and titles, and could pursue any legal action as any "single unmarried person might or may do at any time", despite still being married.<ref name=bp1>{{Cite book |title=The Parliament Rolls of Medieval England |publisher=The Boydell Press |date=2005 |location=Woodbridge, London |pages=126–127}}</ref>

Moreover, as with many decisions made to secure the new dynasty, these Acts of Parliament passed appear to be a collaborative effort, mutually beneficial to both mother and son, as by granting Margaret the status of a femme sole, Henry and his Parliament made it possible to empower the King's Mother without giving further
leverage to the Stanleys, since Margaret could use any wealth granted to her for her own purposes, thereby circumventing the prevailing idea of [[coverture]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ward |first=Jennifer C. |title=English Noblewomen in the Later Middle Ages |publisher=Longman |date=1992 |location=University of California |page=102}}</ref>

In his chronicle, Polydore Vergil assessed the partnership between the Tudor king and his mother, noting that Henry gave her a share of most of his public and private resources, contrary to any assertion that Margaret desired greater power.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Vergil |first=Polydore |title=The Anglica Historia of Polydore Vergil, A.D. 1485–1537, edited by D. Hay |publisher=University of Toronto Press |date=2018 |location=University of Toronto |page=411}}</ref> Or, as King Henry Tudor states in a letter to his mother: "...not only in this but in all other things that I may know should be to your honour and pleasure, and will of your self, I shall be as glad to please you as your heart can desire."<ref>{{Cite book |title=Letter by Henry VII |publisher=SJLM D 91.23 |date=1504 |location=Saint John's College, Annapolis |pages=110–111}}</ref>

Lady Margaret's wardship of brothers, [[Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham]], and [[Henry Stafford, 1st Earl of Wiltshire]], is one of many examples of how her unique position allowed her in varying aspects to operate beyond the scope of any queen, a position which, instead of hindering or irritating her at all, proved advantageous to the state of the Crown and delineated her as a helpful and happy agent of its course, as she refused monetary recompense for her stewardship in this arena and successfully secured the allegiance of the Duke of Buckingham to King Henry Tudor, a loyalty that would fade away from the Crown once she and her son were gone.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Brown |first=Rawdon |title=Calendar of State Papers Relating to English Affairs in the Archives of Venice Volume 2 |publisher=Her Majesty's Stationery Office |date=1519 |location=London |pages=556–565}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Campbell |first=William |title=Materials for a History of the Reign of Henry VII |publisher=Bibliolife DBA of Bibilio Bazaar II LLC |date=1886 |location=New York |page=532}}</ref>

Later in her marriage, the Countess preferred living alone. In 1499, with her husband's permission, she took a vow of chastity in the presence of [[Richard FitzJames]], [[Bishop of London]]. Taking a vow of chastity while being married was unusual but not unprecedented. The Countess moved away from her husband and lived alone at [[Collyweston]], Northamptonshire (near [[Stamford, Lincolnshire|Stamford]]). She was regularly visited by her husband, who had rooms reserved for him. Margaret renewed her vows in 1504.<ref name="Jones 1993 pages=181–84">{{Harvnb|Jones|Underwood|1993|pages=181–184}}</ref> From her principal residence at [[Collyweston]], she was given a special commission to administer justice over the Midlands and the North.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Harris |first=Barbara |date=1990 |title=Women and Politics in Early Tudor England |journal=The Historical Journal |volume=33 |issue=2 |page=269 |doi=10.1017/S0018246X00013327 |s2cid=154533002 }}</ref>

Beaufort was also actively involved in the domestic life of the royal family. She created a proper protocol regarding the birth and upbringing of royal heirs. Though their relationship is often portrayed as antagonistic, Beaufort and her daughter-in-law Elizabeth worked together when planning the marriages of the royal children. They wrote jointly of the necessary instruction for [[Catherine of Aragon]], who was to marry Elizabeth's son [[Arthur, Prince of Wales|Prince Arthur]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tallis |first=Nicola |title=Uncrowned Queen: The Fateful Life of Margaret Beaufort, Tudor Matriarch |publisher=Michael O'Mara Books Limited |date=2020 |isbn=978-1-7892-9258-9 |location=London |page=221}}</ref> Both women also conspired to prevent Elizabeth and Henry's daughter [[Margaret Tudor|Margaret]] from being married to the Scottish king at too young an age; in this matter, Gristwood writes, Beaufort was undoubtedly resolved that her granddaughter "should not share her fate".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gristwood |first=Sarah |title=Blood Sisters: The Women Behind the Wars of the Roses |publisher=Basic Books |date=2013 |location=New York |page=281}}</ref>

After Elizabeth's death in 1503, Margaret became the principal female presence at court. When Arthur died, Margaret played a part in ensuring her grandson [[Henry VIII of England|Henry]], the new heir apparent, was raised appropriately by selecting some members of his new household.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gristwood |first=Sarah |title=Blood Sisters: The Women Behind the Wars of the Roses |publisher=Basic Books |date=2013 |location=New York |page=310}}</ref>

The Countess was known for her education and her piety. Biographers Jones and Underwood claim the entirety of Beaufort's life can be understood in the context of her "deeply-felt love and loyalty to her son".<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Jones & Underwood |first=Michael & Malcolm |date=1985 |title=Lady Margaret Beaufort |journal=History Today |volume=35 |page=25 }}</ref> Henry is said to have been likewise devoted. A surviving letter written by Henry to his mother reveals his sense of gratitude and appreciation:

<blockquote>"All which thyngs according to your desire and plesure I have with all my herte and goode wille giffen and graunted unto you... I shall be as glad to plese you as youre herte can desire hit, and I knowe welle that I am as much bounden so to doe as any creture lyvyng, for the grete and singular moderly love and affection that hit hath plesed you at all tymes to ber towards me".<ref>King Henry VII (n.d.) King Henry VII to his mother, Margaret Countess of Richmond. In ''Original letters illustrative of English history; including numerous royal letters; from autographs in the British Museum, the State Paper office, and one or two other collections'', edited by Sir Henry Ellis. Retrieved 8 April 2020.</ref></blockquote>

Henry VII died on 21 April 1509, having designated his mother chief [[executrix]] of his will. For two days after the death of her son, Margaret scrambled to secure the smooth succession of her grandson, [[Henry VIII]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gristwood |first=Sarah |title=Blood Sisters: The Women Behind the Wars of the Roses |publisher=Basic Books |date=2013 |location=New York |page=316}}</ref> She arranged her son's funeral and her grandson's coronation. At her son's funeral she was given precedence over all the other women of the royal family.<ref name="O'Day2012">{{Cite book |last=Rosemary O'Day |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PgKSouk9fHUC&pg=PR1 |title=The Routledge Companion to the Tudor Age |date= 2012 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-1369-6253-0 |page=5}}</ref>

Before her death, Beaufort also left her mark on the early reign of Henry VIII; when her 18-year-old grandson chose members of his privy council, it was Margaret's suggestions he took.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Seward |first=Desmond |title=The Wars of the Roses: And the Lives of Five Men and Women in the Fifteenth Century |publisher=Constable and Company Limited |date=1995 |location=London |pages=332}}</ref>

==Death==
[[Image:Christ's College - detail - geograph.org.uk - 939910.jpg|thumb|upright=.9|Coat of arms at [[Christ's College, Cambridge]] with two [[Yale (mythical creature)|yales]] as supporters]]
Margaret had been ill for several days, as legend has it, after eating a cygnet (a young swan) for dinner. The Countess died in the Deanery of [[Westminster Abbey]] on 29 June 1509. This was the day after her grandson [[Henry VIII]]'s 18th birthday, 5 days after his coronation and just over two months after the death of her son.<ref name=waos1>{{Cite web |title=Margaret Beaufort |url=http://www.westminster-abbey.org/our-history/people/margaret-beaufort |access-date=22 August 2013 |publisher=Westminster Abbey Official site}}</ref>

She had made her will and a schedule of bequests in February 1509, making arrangements for her funeral and donations to religious foundations.<ref>Michael Jones & Malcolm Underwood, ''The King's Mother: Lady Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby'' (Cambridge, 1992), p. 240: John Gough Nichols, [https://archive.org/details/collectionofallw00nichiala/page/356/mode/2up ''A collection of all the wills, now known to be extant, of the Kings and Queens of England'' (London, 1780), pp. 356–403]</ref> She made bequests of her jewellery and gold cups to Catherine of Aragon, [[Margaret Tudor]], and [[Mary Tudor, Queen of France|Mary Tudor]],<ref>Nicola Tallis, ''All The Queen's Jewels, 1445–1548: Power, Majesty and Display'' (Routledge, 2023), pp. 51, 56–59.</ref> and a chalice to the parish church at [[Collyweston]].<ref>[https://archive.org/details/collegiumdivijoh00stjo/page/120/mode/2up "The Will of Lady Margaret", ''Collegium Divi Johannis Evangelistae, 1511–1911'' (Cambridge, 1911), p. 121]</ref>

Margaret is buried in the [[Henry VII Chapel]] of the Abbey. Her tomb is now situated between the later graves of [[William III of England|William III]] and [[Mary II]] and the tomb of her great-great-granddaughter [[Mary, Queen of Scots]].<ref name=waos1/>

[[File:Margaret Beaufort 2.jpg|thumb|left|upright=.9|Tomb of Lady Margaret Beaufort, [[Westminster Abbey]]]]
Her tomb was created by [[Pietro Torrigiano]], who probably arrived in England in 1509 and received the commission in the following year.<ref>Michael Wyatt, ''The Italian Encounter with Tudor England: A Cultural Politics of Translation'' (Cambridge University Press, 2005), p. 47. {{ISBN?}}</ref><ref>Robert Forsyth Scott, [https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.24479/page/n441/mode/2up 'Contracts for the tomb of Lady Margaret Beaufort', ''Archaeologia'', 66 (1915) p. 368]</ref> The gilded bronze sculpture on the tomb depicts Margaret with her head resting on pillows and her hands raised in prayer, wearing garments characteristic of widowhood; the face was probably sculpted from a death mask. The black marble tomb is embellished with heraldic bronze insignia, including a [[yale (mythical creature)|yale]], her [[heraldic badge]], at her feet.<ref name="Tomb">{{Cite web |title=Lady Margaret Beaufort |url=http://www.westminster-abbey.org/our-history/people/margaret-beaufort |access-date=24 June 2016 |publisher=Westminster Abbey}}</ref>

[[Erasmus]] wrote the Latin inscription on her tomb. In English it reads: "Margaret, Countess of Richmond, mother of Henry VII, grandmother of Henry VIII, who donated funds for three monks of this abbey, a grammar school in Wimborne, a preacher in the whole of England, two lecturers in Scripture, one at Oxford, the other at Cambridge, where she also founded two colleges, one dedicated to Christ, and the other to St John, the Evangelist."<ref name=Tomb/>

In 1539 iron railings, elaborately painted with coats of arms and other ornaments, were erected around the tomb. The ironwork was sold off by the Abbey in 1823 but recovered and restored a century later.<ref name=Tomb/>
{{Clear}}
==Legacy==
[[File:John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester by Hans Holbein the Younger.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|[[John Fisher]], Margaret's chaplain and confessor from 1497 until her death. [[Hans Holbein the Younger]], [[Royal Collection]]]]
{{Cquote|She was bounteous and lyberal to every Person of her Knowledge or acquaintance. Avarice and Covetyse she most hated, and sorowed it full moche in all persons, but specially in ony that belong'd unto her. She was of syngular Easyness to be spoken unto, and full curtayse answere she would make to all that came unto her. Of marvayllous gentyleness she was unto all folks, but specially unto her owne, whom she trustede, and loved ryghte tenderly. Unkynde she woulde not be unto no creature, ne forgetful of ony kyndeness or servyce done to her before, which is no lytel part of veray nobleness. She was not vengeable ne cruell, but redy anone to forgete and to forgyve injuryes done unto her, at the least desyre or mocyon made unto her for the same. Mercyfull also and pyteous she was unto such as was greyved and wrongfully troubled, and to them that were in Poverty and sekeness, or any other mysery.
|4=[[John Fisher]], 1509, extract from funeral sermon<ref>{{Citation |title=The Funeral Sermon of Margaret, Countess of Richmond and Derby, Mother to Henry VII, and Foundress of Christ's and St John's College in Cambridge, Preached by Bishop Fisher in 1509 |date=1840 |editor-last=John Hymers |publisher=Cambridge University Press}}</ref>}}

Lady Margaret Beaufort was a lifelong artistic patron and supporter of academia. Margaret commissioned the first English [[parody mass]] from [[Robert Fayrfax]] based on his earlier motet, ''O bone Jesu''.<ref name="Greene1985">D. M. Greene, ''Greene's Biographical Encyclopedia of Composers'' (Reproducing Piano Roll Fnd., 1985), p. 25.</ref>
[[File:Rivers & Caxton Presenting book to Edward IV.JPG|thumb|upright=1.6|left|[[Presentation miniature]] of ''[[Dictes and Sayings of the Philosophers]]'', the earliest dated book printed in the English language, by [[William Caxton]]. The miniature depicts [[Anthony Woodville]] presenting the book to [[Edward IV]], accompanied by his wife [[Elizabeth Woodville]], his son [[Edward V of England|Edward, Prince of Wales]] and his brother [[Richard III|Richard, Duke of Gloucester]]]]

While married to Lord Stanley Margaret endowed the building of chapels in Wales. Like Edward IV and his court, she was also involved with the advances in printing of [[William Caxton]] and his successor [[Wynkyn de Worde]], not only as a patroness but for her own acquisition. The first book she commissioned from Caxton in 1483 was the 13th-century French romance ''Blanchardin et Eglantine'', which mirrored fairly closely the match she was forging in secret between her son Henry and Elizabeth of York, with the aid of Elizabeth Woodville, then in sanctuary from Richard III in Westminster Abbey. Six years later, after Richard's defeat by Henry at Bosworth, she commissioned an English translation of the romance from Caxton: it heralded the beginning of a period of Tudor patronage. Apart from encouraging book production and building her own library, Margaret also achieved considerable success as a translator, becoming the first English translator of the ''Imitation of Christ'' known by name, as well as translating the 15th-century Netherlandish treatise ''The Mirror of Gold for the Sinful Soul'' from a French intermediary.<ref name="Jones 1993 pages=181–84"/>

In 1497 she announced her intention to build a free school for the general public of [[Wimborne]]. Following her death in 1509, Wimborne Grammar School came into existence, to become [[Queen Elizabeth's School, Wimborne Minster]].<ref name="Moran2014">{{Cite book |last=Jo Ann Hoeppner Moran |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U9L_AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA162 |title=The Growth of English Schooling, 1340–1548: Learning, Literacy, and Laicization in Pre-Reformation York Diocese |date=2014 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1-4008-5616-9 |pages=162ff}}</ref>
[[File:Trinity College University of Cambridge Cambridge England Britain UK United Kingdom United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (27329529588).jpg|thumb|upright=.9|The Great Gate of [[St. John's College, Cambridge]]]]
In 1502 she established the [[Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity|Lady Margaret's Professorship of Divinity]] at the University of Cambridge.<ref name="Jones 1993 pages=218–219">{{Harvnb|Jones|Underwood|1993|pages=218–219}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Collinson|Rex|Stanton|2003}}</ref> In 1505 she refounded and enlarged God's House, Cambridge as [[Christ's College, Cambridge]] with a royal charter from the king. She has been honoured ever since as the Foundress of the college. A copy of her signature can be found carved on one of the buildings (4 staircase, 1994) within the college. In 1511, [[St. John's College, Cambridge]] was founded by her estate, either at her direct behest or at the suggestion of her chaplain, John Fisher. Land that she owned around [[Great Bradley]] in Suffolk was bequeathed to St. John's upon its foundation. Her portraits hang in the Great Halls and other college rooms of both Christ's and St. John's, accompanied by portraits of John Fisher. Unusually, both colleges have the same coats of arms, using her crest and motto. Furthermore, various societies, including the Lady Margaret Society as well as the Beaufort Club at Christ's, and the [[Lady Margaret Boat Club]] at John's, were named after her.<ref name="Cooper1861">{{Cite book |last=Charles Henry Cooper |url=https://archive.org/details/memorialscambri01coopgoog |title=Memorials of Cambridge: St. Peter's College |publisher=W. Metcalfe |date=1861 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/memorialscambri01coopgoog/page/n33 9]ff}}</ref>

In 1540, funds she had bequeathed endowed a lectureship in divinity at the [[University of Oxford]], first held by John Roper; it became the [[Lady Margaret Professorship of Divinity]], held concurrently with a canonship at [[Christ Church, Oxford]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Collinson|Rex|Stanton|2003|page=21}}</ref><ref name="Jones 1993 pages=218–219"/><ref>{{Cite web |title=Lady Margaret Professorship of Divinity, Christ Church, Oxford |url=http://www.ox.ac.uk/media/global/wwwoxacuk/localsites/currentvacancies/furtherparticularsforprofessorships/Lady_Margaret_Professorship_of_Divinity.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181113020114/http://www.ox.ac.uk/media/global/wwwoxacuk/localsites/currentvacancies/furtherparticularsforprofessorships/Lady_Margaret_Professorship_of_Divinity.pdf |archive-date=13 November 2018 |access-date=23 June 2016 |publisher=[[University of Oxford]]}}</ref> [[Lady Margaret Hall]], the first [[women's college]] at the University of Oxford (founded in 1878), was named in her honour.<ref name="JonesUnderwood1993">{{Cite book |last1=Michael K. Jones |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dV4NDnis7yQC&pg=PA13 |title=The King's Mother: Lady Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby |last2=Malcolm G. Underwood |date= 1993 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-5214-4794-2 |pages=13ff}}</ref>

A practical woman, when faced with problems of flooding in parts of the Fens that threatened some of her properties, she was able to initiate an ambitious drainage scheme, involving foreign engineers, that saw the construction of a large sluice at Boston.<ref>[http://www.historytoday.com/michael-jones/lady-margaret-beaufort#sthash.ayB0MNEs.dpuf Profile], historytoday.com; accessed 24 March 2016.</ref> She funded the restoration of [[Church of All Saints, Martock]] in Somerset, and the construction of the church tower.<ref name="robionsonwj">{{Cite book |last=Robinson |first=W.J. |title=West Country Churches |publisher=Bristol Times and Mirror Ltd |date=1915 |location=Bristol |pages=6–10}}</ref>

Margaret Beaufort Middle School (formerly Margaret Beaufort County Secondary Modern School) in [[Riseley, Bedfordshire]], near her birthplace at [[Bletsoe Castle]], is named after her.<ref>[http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=004-sdrismb&cid=-1#-1 National Archives. SD Margaret Beaufort Middle School, Riseley]. Accessed 11 September 2013</ref> In 1993, the [[Margaret Beaufort Institute of Theology]] on [[Grange Road, Cambridge|Grange Road]], Cambridge, was founded and named in her honour. It is now a
coeducational interdenominational [[theological college]], having originally begun as a centre for training [[Catholic]] [[laywomen]] in religion and theology.<ref>{{Cite web |date=16 October 2018 |title=Cambridge: Margaret Beaufort Institute of Theology celebrates Silver Jubilee |url=https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/35816 |access-date=29 January 2022 |website=Independent Catholic News |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Why Study With Us? |url=http://www.margaretbeaufort.cam.ac.uk/why-study-with-us |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200219100702/http://www.margaretbeaufort.cam.ac.uk:80/why-study-with-us |archive-date=19 February 2020 |access-date=29 January 2022 |website=Margaret Beaufort Institute of Theology}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=About Us |url=http://www.margaretbeaufort.cam.ac.uk/about-us |access-date=29 January 2022 |website=Margaret Beaufort Institute of Theology}}</ref>

==Portraits==
[[File:Lady Margaret Beaufort from NPG.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1.2|Anonymous 17th-century portrait of Margaret in widow's garb]]
There is no surviving portrait of Margaret Beaufort dating from her lifetime. All known portraits, however, are in essentially the same format, depicting her in her later years, wearing a long, peaked, white headdress and in a pose of religious contemplation. Most of these were made in the reign of Henry VIII and [[Elizabeth I]] as symbols of loyalty to the Tudor regime. They may be based on a lost original, or be derived from the sculpture on her tomb in [[Westminster Abbey]], in which she wears the same headdress.<ref>Strong, Roy (1969), ''Tudor & Jacobean Portraits'', [[The National Portrait Gallery, London]], p. 20.</ref>

One portrait by [[Meynnart Wewyck]] in 1510 shows her at prayer in her richly furnished private closet behind her chamber. The plain desk at which she kneels is draped with a richly patterned textile that is so densely encrusted with embroidery that its corners stand away stiffly. Her lavishly [[illuminated manuscript|illuminated]] [[Book of Hours]] is open before her, with its protective cloth wrapper (called a "chemise" binding), spread out around it. The walls are patterned with oak leaf designs, perhaps in lozenges, perhaps of stamped and part-gilded leather. Against the wall hangs the dosser of her canopy of estate, with the tester above her head (the Tudor rose at its centre) supported on cords from the ceiling. The coats-of-arms woven into the tapestry are of England (parted as usual with France) and the portcullis badge of the Beauforts, which the early Tudor kings later used in their arms. Small [[stained-glass]] roundels in the leaded glass of her lancet windows also display elements of the arms of both England (cropped away here) and Beaufort.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sJ5AAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA206 |title=The Burlington Magazine |publisher=Burlington Magazine Publications Limited |date=1908 |page=206}}</ref> The painting, which measures 180&nbsp;cm by 122&nbsp;cm, is notable as the first large-scale portrait of an Englishwoman.<ref>Chen, Andrew, and Charlotte Bolland. "Meynnart Wewyck and the Portrait of Lady Margaret Beaufort in the Master's Lodge at St John's College, Cambridge", ''The Burlington Magazine'' 161 (April 2019): 314–319.</ref>

In 2023, restoration work on the Wewyck portrait revealed that it had been overpainted several times throughout its history, with Margaret's original facial expression made more sombre and pious.<ref>St. John's College, Cambridge, ''Painting of Lady Margaret Beaufort smuggled to Cambridge to protect it from King Henry VIII's henchmen unveiled'', https://www.joh.cam.ac.uk/painting-lady-margaret-beaufort-smuggled-cambridge-protect-it-king-henry-viiis-henchmen-unveiled.</ref>

==Ancestry==
{{Ahnentafel
|collapsed=yes |align=center
|title = Ancestors of Margaret Beaufort<ref>Neil D. Thompson and Charles M. Hansen, ''The Ancestry of Charles II, King of England'' (American Society of Genealogists, 2012).</ref>
| boxstyle_1 = background-color: #fcc;
| boxstyle_2 = background-color: #fb9;
| boxstyle_3 = background-color: #ffc;
| boxstyle_4 = background-color: #bfc;
| 1 = 1. '''Lady Margaret Beaufort'''
| 2 = 2. [[John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset]]
| 3 = 3. [[Margaret Beauchamp of Bletso|Margaret Beauchamp]]
| 4 = 4. [[John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset]]
| 5 = 5. [[Margaret Holland]]
| 6 = 6. John Beauchamp
| 7 = 7. Edith Stourton
| 8 = 8. [[John of Gaunt]], 1st Duke of Lancaster
| 9 = 9. [[Katherine Roet]]
| 10 = 10. [[Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent]]
| 11 = 11. [[Alice FitzAlan, Countess of Kent|Alice FitzAlan]]
| 12 = 12. Sir Roger Beauchamp
| 13 = 13. Mary
| 14 = 14. John Stourton
| 15 =
}}

==Depictions in the media==

===In historical fiction===
[[File:Margaret_Beaufort_Stained_Glass.jpg|thumb|upright=.9|Stained-glass panel in All Saints' Church at [[Landbeach]], [[Cambridgeshire]], thought to depict a younger Margaret.<ref>[[Alison Weir]], [https://artuk.org/discover/stories/my-lady-the-kings-mother-images-of-margaret-beaufort# My lady the king's mother: images of Margaret Beaufort] 16 September 2020; accessed 28 January 2022.</ref> ]]
* Betty King, ''The Lady Margaret'' (1965), a story about the marriage of Margaret Beaufort and Edmund Tudor, parents of King Henry VII
* Betty King, ''The King's Mother'' (1969), sequel to the above, the story of the widowed Margaret Beaufort, mother of the future King Henry VII
* [[Iris Gower]], ''Destiny's Child'' (1999). This novel was originally published in 1974 as ''Bride of the Thirteenth Summer'', under the name Iris Davies.
* [[Philippa Gregory]], in the series ''The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels'' (in publication order):<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gregory |first=Philippa |title=Philippa Gregory – Reading Order |url=https://www.philippagregory.com/novels-reading-order |access-date=18 May 2022}}</ref>
** ''[[The Constant Princess]]'' (2005), about the young [[Catherine of Aragon]] and her early life in England
** ''[[The White Queen (novel)|The White Queen]]'' (2009), about [[Elizabeth Woodville]]
** ''[[The Red Queen (Gregory novel)|The Red Queen]]'' (2010), about Margaret Beaufort herself
** ''[[The Lady of the Rivers]]'' (2011), about [[Jacquetta of Luxembourg]]
** ''[[The Kingmaker's Daughter]]'' (2012), about [[Anne Neville]]
** ''[[The White Princess]]'' (2013), about [[Elizabeth of York]]
* [[Rebecca Gablé]], ''[[:de:Das Spiel der Könige|Das Spiel der Könige]]'' (translated: ''The Game of Kings'') (2007), the third installment (1455–1485) of the Waringham series by the German author; Margaret ("Megan") Beaufort is one of the characters
* Livi Michael, ''Succession'' (2014), about Margaret of Anjou and Margaret Beaufort
* [[Paul C. Doherty]], in the Margaret Beaufort series (in publication order):<ref>{{Cite web | last=Doherty |first=Paul | title=Paul C. Doherty – Books |url=https://www.paulcdoherty.com/books | access-date=14 Feb 2025}}</ref>
** ''Dark Queen Rising'' (2018)
** ''Dark Queen Waiting'' (2019)
** ''Dark Queen Watching'' (2021)
** ''Dark Queen Wary'' (2023)

===On screen===
* Lady Margaret was portrayed by Marigold Sharman in eight of the 13 episodes of the [[BBC]]'s ''[[Shadow of the Tower]]'' (1972), with [[James Maxwell (actor)|James Maxwell]] as her son Henry VII.
* Channel 4 and RDF Media produced a drama about [[Perkin Warbeck]] for British television in 2005, ''Princes in the Tower''. It was directed by Justin Hardy and starred Sally Edwards as Lady Margaret, opposite [[Paul Hilton (British actor)|Paul Hilton]] as Henry VII, [[Mark Umbers]] as Warbeck, and Nadia Cameron Blakey as Elizabeth of York.
* In 2013, [[Amanda Hale]] portrayed Lady Margaret Beaufort in the television drama series, ''[[The White Queen (miniseries)|The White Queen]]'', an adaptation of Gregory's novels, which was shown on [[BBC One]], [[Starz]], and [[Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroeporganisatie|VRT]].
* In the 2017 series ''[[The White Princess (miniseries)|The White Princess]]'' (a follow-up to [[The White Queen (miniseries)|The White Queen]]), Margaret is portrayed by [[Michelle Fairley]]. She is portrayed later in life by [[Harriet Walter]] in 2019's ''[[The Spanish Princess]]'', a follow-up to both ''[[The White Queen (miniseries)|The White Queen]]'' and ''[[The White Princess]]''.
* Margaret is the main protagonist of the three-part 2021 series ''Royal Bastards: Rise of the Tudors'', in which the story of the [[Wars of the Roses]] is dramatised and told from three viewpoints: the [[House of York]], the [[House of Lancaster]] and Margaret herself. Margaret is portrayed by two actors (younger and older); Nina Marlin and Phoebe Sparrow.

===In music===
* In 2020, Renée Lamb portrayed Margaret Beaufort on the [[cast recording]] of ''A Mother's War'', a musical based on the [[Wars of the Roses]].

==See also==
* [[Christopher Urswick]] – priest and confessor of Margaret Beaufort. Messenger between her and Henry Tudor in exile.

==Notes and references==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

== Works cited ==
* {{Citation |last1=Collinson |first1=Patrick |title=Lady Margaret Beaufort and Her Professors of Divinity at Cambridge: 1502 to 1649 |date=2003 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=0-5215-3310-4 |last2=Rex |first2=Richard |last3=Stanton |first3=Graham |author-link=Patrick Collinson |author-link2=Richard Rex |author-link3=Graham Stanton}}
* {{Citation |last1=Jones |first1=Michael K. |title=The King's Mother: Lady Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby |date=1993 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=0-5214-4794-1 |last2=Underwood |first2=Malcolm G.}}
* {{Cite ODNB |last1=Jones |date=2004 |last2=Underwood |first1=Michael K. |first2=Malcolm G.|name-list-style=amp |title=Beaufort, Margaret [''known as'' Lady Margaret Beaufort], countess of Richmond and Derby (1443–1509), royal matriarch |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-1863|archive-url=https://archive.today/20190209164221/http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-1863|url-status=dead|archive-date=9 February 2019 |type=online |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/1863}}
* {{Cite book |last=Krug |first=Rebecca |title=Reading Families: Women's Literate Practice in Late Medieval England |date=2002 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=0-8014-3924-8 |oclc=49332841 |ol=3552889M}}

==Further reading==
* {{Cite book |last1=Philippa Gregory |title=[[The Women of the Cousins' War]] |last2=David Baldwin |last3=Michael Jones |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |date=2011 |location=London |author-link=Philippa Gregory |author-link2=David Baldwin (historian) |author-link3=Michael Jones (historian)}}
* {{Cite book |last=Amin |first=Nathen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E_owDwAAQBAJ |title=The House of Beaufort: The Bastard Line that Captured the Crown |publisher=Amberley Publishing |date=2017 |isbn=978-1-4456-4765-4 |location=Stroud}}
* {{Cite book |last=de Lisle |first=Leanda |title=Tudor: The Family Story (1437–1603) |date=2013 |publisher=Chatto & Windus |isbn=978-0-0995-5528-5 |ol=32196417M}}
* {{Cite book |last=Norton |first=Elizabeth |title=Margaret Beaufort: Mother of the Tudor Dynasty |date=2010 |publisher=Amberley Publishing |isbn=978-1-4456-0142-7 |ol=15978801W |author-link=Elizabeth Norton}}
* {{Cite book |last=Seward |first=Desmond |title=The Wars of the Roses: And the Lives of Five Men and Women in the Fifteenth Century |publisher=Constable |date=1995 |isbn=0-0947-4100-X}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Lady Margaret Beaufort}}
* [http://tudorhistory.org/secondary/beaufort/contents.html E. M. G. Routh, ''Lady Margaret: A Memoir of Lady Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond & Derby, Mother of Henry VII'', 1924:] e-text
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02376a.htm Catholic Encyclopedia article]
* [https://archive.today/20121208155920/http://link.library.utoronto.ca/reed/patron.cfm?PeopleListID=652 Margaret Beaufort's patronage of theatre and/or music]
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Richmond and Derby, Margaret, Countess of}}
* {{Cite web |title=Lady Margaret Beaufort and the Art of the Book |url=https://exhibitions.lib.cam.ac.uk/moving-word/case/lady-margaret-beaufort |access-date=24 June 2016 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Library]]}}

{{Wars of the Roses}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beaufort, Lady Margaret}}
[[Category:1440s births]]
[[Category:1509 deaths]]
[[Category:15th-century English nobility]]
[[Category:15th-century English women]]
[[Category:16th-century English nobility]]
[[Category:16th-century English women]]
[[Category:Annulment]]
[[Category:Burials at Westminster Abbey]]
[[Category:Daughters of English dukes]]
[[Category:English countesses by marriage]]
[[Category:English Roman Catholics]]
[[Category:Founders of colleges of the University of Cambridge]]
[[Category:Ladies of the Garter]]
[[Category:Mothers of English monarchs]]
[[Category:People from the Borough of Bedford]]
[[Category:People of the Wars of the Roses]]
[[Category:Wives of knights]]
[[Category:Beaufort family|Margaret]]
[[Category:House of Tudor|Margaret]]
[[Category:Stanley family|Margaret]]