Today is the birthday of one of my favorite women in Tudor history – Lady Margaret Beaufort, born today in 1443. The mother of Henry Tudor, she paved the way for his invasion of England, negotiating the marriage of Henry with Elizabeth of York’s mother, Elizabeth Woodville, and pretty much masterminding the whole thing.
Sadly, she is often remembered as being cold hearted, or even the mother in law from hell to Elizabeth. There was one comment in one record about her not walking properly behind Elizabeth, and suddenly that’s been woven into this drama. And that’s all it is – drama. There’s no evidence that she didn’t get along with Elizabeth of York, or that she was anything other than a loving mother and mother in law. Family was hugely important to her, having been without her son, and without much of a family her entire life as she tried to navigate her way through the Wars of the Roses. She was also a devout woman, and supported education, funding several colleges.
That’s your Tudor Minute for today. Remember you can dive deeper into life in 16th century England through the Renaissance English History Podcast at englandcast.com where there is an episode on Lady Margaret.
Suggested links:
Episode 42: Lady Margaret Beaufort
Tudor Learning Circle Book Club: Nicola Tallis on Margaret Beaufort
Episode 17: Lady Margaret Beaufort
From the shop:
Lady Margaret Charm Bracelet
Ps. All products are made on-demand and can take a few weeks to ship.
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Heather Teysko is the creator, writer, and producer of The Renaissance English History Podcast,  one of the longest running indie history podcasts, going since 2009. She's been writing about history online for over 25 years, since her first site on Colonial American history became number one in history on Yahoo in 1998. She writes books, created the original Tudor Planner (a yearly diary filled with Tudor history) and in 2019 created the world's first Tudorcon (you can "attend" online this year!). She has been passionate about Tudor England since she first read Alison Weir's The Six Wives of Henry VIII 20 years ago, and subsequently moved to London after college to spend her time immersed in Tudor history.