The Tudor dynasty left an indelible mark on the history of England and Scotland. Especially famous is Henry the Eighth, whose endless marriages have become the talk of the town. At the same time, many forget about his older sister, although Margaret Tudor - Queen of Scots - lived an equally interesting life. Moreover, for almost a century their children and grandchildren fought each other for the English throne. These dynastic wars brought many troubles to the population of the British Isles and ended with the victory of the descendants of Margaret, who united the English and Scottish kingdoms under their control.
Parents
Margaret Tudor was the eldest of 4 daughters of King Henry the Seventh of England, the founder of a new dynasty that ruled from 1485 to 1603. Her mother - Elizabeth - was the last surviving descendant of the York dynasty. She went down in history as the only woman who wasat the same time daughter, niece, sister, wife and mother of the Queen of England. Although the marriage of Henry and Elizabeth was initially dictated by political considerations, it turned out to be successful, and the couple had seven children, of whom only four survived to adulthood.
First marriage
Margaret Tudor was born in 1489. She spent her childhood playing with her brothers Arthur and Heinrich, but she had no common interests with her sister Mary, who was 10 years younger than her and later queen of France for some time.
When the girl was only 11 years old, the Anglo-Scottish peace treaty was concluded. According to one of the points of this document, Margaret Tudor was engaged to James the Fourth Stuart. A year later, she was solemnly escorted to Scotland, where a magnificent wedding took place in Holyrood Abbey. Young Margarita did not like the country at all, the queen of which she became as a result of a marriage concluded for political reasons. At first, she wrote plaintive letters to her father, but later the young woman reconciled herself, although she could not love her husband.
Anglo-Scottish relations
In 1507, Margaret Tudor gave birth to a son, James, and two years after their father's death, her brother Henry was crowned in London. His accession to the throne immediately aggravated relations between Scotland and England. In many ways, Margarita and Jacob were to blame, who did not hide their claims to the Tudor throne. They even named their second son Arthur and claimed that this name was given to him.honor of the legendary King of England. True, their first two offspring did not live long, but Henry had no heirs either, which means that Margarita remained the main contender for his throne.
In 1513, Jacob the Fourth, who by that time had another boy, went to war with his brother-in-law. On September 9, the Battle of Flodden took place, during which he himself commanded the Scottish troops and was killed.
Regency
The death of her husband on the battlefield led to the fact that Margaret Tudor (sister of Henry 8) became regent for her one-year-old son, who ascended the throne under the name of James the Fifth. A year later, she married Archibald Douglas (note that in the famous TV series, Margaret Tudor and Charles Brandon are mistakenly shown as spouses). The latter immediately began to behave like a king, thereby restoring the Scottish nobility against him. Margarita also came under attack, who was removed from the post of regent, appointing the late king's cousin John Stuart in her place. The enmity between the queen and her new husband was so great that they even had to leave the country.
Divorce
After some time, Margaret Tudor (sister of Henry - King of England) reconciled with the new regent, and she was allowed to return to Scotland on the condition that she would not make attempts to meet her son. Meanwhile, due to a sharp deterioration in relations with her second husband, to whom she gave birth to a daughter, Margaret, in 1515, the widow of James the Fourth filed for divorce. Beforecompleting this difficult procedure, she even managed to regain the post of regent for a while, but Douglas succeeded in pushing his mother away from his son and was the practical ruler of Scotland for 3 years.
Third marriage
In 1528, the Queen Mother managed to divorce Douglas Earl of Angus, and she immediately married Henry Stewart. Together with her new husband, Margarita organized the escape of her son James the Fifth from Edinburgh, where he was held by Earl Angus. After the young king found protection from the arbitrariness of his former stepfather in the castle of his mother Stirling, representatives of the English nobility began to arrive there. They raised an army that managed to drive Angus out of Scotland.
Becoming the full ruler of the country, Jacob the Fifth soon suspected his mother of conspiracy and refused to give her permission for a second divorce, which did not have the best effect on their relationship.
The situation improved somewhat after the arrival in Scotland of Marguerite's second daughter-in-law, Mary de Guise. She was betrothed to James the Fifth after the death of his first wife, Madeleine de Valois, who died immediately after their honeymoon. Mary was immediately liked by her mother-in-law, and the women were quite friendly until the death of Margaret Tudor in 1541.
Descendants
From her only son Jacob and daughter Margaret, the Dowager Queen of Scotland had 4 grandchildren. Of these, Mary Stuart and her cousin Henry Lord Darnley left a bright mark on history. They married in 1565 and hadson Jacob, who later became the founder of a new dynasty.
Now you know who Margaret Tudor was. The biography of this queen is full of interesting events, and her descendants managed to unite Scotland and England into a single state.
