The inscription on the tomb of Margaret Beaufort composed by Erasmus reads:
"Margaret of Richmond, mother of Henry VII, grandmother of Henry VIII, who gave a salary to three monks of this convent
and founded a grammar school at Wimborne, and to a preacher throughout England, and to two interpreters of Scripture,
one at Oxford, the other at Cambridge, where she likewise founded two colleges, one to Christ, and the other to St John,
his disciple. Died A.D.1509, III Kalends of July [29 June]".
"Margaret of Richmond, mother of Henry VII, grandmother of Henry VIII, who gave a salary to three monks of this convent
and founded a grammar school at Wimborne, and to a preacher throughout England, and to two interpreters of Scripture,
one at Oxford, the other at Cambridge, where she likewise founded two colleges, one to Christ, and the other to St John,
his disciple. Died A.D.1509, III Kalends of July [29 June]".
Margaret Beaufort's Funeral Effergy at Westminster Abbey by Pietro Torrigiani
In 1455, at the age of just twelve years old Margaret had married Edmund Tudor as her second husband. Margaret was soon pregnant and gave birth to the future Henry VII a year later. The birth of Henry, while Margaret was just a child herself, did irreparable damage, and this could account for the fact that she never gave birth again. Thirty years later, Henry was aided at the Battle of Bosworth by Thomas Stanley, her fourth husband whose family famously stood and watched the battle, deciding at the last moment to take the side of the Lancastrian's against Richard III's Yorkist forces. Although Margaret never recognised it as a marriage she was firstly married to John de la Pole, the son of William de la Pole and Alice Chaucer. This marriage was later annulled.
Margaret's third husband was Humphrey, Duke of Buckingham, their marriage was said to be a happy one. In Henry VII's court, Margaret liked to be referred to as 'My Lady the King's Mother' she intensely disliked the fact that she was of a lower status than both Elizabeth of York, Henry's queen and her mother Elizabeth Woodville, the widow of Edward IV. She also disliked the fact that she had to adhere to court protocol and walk behind the queen and was probably responsible for the banishment of Elizabeth Woodville in 1487. Henry was said to have been a devoted son, his death in the June of 1509 was probably the beginning of the end for Margaret as she was dead only two months later.
Margaret Beaufort is famous as much for her piety and gifts to churches and collages as she is for being domineering, pushy and intimidating, she was a force to be reckoned with, but her achievements prove that medieval women did not always take the back seat to men.
Love her or hate her she was a very strong and determined woman.
Margaret's third husband was Humphrey, Duke of Buckingham, their marriage was said to be a happy one. In Henry VII's court, Margaret liked to be referred to as 'My Lady the King's Mother' she intensely disliked the fact that she was of a lower status than both Elizabeth of York, Henry's queen and her mother Elizabeth Woodville, the widow of Edward IV. She also disliked the fact that she had to adhere to court protocol and walk behind the queen and was probably responsible for the banishment of Elizabeth Woodville in 1487. Henry was said to have been a devoted son, his death in the June of 1509 was probably the beginning of the end for Margaret as she was dead only two months later.
Margaret Beaufort is famous as much for her piety and gifts to churches and collages as she is for being domineering, pushy and intimidating, she was a force to be reckoned with, but her achievements prove that medieval women did not always take the back seat to men.
Love her or hate her she was a very strong and determined woman.
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