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Did margaret anjou marry jasper tudor1/23/2024 ![]() ![]() Mother and son remained at Pembroke Castle until, at the age of two, Henry Tudor went to live with the Yorkist Herbert family in Wales. This must have terrified the young mother, as she would never give birth again. The midwives were concerned that neither Margaret, nor her son Henry, would survive the birth. However, Margaret’s labor was incredibly difficult, probably due to her small stature. Lady Margaret was taken in by her brother in law, Jasper Tudor where she would give birth to the future King of England on January 28, 1457. His thirteen-year-old widow was seven months pregnant and alone. ![]() Margaret’s husband was unfortunately taken in by Yorkists and held prisoner where he would die of the plague in early November of 1456. Whatever the situation may be, Margaret was forced to become a woman at a very young age and was able to find the strength within herself to rise up to the challenge. This was also a time of great political unrest as The War of the Roses had broken out and being a Lancastrian, there is a strong suggestion that Edmund Tudor was only interested in an heir. And perhaps Margaret accepted this as her destiny, to be married off at such a young age. So perhaps he was kind and treated her well. One would have to imagine this must have been a terrifying ordeal to such a young girl, but throughout her life, Margaret consistently defended Edmund as her first husband. ![]() However, Edmund Tudor felt otherwise and chose to consummate his marriage immediately. Margaret was said to be rather small with a petite frame. Consummation before age fourteen was considered a risk to the health of such a young woman. In the 1400s, twelve was the age of consent however it was unusual for the marriage to be consummated before the age of fourteen. In November of 1455, the wedding took place and Margaret would become the twelve-year-old bride to the twenty-four-year-old 1st Earl of Richmond. He also decided Margaret would marry Edmund, who was eleven years older than her. Henry VI then granted Margaret’s lands to his own half brothers, Edmund and Jasper Tudor. Papal dispensation was granted in 1450 but the marriage was never recognized. While Margaret would remain with her mother, an attempt to marry her to de la Pole’s son was made in early 1444. De la Pole was a military commander and favorite of The King. However, King Henry Vl would go against John Beaufort’s wishes and grant wardship of Margaret’s lands to William de la Pole, First Duke of Suffolk. Margaret would inherit all of her father’s fortunes as she was his only heir. He died shortly afterwards but it is still unclear if he died of an illness or apparent suicide. However, after his return from France, he was banished from court on charges of treason. At the time of her birth, her father had gone to France for a military expedition for King Henry Vl. Margaret was born in May of either 1441 or 1443 in Bedfordshire England to John Beaufort, Duke of Somerset and Margaret Beauchamp of Bletso. And perhaps we can form a different opinion of Margaret and look at her as a lady of great strength and perseverance and as a woman who believed in her cause and would pursue that cause with everything she had. But what was it that made her this way? Her life as a child and a young woman were far from a fairy tale so perhaps understanding what she was forced to endure can provide us with an explanation of why she was so bitter. ![]() And she certainly may have been so to her son’s wife, Elizabeth of York. Often thought of as the cruel and conniving “Lady Margaret The King’s Mother”, she seems the epitome of the rotten mother in law. Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby, and mother of King Henry Vll seems to have earned a poor reputation over time. ![]()
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