Lennox Margaret Douglas - The Lost Tudor Princess: A Life of Margaret Douglass, Countess of Lennox

Contents

Royal Tudor blood ran in her veins. Her mother was a queen, her father an earl, and she herself was the granddaughter, niece, cousin and grandmother of monarchs. Some thought she should be queen of England. She ranked high at the court of her uncle, Henry VIII, and was lady of honour to five of his wives. Beautiful and tempestuous, she created scandal, not just once, but twice, by falling in love with unsuitable men. Fortunately, the marriage arranged for her turned into a love match.

Throughout her life her dynastic ties to two crowns proved hazardous. A born political intriguer, she was imprisoned in the Tower of London on three occasions, once under sentence of death. She helped to bring about one of the most notorious royal marriages of the sixteenth century, but it brought her only tragedy. Her son and her husband were brutally murdered, and there were rumours that she herself was poisoned. She warred with two queens, Mary of Scotland and Elizabeth of England. A brave survivor, she was instrumental in securing the Stuart succession to the throne of England for her grandson.

Her story deserves to be better known. This is the biography of an extraordinary life that spanned five Tudor reigns, a life packed with intrigue, drama and tragedy.

Alison Weir lives and works in Surrey. Her non-fiction books include The Six Wives of Henry VIII, Children of England, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Henry VIII: King and Court, Mary, Queen of Scots, Katherine Swynford and Elizabeth of York. Her novels include Innocent Traitor, The Lady Elizabeth and A Dangerous Inheritance.

BRITAINS ROYAL FAMILIES:
The Complete Genealogy

THE SIX WIVES OF HENRY VIII

THE PRINCES IN THE TOWER

LANCASTER AND YORK:
The Wars of the Roses

CHILDREN OF ENGLAND:
The Heirs of King Henry VIII 15471558

ELIZABETH THE QUEEN

ELEANOR OF AQUITAINE

HENRY VIII:
King and Court

MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS
AND THE MURDER OF LORD DARNLEY

ISABELLA:
She-Wolf of France, Queen of England

KATHERINE SWYNFORD:
The Story of John of Gaunt and His Scandalous Duchess

THE LADY IN THE TOWER:
The Fall of Anne Boleyn

MARY BOLEYN:
The Great and Infamous Whore

ELIZABETH OF YORK:
The First Tudor Queen

As co-author

THE RING AND THE CROWN:
A History of Royal Weddings, 10662011

INNOCENT TRAITOR

THE LADY ELIZABETH

THE CAPTIVE QUEEN

A DANGEROUS INHERITANCE

THE MARRIAGE GAME

Quick Reads

TRAITORS OF THE TOWER

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Margaret Douglas and her close relations

Margaret Douglas (151578): daughter of Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, by Margaret Tudor, daughter of Henry VII, King of England, by Elizabeth of York.

Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus (c.14891557): son of George Douglas, Master of Angus, by Elizabeth Drummond. Father of Margaret Douglas. Married (1) Margaret Hepburn (d.1513); precontracted to Jane Stewart of Traquair; married (2) Margaret Tudor (14891541) and (3) Margaret Maxwell (d.1594).

Margaret Tudor (14891541): daughter of Henry VII, King of England, by Elizabeth of York. Mother of Margaret Douglas. Married (1) James IV, King of Scots (14731513); (2) Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus (c.14891557) and (3) Henry (Harry) Stewart, Lord Methven (c.14951552).

Lord Thomas Howard (c.151137): son of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk, by Agnes Tilney. Precontracted to Margaret Douglas.

Matthew Stuart, 4th Earl of Lennox (151671): son of John Stewart, 3rd Earl of Lennox. Husband of Margaret Douglas. The spelling of his surname was changed when he lived in France. Regent of Scotland 15701.

Children of Margaret Douglas and Matthew Stuart, Earl of Lennox

Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley (b. & d.1545)

Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley (154667): married Mary, Queen of Scots (154287). Parents of James VI and I, King of Scots and King of England (15661625). Murdered.

Unnamed daughter (b.1552; d. by 1565)

Philip Stuart (b.1554/5; d. by 1562)

Three unnamed daughters (d. young by 15625)

Charles Stuart, 6th Earl of Lennox (155776): married Elizabeth Cavendish (155582). Parents of Arbella Stuart (15751615). Died of tuberculosis.

Scottish Kings and Queens: House of Stewart/Stuart

James IV (14731513): married Margaret Tudor (14891541), daughter of Henry VII, King of England, by Elizabeth of York, and sister of Henry VIII, King of England. She married secondly Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, and by him was the mother of Margaret Douglas.

James V (151242): son of James IV and Margaret Tudor. Half-brother of Margaret Douglas. Married (1) Madeleine of France (152037) and (2) Marie de Guise (151560), who was Regent of Scotland from 1554 to 1559 for their daughter, Mary, Queen of Scots.

Mary, Queen of Scots (154287): daughter of James V by Marie de Guise. Niece and daughter-in-law of Margaret Douglas. Married (1) Francis II, King of France (154460); (2) Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley (154667), son of Margaret Douglas; and (3) James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell (c.153578). Deposed 1567.

James VI (15661625): son of Mary, Queen of Scots, by Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley. Grandson of Margaret Douglas. Became James I of England at the Union of the Crowns in 1603.

Scottish royal family

Alexander, Duke of Ross (151415): youngest son of James IV and Margaret Tudor. Half-brother of Margaret Douglas.

James Stewart, Earl of Moray (c.153170): bastard son of James V by Margaret Erskine; half-brother of Mary, Queen of Scots; nephew of Margaret Douglas. Married Agnes Keith (c.154088). Protestant reformer and Regent of Scotland 156770. Murdered.

English Kings and Queens

House of York (Plantagenet) 146185

Edward IV, King of England (144283): married Elizabeth Wydeville (143792). Great-grandparents of Margaret Douglas.

Richard III, King of England (145285): killed at the Battle of Bosworth.

House of Tudor 14851603

Henry VII (14571509): married Elizabeth of York (14661503). Grandparents of Margaret Douglas.

Henry VIII (14911547): son of Henry VII by Elizabeth of York. Uncle of Margaret Douglas. Married (1) Katherine of Aragon (14851536); (2) Anne Boleyn (c.150136); (3) Jane Seymour (c.150837); (4) Anne of Cleves (151557); (5) Katherine Howard (c.151942); and (6) Katherine Parr (151248).

Edward VI (153753): son of Henry VIII by Jane Seymour. First cousin of Margaret Douglas.