Margaret Beaufort Facts and Timeline

Also see: Margaret Beaufort Biography   Margaret Beaufort Facts Known for:  founder of the (British royal) Tudor dynasty through her support for her son’s claim to the throneDates:  May 31, 1443 – June 29, 1509 (some sources give 1441 as birth year) Background, Family: Mother: Margaret Beauchamp, an heiress. Her father was John Beauchamp, and her first husband was Oliver St. John.Father: John Beaufort, earl of Somerset (1404 – 1444). His mother was Margaret Holland and his father was John Beaufort, first earl of Somerset.Siblings: Margaret Beaufort had no full siblings. Her mother had six children with her first husband, Oliver St. John Margaret’s mother, Margaret Beauchamp, was an heiress whose maternal ancestors included Henry III and his son, Edmund Crouchback.   Her father was a grandson of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, who was a son of Edward III, and of John’s mistress-turned-wife, Katherine Swynford. After John married Katherine, he had their children, given the patronym Beaufort, legitimized through a papal bull and royal patent.   The patent (but not the bull) specified that the Beauforts and their descendants were excluded from the royal succession. Margaret’s paternal grandmother, Margaret Holland, was an heiress; Edward I was her  paternal ancestor and Henry III her  maternal ancestor. In the wars of succession known as the Wars of the Roses, the York party and the Lancaster party were not completely separate family lines; they were much interconnected by family relationships.   Margaret, though aligned with the Lancaster cause, was the second cousin of both Edward IV and Richard III; the mother of those two York kings,  Cecily Neville  was the daughter of  Joan Beaufort  who was the daughter of John of Gaunt and  Katherine Swynford. In other words, Joan Beaufort was the sister of Margaret Beauforts grandfather, John Beaufort. Marriage, Children: Contracted marriage with: John de la Pole (1450; dissolved 1453). His father, William de la Pole, was Margaret Beaufort’s guardian. John’s mother, Alice Chaucer, was the granddaughter of the writer Geoffrey Chaucer and his wife, Philippa, who was the sister of Katherine Swynford.   Thus, he was a third cousin of Margaret Beaufort.Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond (married 1455, died 1456). His mother was Catherine of Valois, daughter of King Charles VI of France and widow of Henry V. She married Owen Tudor after Henry V died.   Edmund Tudor was thus a maternal half-brother of Henry VI; Henry VI was also a descendant of John of Gaunt, by his first wife, Blanche of Lancaster.Son: Henry Tudor, born January 28, 1457Henry Stafford (married 1461, died 1471).   Henry Stafford was her second cousin; his grandmother, Joan Beaufort, was also a child of John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford.   Henry was a first cousin of Edward IV.Thomas Stanley, Lord Stanley, later Earl of De rby (married 1472, died 1504) Timeline Note: many details have been left off.   See: Margaret Beaufort biography 1443 Margaret Beaufort born 1444 Father, John Beaufort, died 1450 Marriage contract with John de la Pole 1453 Marriage to Edmund Tudor 1456 Edmund Tudor died 1457 Henry Tudor born 1461 Marriage to Henry Stafford 1461 Edward IV took crown from Henry VI 1462 Guardianship of Henry Tudor given to a Yorkist supporter 1470 Rebellion against Edward IV put Henry VI back on throne 1471 Edward IV again became king, Henry VI and his son both killed 1471 Henry Stafford died of wounds suffered in battle on behalf of the Yorkists 1471 Henry Tudor flees, went to live in Brittany 1472 Married to Thomas Stanley 1482 Margarets mother, Margaret Beauchamp, died 1483 Edward IV died, Richard III became king after imprisoning Edwards two sons 1485 Defeat of Richard III by Henry Tudor, who became King Henry VII October 1485 Henry VII crowned January 1486 Henry VII married Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville September 1486 Prince Arthur born to Elizabeth of York and Henry VII, Margaret Beauforts first grandchild 1487 Coronation of Elizabeth of York 1489 Princess Margaret born, named for Margaret Beaufort 1491 Prince Henry (future Henry VIII born) 1496 Princess Mary born 1499 1506 Margaret Beaufort made her home at Collyweston, Northamptonshire 1501 Arthur married Catherine of Aragon 1502 Arthur died 1503 Elizabeth of York died 1503 Margaret Tudor married James IV of Scotland 1504 Thomas Stanley died 1505 1509 Gifts to create Christs College at Cambridge 1509 Henry VII died, Henry VIII became king 1509 Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon coronation 1509 Margaret Beaufort died Next:  Margaret Beaufort Biography