In June 1472, 11 years following Yorkist victory in the Wars of the Roses and accession of Edward IV, Margaret embarked onto her fourth marriage to Thomas Stanley, the Lord High Constable of England and Baron Stanley.Īs a result of her connections to her son, the exiled Henry Tudor – a distant relative of Henry VI’s – Margaret was banished from court by Edward IV. Margaret, now around the age of 28, and was thus widowed a second time. Their relationship appears to have been quite happy, with wife following husband across the country for business, and perhaps even accompanying him to Parliament. Margaret and Henry Stafford enjoyed a long marriage of 14 years, but he died as a result of wounds sustained at the Battle of Barnet against Yorkist forces – those his wife supported. In 1458, the still-young Margaret married Henry Stafford, the son of Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham. Although Margaret and her son rarely saw each other, it is clear that the two kept in close contact with each other, and had an affectionate relationship, demonstrated by their surviving letters: ‘my dearest and only desired in this world’.ĭespite the couple’s short relationship, Margaret had requested to be buried alongside Edmund at her death, but her change in status to the King’s mother meant she wasn’t deserving of a Welsh burial. Henry, now two, was forced to live with his family in Wales, and then went on to be exiled in France with his uncle, Jasper Tudor, at the age of 14.
Margaret and Henry remained at Pembroke Castle, until it was overtaken by Yorkists in 1461, and the castle transferred to a Lord Herbert of Raglan. It seems that Margaret was physically damaged by the birth, as she would never have another child, despite later marriages. The birth was a difficult one as a result of the young age and size of the mother, and both nearly died. Soon afterwards, in January 1457, the teenage Margaret gave birth to a baby boy, Henry Tudor.
Edmund was a Lancastrian, and was taken captive by York forces at Carmarthen, where he soon died of the plague, leaving Margaret – now 12/13 and pregnant – in the care of his brother, Jasper Tudor, at Pembroke Castle. In that same year, a war for control of the kingdom of England broke out between the Houses York and Lancaster: the War of the Roses.
She was 12 years old, and he was 24 – not uncommon for the era. The Welsh Tudor brothers were responsible for Margaret’s care over the next decade, and on 1st November 1455, she married Edmund Tudor. Soon after, however, the marriage was dissolved, and Henry VI granted wardship over Margaret to his half-brothers, Jasper and Edmund Tudor. The wedding is estimated to have been held between January and February 1444, when Margaret was about 1-year-old in this traditional arrangement, the couple would be expected to reconfirm these vows when they were of age (12 and 14 for the bridge and groom respectively). In 1444, Margaret was married to the Duke of Suffolk’s son, John de la Pole. Before long, she would have a marriage arranged. Margaret, being the descendant of an English king and having just inherited a large fortune and lands, was now more than just a marketable maiden, she was a real catch in terms of the marriage market.
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