Margaret Douglas Archives - The Tudor Society

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Lady Margaret Douglas, a Royal Rebel

2 days ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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On this day in Tudor history, 19th February 1567, while imprisoned in the Tower of London, Lady Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox, received devastating news – her son, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, King of Scotland, had been brutally murdered at Kirk o’ Field in Edinburgh.

But this wasn’t just the loss of a son, it was the destruction of her dynastic ambitions, the shattering of her hopes for the future, and yet another chapter of heartbreak in Margaret’s turbulent life.

So, who was Margaret Douglas, why was she in the Tower, and what did this moment mean for her—and for the tangled web of Tudor and Stuart politics?

Margaret Douglas was no ordinary noblewoman, she was a granddaughter of Henry VII, and the daughter of Margaret Tudor (Henry VIII’s sister) and her second husband, Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus. This made her a first cousin to Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I, and a serious contender for the English throne in the eyes of many.
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#OTD in Tudor history – 8 October

4 months ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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On this day in Tudor history, Henry VIII’s niece, Lady Margaret Douglas, was born; and Henry VIII forced his daughter, Mary, to write to the pope and to Mary of Hungary, the emperor’s sister…
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#OTD in Tudor history – 3 April

10 months ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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On this day in Tudor history, 3rd April, Elizabeth Boleyn, Countess of Wiltshire and Ormond and Anne Boleyn’s mother, died; the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis was signed; and Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox and daughter of Margaret Tudor, was buried…
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#OTD in Tudor history – 9 March

11 months ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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On this day in Tudor history, 9th March, Mary, Queen of Scots’ private secretary was assassinated in front of the pregnant queen, Mary’s mother-in-law, Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox, died, and Lady Frances Radcliffe, one of Elizabeth I’s ladies of the bedchamber, died…
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#OTD in Tudor history – 19 February

1 year ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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On this day in Tudor history, 19th February, Edward VI rode through the streets of London on his coronation procession, Margaret Douglas was informed of the murder of her son, Lord Darnley, and the Elizabethan playhouse, The Rose Theatre, opened on Bankside…
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March 9 – The death of Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox

1 year ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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On this day in Tudor history, on the evening of 9th March 1578, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, sixty-two-year-old Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox, died.

Margaret had been recorded as suffering from a colic but the fact that she had dined with Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, two days before, led to rumours that she had been poisoned. However, there was no evidence to support the rumour. Margaret was buried at Westminster Abbey on 3rd April 1578.

Margaret Douglas was the daughter of Margaret Tudor, dowager queen of Scotland, by her second husband, Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, making her the granddaughter of King Henry VII and the niece of King Henry VIII. Margaret was also the mother-in-law of Mary, Queen of Scots, whose second husband was Margaret’s son, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, and the grandmother of James VI of Scotland/James I of England, and the ill-fated Lady Arbella or Arabella Stuart.
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February 19 – An imprisoned Margaret Douglas is informed of Darnley’s murder

2 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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On this day in Tudor history, 19th February 1567, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox, was informed of the murder of her son, Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley.

Darnley had been murdered nine days earlier at Kirk o’ Field, Edinburgh, in the Royal Mile, just a few hundred yards from Holyrood House where his wife, Mary Queen of Scots, and baby son, the future James VI/I, were staying.
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October 8 – The birth of Lady Margaret Douglas, daughter of Margaret Tudor

2 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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On this day in Tudor history, 8th October 1515, Margaret Tudor, Queen Dowager of Scotland and sister of King Henry VIII, gave birth at Harbottle Castle in Northumberland.

The baby was a little girl, Margaret, and her father was Margaret Tudor’s second husband, Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus. Little Margaret was born while her mother was travelling to Henry VIII’s court in London after fleeing Scotland.

Lady Margaret Douglas is a fascinating Tudor lady…
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8 October – Henry VIII puts pressure on his daughter and the birth of Lady Margaret Douglas

3 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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On this day in Tudor history, 8th October 1536, while the Pilgrimage of Grace rebellion was getting underway in Lincolnshire and spreading to Yorkshire, Henry VIII wasn’t only issuing orders regarding the rebels, he was also issuing orders regarding his eldest daughter.

Henry and Mary had recently reconciled after Mary had finally submitted to him and recognised his supremacy and her illegitimate status. It was something that cost Mary dearly, but it did mend her relationship with her father and allow her back at court.

But then Henry VIII put more pressure on his daughter by forcing her to write to the pope and to Mary of Hungary, the emperor’s sister.

What did Mary have to write? What did the king want of his daughter? And why had Mary submitted to her father?

Find out all about this…
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An outspoken reformer, Lady Margaret Douglas dies, and a man of “plyable” willow

3 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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In the first part of this week in Tudor history, I introduce an outspoken reformer whose works were burnt, I talk about the death of Henry VIII’s niece, Lady Margaret Douglas, and how it was surrounded by rumour, and I give an overview of the life and career of a Tudor administrator who claimed he survived in politics in such turbulent times because he “was made of the plyable willow, not of the stubborn oak”

8th March 1569 – Death of evangelical reformer and Member of Parliament Richard Tracy at Stanway in Gloucestershire. Henry VIII and his council ordered the burning of his works in 1546….
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A murdered French duke, Margaret Douglas’s bad news, a Tudor countess, and Lady Katherine Grey

4 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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In this second part of “This week in Tudor history” for the week beginning 15th February, I talk about how the death of a French duke led to an awful massacre, and how the imprisoned Margaret Douglas heard of her son’s murder, as well as introducing a countess who served all six of Henry VIII’s wives and who was close to his daughter Mary, and a noblewoman who managed to give birth twice while imprisoned in the Tower of London.

18th February 1563 – Francis, Duke of Guise, was wounded by a Huguenot assassin at the Siege of Orléans. He died a few days later and his death was a factor in the 1572 St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre.
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8 October – Lady Margaret Douglas

5 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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On this day in Tudor history, 8th October 1515, Lady Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox and niece of King Henry VIII, was born at Harbottle Castle in Northumberland.

Margaret Douglas was the daughter of Margaret Tudor, Queen Dowager of Scotland, and Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus. She was born while her mother was travelling to Henry VIII’s court in London after feeling Scotland.

Margaret was a fascinating lady, and in today’s talk, I share an extract from my book, giving an overview of this Tudor lady’s life.
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3 April – The burial of Lady Margaret Douglas, “a lady of most pious character”

5 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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On this day in Tudor history, Lady Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox, cousin of Queen Elizabeth I, was buried in a lavish funeral at Westminster Abbey.

Find out about her tomb, and her incredible lineage and links to royals, in today’s video.
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19 February 1567 – Lady Margaret Douglas hears news of Darnley’s murder

6 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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On this day in Tudor history, Lady Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox and Elizabeth I’s cousin, was informed of the murder of her son, Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley.

Margaret had been imprisoned in the Tower of Lonon in 1566 after Elizabeth I had heard news of Darnley’s marriage to Mary, Queen of Scots, and was still in the Tower in 1567. News of her son’s murdered was carried to her by William Cecil’s wife, Mildred, and Lady William Howard.
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Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox

9 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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Lady Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox, was born on 8th October 1515. Margaret was the daughter of Margaret Tudor, Queen Dowager of Scotland and sister of Henry VIII, and Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus. She was born at Harbottle Castle in Northumberland, home of Thomas, 2nd Lord Dacre, because her mother went into labour as she fled Scotland to go to Henry VIII’s court in London. Margaret was baptised on 9th October, but her mother was ill after the birth and wasn’t well enough to travel onward to London until spring 1516. Mother and baby stayed in England until June 1517, when Henry VIII sent his sister and niece back to Scotland.
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