18th October 1541

Scottish queen Margaret Tudor dies

Margaret Tudor was Scotland’s Queen between 1503, when she married James IV, and his death in 1513. She had been born at Westminster Palace in 1489, and her father had been King Henry VII of England. Her marriage to James IV thus created a blood connection between the thrones of England and Scotland.

The marriage was controversial in some quarters – particularly south of the border, where many in the court were reluctant to see the royal bloodlines unified. However, England’s King Henry, assuaged them by pointing out that it was far more likely Scotland would be absorbed by England than the other way around.

Margaret Tudor widowed

Although she and James IV had half a dozen children, only one survived. He became the young James V when less than 18 months old, when James IV was killed at Flodden. His widowed mother initially reigned in his place, which again was a cause for concern, her being the daughter of an English king. When she remarried she was declared unfit to carry on in her position of authority and effectively dethroned, with her position taken by the infant king’s cousin, the Duke of Albany.

She fell pregnant, escaped to England, and there gave birth to the woman who would become mother to Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, who would himself become the second husband of Mary, Queen of Scots.

However, this was not the end of her involvement in Scottish politics. When James V declared himself old enough to reign in his own right she was welcomed back to court as an advisor.
Margaret died on 18 October 1541, less than a week after falling ill. She was buried in Perth.