Dr Kat and Lady Margaret Douglas

hello and welcome back to the channel if you're new here hi you're very welcome this is reading the past and I'm doctor cat and today's video is based on another suggestion this time it comes from B thank you so much it's a great idea you mentioned that you were reading a biography of this particular figure and like you I agree she is a great candidate for a biography on this channel she is the granddaughter sister niece and grandmother of Kings she also spent so much time going in and out of the Tower of London as a prisoner they might as well a fished a revolving door for her today we're talking about Lady Margaret Douglass later the Countess of Lenox let's go [Music] [Music] Lady Margaret Douglas was born to Archibald Douglas the sick Earl of Angus and Margaret Tudor who was sister to King Henry the eighth and daughter to King Henry the seventh Margaret Judith's first husband was James the fourth of Scott's making Margaret Douglas's elder half-brother James the fifth of Scots after James the fourth death Margaret Tudor remarried quickly to the Earl of Angus and this act lost her the Regency over her son's rule it forced her to flee south to the court of her brother Henry the eighth's on route Margaret Tudor already pregnant with Margaret Douglas began to go into labour Margaret Tudor was therefore forced to stop in Northumberland and it was there on the 8th of October 1515 that her daughter Lady Margaret Douglas was born as was common for the period Margaret Douglas was baptised swiftly the next day the 9th of October 15 15 the plan was still to make their way to London and the court of Henry the eighth however Margaret Douglas his birth had taken a toll on her mother and it took her a long time to recover from the process from the spring of 1516 mother and daughter were at the English Court of Henry the eighth Margaret was in the royal nurseries at Greenwich palace until June 1517 when Henry sent them both back to Scotland when Margaret was 3 years old so this would have been 15 18 or 1519 her parents marriage fell apart once her mother learned that her father had been unfaithful the Earl of Angus took custody of his daughter and kept her from her mother they moved around Scotland into England they might have gone to France before returning back to Scotland in 1528 the Earl of Angus was driven out of Scotland naturally his daughter went with him they both ended up in the household of Thomas Strangeways who was himself the controller of the household of little Margaret's Godfather Cardinal Wolsey just two years later in November 1530 Cardinal Wolsey dies in disgrace margaret was invited to London by her aunts Mary the Duchess of Suffolk and Dowager Queen of France Henry commands that little Margret Douglas Mootoo Bewley and to the household of his daughter Mary with just four months between them and age these two girls became lifelong friends margaret was favored at court and renowned for her beauty as we know it was around this time that Henry the eighth was in the market for a new wife and once his new Queen Ann Berlin had set up her household in around 15 33 or 15 34 Lady Margaret Douglas was sent to be her lady-in-waiting despite the friendship that Margaret shared with Mary and the animosity between Mary and her new stepmother it seems that Margaret Douglas and amberlynn got on surprisingly well by the end of 1535 so when Margaret Douglas would have been about 20 years old she fell in love and secretly became engaged to and uncle Thomas Howard Henry the 8th learned of this and was enraged he sent them both to the Tower of London Margaret became ill so Henry allowed her to move to the abbey of Sion where she would be under the close scrutiny of the Abbess there she was finally released on the 29th of October 1537 Thomas Howard died in the tower two days later we may wonder why Henry the eighth was angry enough to keep lady margaret douglas confined for nearly two years well in 1536 henry had removed both of his daughters from the succession on the grounds of their alleged illegitimate sea and for a time he treated his niece as heiress presumptive thomas howard was reaching too high it was almost treasonous for him to presume to try and marry an heir this close to the throne Lady Margaret Douglas it would seem was being punished for her fully in allowing it Henry the eighth's eventual decision to release his niece on the 29th of October 1537 had in my mind very little to do with any compassion he felt for her and far more to do with the event that had taken place on the 12th of October of that same year because on that date Prince Edward had been born with the birth of his longed-for son and heir Margaret Douglas his position as his closest living legitimate relative is effectively neutralized in Henry's mind and so she could safely be wished or to favor and indeed she was she served as lady of honor to Anne of Cleves in 1539 and to Katherine Howard in 1540 unfortunately for Lady Margaret Douglas it seems that she's not very good at learning from her previous mistakes and indiscretions because while she was in the household of Katherine Howard she falls in love with her brother Charles once again another Howard is getting lady margaret douglas into trouble and in trouble she certainly was when henry learned this relationship he sends her back to sion Abbey then he moves her to Kenan Hall in Norfolk while she was there Thomas Cranmer reproved her for quote over much lightness end quote warning her to quote beware the third time end quote on the 10th of July 15:43 Henry the eighth finally allowed Margaret to leave her confinement at Sion because he wanted her to serve as bridesmaid at his wedding to Catherine Parr in the following year Henry the Eighth arranged Margaret's own marriage on the 6th of July 1540 for Lady Margaret Douglas married Matthew Stewart Earl of Lennox at some James's Palace in London the couple who by all accounts were very much in love would have eight or nine children unfortunately only two would survive into adulthood the first Henry Stuart Lord Darnley born 15:45 who married Mary Queen of Scots and fathered her son James the 6th Scotland and first of England the other child survived was Charles Stuart born in 1555 who married Beth Hardwick daughter Elizabeth Cavendish I talked about that illicit marriage in my video on better Hardwick which I will leave linked in a cart in 1547 as Henry the eighth's was approached in his death Lady Margaret Douglas fought with her uncle over her attachment to the Roman Catholic Church in his anger Henry the eighth removed her and therefore her descendants from the succession in his will in that same year 1547 Henry dies and Edward the sixth becomes King as was common Margaret Douglas came to court to meet and congratulate her new monic she brought with her her young son the Lord Darnley to show off to the new king thereafter she avoided returning to Edwards Protestant Court preferring instead to stay at Temple Newsome where her household became the center Roman Catholics in England in 1553 the boy King Edward the sixth passes away or what we think may have been tuberculosis one of his last acts is to write out his half-sisters from the succession he puts up in their place his and their cousin the Lady Jane Grey as we know her reign is a short run and abortive thing ultimately defeated by Mary Tudor who goes on to become Mary the First Lady Margaret Douglas his childhood friend is now queen of England and as such Margaret suddenly finds herself back at the center of court life once more Mary the first suspicion of her half-sister Elizabeth led to Margaret Douglas being given precedence over her at Mary's court as though she were the heir presumptive once more in 1558 marry the first died and her half-sister Elizabeth becomes Queen Elizabeth the first lady Margret Douglas at this point becomes indiscreet she in private made no secret of the fact that she thought that she should be the one ruling England as far as she was concerned Elizabeth the first was illegitimate her household once again became a hotbed for Catholics as it had been during the reign of Edward the sick she moved her household to be close to Burlington Bay where she could have a more direct forward contact with France and with her Catholic niece Mary Queen of Scots while she may have been unfortunately in religiously subversive during the reign of Edward the sick it now looked like she was plotting a full-scale overthrow of the throne her household was soon full of spies some working for and some against Queen Elizabeth the first in August 1561 the daughter of Lady Margaret Douglas his half-brother James v of Scots returns to Scotland she is intending to make good her title and claim to rule as Mary scoffs Lady Margaret Douglas becomes indiscreet once more and begins to speak openly of her plans to marry her son Lord Darnley to marry so that they could rule Scotland together they would she claimed also to pose Elizabeth and rule England as loyal Roman Catholics due to the network of spies that were at play in Lady Margaret Douglass's household it wasn't long before Elizabeth the first heard of these plans margaret was sent to reside under house arrest at Sheen while her husband the Earl of Lennox was sent to the tower while there Lennox became ill but he was only allowed to reunite with his wife in November 1560 - and it wasn't until February 15 63 that Margaret and the Earl of Lennox were freed in the following year and certainly by July 15 64 somehow Lady Margaret Douglas has managed to regain royal favour she is back at court she becomes the godmother to William Cecil's daughter Elizabeth during this period Lord Darnley was also in favour carrying the sword before Elizabeth on official occasions being recognized as the Prince nearest to the throne by blood the favour enjoyed by Lady Margret Douglas and her son was not to be long lived in February 1565 Lord Darnley travelled to Edinburgh to meet and woo Mary Queen of Scots by the 4th of June 1565 news of their intended marriage is causing concern at the English Court Elizabeth the first is desperate and she recalls Lord Darnley and his father the Earl of Lennox to London the men refused on the 20th of June 1565 perhaps resulting from the fact that Elizabeth the first was unable to lay hands on the Earl of Lennox or his son Lord Darnley Lady Margret Douglas is sent to the tower once again at the same time Elizabeth Privy Council seized all of the Lenox properties in England on the 29th of July 1565 Mary Queen of Scots and Lord Darnley married recognising the traditional Roman Catholic rites the marriage would not be a happy one on the 19th of June 1566 Mary Queen of Scots gave birth to a boy James the future James the 6th of Scots and 1st of England on the 19th of February 1567 Lady Margaret Douglas was still imprisoned in the Tower of London when news is brought to her that her son has been murdered in Scotland she is also incorrectly informed that her husband was also killed are from indiscreetly short period of mourning on the 15th of May 1567 Mary Queen of Scots marries again this time to James Hepburn Earl of Bothwell the man who was suspected of murdering her husband Lord Darnley in the aftermath of Lord Donnelly's death Elizabeth the first allowed Lady Margaret Douglas to be released from the tower just over two months after this hasty marriage on the 24th of July 1567 Mary Queen of Scots was forced to abdicate her throne in favour of her son James she was imprisoned by a selection of her nobility in Loch Leven castle on the 2nd of May 1568 Mary Queen of Scots managed to escape her captivity and she promptly fled to England once Lady Margaret Douglas and her husband the Earl of Lennox heard that Mary Queen of Scots had arrived in England they hurried to the English Court it is said that Margaret's face was swollen and tear-stained she cried out for vengeance at the start Elizabeth the first were sympathetic to the plight of this mother and her grief but as her cries went on and refused to be abated Elizabeth the first became impatient after the death of her eldest surviving son Lord Darnley it is perhaps understandable even expected that Lady Margaret Douglas would hold a lifelong resentment to his former wife her former daughter-in-law Mary Queen of Scots for the part that she played perceived or otherwise in his death many in Scotland and in England thought that Mary Queen of Scots was just as involved in law Donnelly's death as the Earl of Bothwell had been and this was made particularly clear because of her hay see marriage to that man nevertheless it seems that as the years progressed as time elapsed Lady Margaret Douglas softened in her opinion towards her former daughter-in-law it looks like she forgives her it has been suggested that one of the reasons that Lady Margaret Douglas was able to set aside her desire for vengeance was because she and her former daughter-in-law had something more important to care about namely the life and well-being of James the sixth of Scotland their grandson and son respectively this reconnection between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law was a source of suspicion for Lisbeth the first so much so that in 1574 Elizabeth the first suspected that Margaret Douglass's request to take her surviving son Charles north to visit Scotland was simply a ruse to enable her to visit Mary Queen of Scots on their journey north mother and son stayed with Beth Hardwick and it was during this visit that Charles fell in love with Beth of hard works daughter Elizabeth Cavendish and the two mothers arranged their secret marriage in the aftermath of this illicit Union Elizabeth's suspicions were redoubled and she demanded that both women come to London and she had both Margaret Douglas and Beth of Hardwick sent to the tower while she was prisoner at this time Lady Margaret Douglas wrote regularly to Mary Queen of Scots apparently she sent her a gift a small piece of lace made partly from her own white hairs this was the last imprisonment that Lady Margaret Douglas would have to endure and it would not be one that lasted very long by the autumn of 1570 for Elizabeth allowed her to be released and she went to live at Stepney with her son Charles his wife and their new baby daughter our Bella Stuart just two years later in 1576 her last surviving son Charles Earl of Lennox died of tuberculosis despite her evident and understandable grief at the loss of her last surviving child Margaret fought on unsuccessfully if it would turn out to claim the old Lenox for her granddaughter our Bella Lady Margaret Douglas with herself died on the 9th of March 1578 she was buried in Westminster Abbey on the 3rd of April 1578 her burial was paid for by Queen Elizabeth the 1st during the reign of her grandson James the sickness Scotland and first of England he arranged to have a fine monument erected to her memory on the site of her burial in Westminster Abbey in her entry on the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Online Rosalind K Marshall assesses the life and legacy of Lady Margaret Douglas and she says the following Margaret doubles his position as granddaughter of Henry the seventh of England aunt of Mary Queen of Scots and Countess of Lenox drew her into many of the complex political events of her time she never hesitated to employ her consummate charm as well as her taste for devious scheming in her efforts to advance the interests of both her family and the Roman Catholic religion it was her tragedy that her ambitions brought nothing but disaster for herself her husband and her adored son Lord Darnley I'd love to know what you think of the life and legacy of Lady Margaret Douglas Countess of Lenox so do let me know in the comment section down below or you can come and find me over on my social media I'll leave links to my Instagram and Twitter in the description box follow me there and we can continue this conversation I do hope you've enjoyed this video and found it useful if you did then please let me know by hitting the thumbs up please also subscribe to this channel and while you're there hit the bell icon next the subscribe button so that YouTube tells you when I've next uploaded I hope you're gonna have a great day whatever you're doing and I look forward to speaking to you in my next video take care of yourselves bye bye for now [Music] [Music]

Channel: Reading the Past

Views: 39,135

Rating: 4.9601707 out of 5

Keywords: Margaret Douglas, Tudor, Stuart, Stewart, Dynasty, Henry VIII, Mary I, Edward VI, Elizabeth I, Bess of Hardwick, Arbella Stuart, Mary Queen of Scots, Lord Darnley, Catholic, Protestant, English Reformation, Education, Literature, Culture, History, Early Modern, Renaissance

Id: Y5je5F8Oy3Q

Length: 18min 45sec (1125 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 20 2019