About this episode
The episode discusses the life and influence of Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII and key figure in the Tudor dynasty.
Misha Glenny and guests discuss the woman who, as a child bride, became mother to the boy who would eventually become the first king in the Tudor dynasty. Lady Margaret Beaufort (c1443-1509) was twelve when she married Edmund Tudor, half his age, and gave birth to their son Henry when she was thirteen and Edmund was already dead from the plague. Margaret Beaufort made it her life's work to protect Henry during the Wars of the Roses, which had begun soon before his birth and, as many more obvious successors to the crown died or were killed in the wars, she pivoted to supporting Henry when he became the strongest contender against Richard III. She was to survive Richard III declaring her a traitor and went on to see Henry become Henry VII, the first Tudor king, and herself become the King's Mother. Outliving her son by a few months, she was then to help her grandson Henry VIII succeed and the Tudor dynasty continue. With Joanna Laynesmith Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Reading Katherine Lewis Honorary Professor of Medieval History at the University of Lincoln and Research Associate at the University of York And David Grummitt Staff Tutor in History at the Open…
People in this episode
Host: Misha Glenny
Guests: Joanna Laynesmith, Katherine Lewis, David Grummitt
Topics covered
- Tudor dynasty
- Margaret Beaufort
- Wars of the Roses
- historical figures
- medieval history
Keywords
- Margaret Beaufort
- Henry VII
- Tudor dynasty
- Wars of the Roses
- medieval history
- Misha Glenny
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: University of Reading, University of Lincoln, University of York, Open University
Books & works: The House of Beaufort, The Vowesses, the anchoresses, and the aldermen's wives: Lady Margaret Beaufort and the Devout Society of Late Medieval Stamford
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