The Forgotten Princesses
the regency and replaced by Albany. She
was then forced to flee to Stirling Castle
with her sons after the Privy Council
decided she should no longer have custody
of them. In 1515, Albany arrived from
France and besieged the castle, forcing
Margaret to hand over her sons.
Her property and revenue were
confiscated and Margaret fled to
England while pregnant with Angus’
child, giving birth to Margaret Douglas
in Northumberland in October 1515.
Following her arrival, Margaret received
a gift of new gowns from her brother
but that December, she learned that her
youngest son had died. After 13 years away
from England, she spent a year in London,
reuniting with her siblings.
Following Henry’s urging and Albany’s
assurances that she would be safe and
that her property and revenue would be
returned to her, Margaret returned to
Scotland in 1517. Margaret declared she
wanted a divorce from her estranged
husband after learning that he had been
living with a mistress and spending her
money in her absence. Ironically, Henry
was opposed to her decision to divorce
Angus, even though he would pursue his
own divorce years later.
The continuing conflict between
Albany and Angus drove the latter to
exile in France, and Margaret switched
her allegiance to Albany, who also backed
her divorce petition. Yet, when Albanyreturned to France in 1524, Margaret
staged a coup with her allies at court and
declared that James, now 12 years old, was
an adult who no longer needed a regent.
Parliament subsequently recognised
Margaret as the king’s chief councillor.
However, the following year, Angus
returned and took custody of James,
effectively imprisoning the young king for
the next three years and ruling through
him. Margaret’s divorce was finally granted
by Pope Clement VII in 1527, and she
married Henry Stewart in March 1528.In June, James V freed himself from
Angus, who fled Scotland once again, and
began ruling in his own right. Stewart
was made Lord Methven by the king and
initially Margaret and her husband were
influential advisers to James – although
Methven proved to be just as unfaithful
to his wife as Angus was.
As James grew older, however,
Margaret’s influence declined and she
was increasingly sidelined by her son.
She endeavoured to maintain diplomatic
relations between England and Scotland,Margaret’s marriage led to the
unification of England and ScotlandT
he English
Succession
“The Treaty of Perpetual Peace was
broken and Margaret’s husband and
brother were officially at war”
The Treaty of Perpetual Peace was the first attempt in over
170 years to end the on/off warfare between England and
Scotland. However, the marriage of Margaret and James
also brought the Stewart house into the English line of
succession. This had been opposed by many in England,
but Henry VII had assured his critics that it would be
England absorbing Scotland, not the other way round.
The marriage did lead to the eventual Union of the
Crowns when Margaret and James’ great-grandson, King
James VI, succeeded Queen Elizabeth I as King James I
of England in 1603. Interestingly, Margaret was James’
great-grandmother on both sides of his family tree as his
mother, Mary, Queen of Scots, was the daughter of King
James V. His father, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, was the
son of Lady Margaret Douglas, Margaret’s daughter with
the Earl of Angus.