Margaret Tudor’s Flight: The 1515 Escape that Led to a United Crown

On 30 September 1515, Margaret Tudor, Henry VIII’s elder sister and widow of James IV, slipped across the Scottish border into England: heavily pregnant, newly remarried, and out of power. Her dash to Harbottle Castle set up a birth with huge consequences: Lady Margaret Douglas, whose line would help unite the Tudor and Stuart claims. In this episode I set the scene:

• The glittering 1503 marriage to James IV and the Flodden aftermath
• How Margaret lost the regency by marrying for love: Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus
• Duke of Albany takes control, and the royal children
• The 1515 flight to Harbottle and the birth (8 Oct) of Lady Margaret Douglas
• Why Henry VIII offered hospitality, not armies
• Margaret’s return in 1517, and how her daughter’s marriage to Matthew Stewart, Earl of Lennox produced Lord Darnley, and, in the next generation, James VI & I, uniting the crowns in 1603

Question: Was Margaret’s remarriage brave or reckless, or both? Tell me in the comments. If you enjoy these “On This Day” podcasts, please like, subscribe, and ring the bell for daily Tudor history. #MargaretTudor #OnThisDay #TudorHistory #LadyMargaretDouglas #JamesVIandI #HarbottleCastle #HenryVIII #Douglas #DukeOfAlbany #UnionOfTheCrowns #HistoryYouTube #ClaireRidgway