Margaret Beaufort: Mother of the Tudor Dynasty (8 page)

5. Philippa of Hainault, wife of Edward III, depicted in a drawing of a tapestry made during the reign of Edward III and which hung in St Stephens Chapel, Westminster until it was destroyed when the old Palace of Westminster burned down.

6. Richmond Palace. Henry VII built the palace to symbolise the might of the Tudor dynasty.

7. A line drawing by a French or Flemish artist of Henry VII. Margaret was only thirteen when she gave birth to Henry and they remained close in spite of his long exile in Brittany.

8. Plan of Westminster. Margaret spent much of her life in London and would have recognised many of the sites depicted in this near contemporary plan.

9. A clasp from a prayer book belonging to Margaret Beaufort. Margaret was well known during her lifetime for both her piety and her love of books.

10. A youthful Margaret Beaufort.

11. Margaret Beaufort at prayer.

12. A statue of St Nicholas from Westminster Abbey. Margaret was always devoted to St Nicholas and believed that he had directed her to divorce her first husband and marry Edmund Tudor in a vision.

13. A statue of Henry VII in his coronation regalia from Westminster Abbey. Margaret wept at her son’s coronation, terrified that some misfortune would follow her greatest triumph.

14. Edward V shown with his parents and uncle, Earl Rivers. The elder of the princes in the Tower was widely believed to have been murdered by his uncle, Richard III, shortly after he was deposed from the throne.

15. Perkin Warbeck, who claimed to be one of the missing princes in the Tower was a major threat to Henry VII’s rule for a number of years.

16. Coronation of Henry VIII. Margaret made her last public appearance at her grandson’s coronation.

17. The young Henry VIII. Henry was only seventeen when he succeeded to the throne and he relied on his grandmother’s advice.