ACEO, 2.5 x 2.5 inches, watercolor and gouache, August 2007 Margaret Tudor was born in 1489, the eldest daughter of Henry VII, eldest sister of Henry VIII. In 1503 she was married to James IV of Scotland, part of an agreement to try and bring peace between the two countries. Their only surviving son was born in 1512 and would go on to be James V and the father of Mary, Queen of Scots. By 1513 the attempted peace was in tatters, Henry VIII having suceeded the throne of England and preparing to go to war with France, with whom Scotland had an old allegiance. James invaded England in 1513 but was killed at the Battle of Flodden. Margaret took on the role of Regent but James' will stated she could keep this role only as long as she remained a widow. Scotland was a notoriously difficult country to govern and soon Margaret found herself opposed by a faction supporting the Duke of Albany. While she managed to keep the peace she found herself drawn to the Douglas family for support. In 1514 she married Archibald Douglas - this made her Regency forfeit by the terms of James' will as well as losing her any support she had. She had to surrender her children ( she had had a second son by James not long after his death but he later died) to Albany who was installed as Regent. She escaped to England, pregnant by Douglas. She gave birth to a daughter, Margaret Douglas, who would be the mother of Lord Darnley (the man her granddaughter Mary would marry). Douglas returned to Scotland to try and make amends while Margaret stayed in London for a year. However, she did return to Scotland. She found that Douglas had been living with his former mistress while she was in England so she set her mind on a divorce. Albany at this time was in France and allowed Margaret to rule in his absence, returning in 1521 to help her and forcing Douglas into exile. Albany was legally still Regent - while he was back in France, Margaret decided to end his regency, brought her son James to Edinborough and had the regency declared over and James proclaimed as King, with her as the Kings' chief councillor, as he was still only 12. Then Angus returned from exile - he arrived in Edinborough with a group of armed men demanding he be allowed to take his rightful place in Parliament. Margaret had the cannons of Holyrood Castle turned on him. Though he retreated, she eventually gave in to pressure and allowed his entry to the council, whereupon he took custody of James. He ruled in James name for the next three years. In 1527 Margaret received her divorce from the Pope and promptly married Henry Stewart. The next year Douglas was forced into exile again as James escaped from him and began to rule in his own right and Margaret and her new husband acted as advisors to the King. She soon realised she had made another disastrous marriage - he spent her money and chased women - and she constantly wrote to her brother Henry asking for money and bemoaning her situation. She even tried to escape to England but was brought back. She died of a stroke in 1541.