Tudor Times is the online repository for all things Tudor and Stewart (1485–1625)

On 18th October 1541, Margaret Tudor, Dowager Queen of Scots, died at her castle of Methven, near Perth. Margaret had been married, aged 13, to James IV of Scotland as part of the Treaty of Perpetual Peace between England and Scotland. The marriage appears to have been happy, although, despite several pregnancies, only one of their children survived infancy. After James’ death at Flodden, Margaret married Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus. Their marriage was annulled in 1527 (much to the disgust of her brother, Henry VIII, who took a very moral line on these matters!). She then married Henry Stewart, Lord Methven who was an even worse husband than Angus had been. Margaret had a fairly good relationship with her son, James V and his two wives, Madeleine of France and Marie of Guise, but her pro-English policy was not followed by him. She probably died of a stroke.

On 17th October 1596, Lady Anne Percy, nee Somerset, Countess of Northumberland, died. Like the vast majority of Tudor nobles, she was related to the royal family. Her grandfather, Charles Somerset, Earl of Worcester, was a second cousin of Henry VII, and much favoured both by Henry VII and Henry VIII. Her mother, Elizabeth Browne, was a lady-in-waiting to Anne Boleyn, and it is possible that something said by Elizabeth gave ammunition to Thomas Cromwell for an accusation against the Queen.

Lady Anne was married to Thomas Percy, Earl of Northumberland, on 22nd June 1558. The Percies had been restored to their ancient honours by Queen Mary, and remained staunch Catholics. In 1569, Lady Anne was one of the prime instigators of the Rising of the Northern Earls, against Elizabeth, being described as ‘stouter (more committed) than her husband’, and apparently riding amongst the troops, despite being pregnant. Following the failure of the rebellion, her husband was executed, and she escaped to Flanders where she lived on a pension from Philip II of Spain.

Picture is Alnwick Castle, the Northumberland home of the Percy family © Tudor Times Ltd

On 16th October 1537, the rebels of the Pilgrimage of Grace entered York. The Mayor, believing the city to be divided between loyalists and potential rebels, offered no resistance. The suppressed religious houses, including St Mary’s Abbey, York, were proclaimed to be reinstated. Meanwhile, Aske called on the parallel rising in Richmondshire (North Yorkshire) to join his men. Uprisings began in Durham and Northumberland, and in Cumberland, the Earl was besieged in Carlisle Castle. At Kirby Stephen in Westmoreland, a muster of rebels was held and Robert Brough appointed captain.

Picture shows Abbey remains incorporated into the King’s Manor, York