Anne of York

OTD in 1509 - death of Margaret Beaufort. Lancastrian heiress & #WarsoftheRoses survivor, Margaret is most remembered as the matriarch behind the creation of the Tudor dynasty. There is a story that she died as a result of over-indulging in cygnet at her grandson #HenryVIII’s coronation banquet. This stems from an account by the scholar & courtier Henry Parker, Lord Morley. (NB. Morley’s daughter Jane married George Boleyn & is widely known today as Lady Rochford.) Morley was present at the coronation banquet, where he served as a cupbearer for Henry VIII. However, Margaret’s health also seems to have been declining for some time before June 1509. She had likely pushed herself by returning to court in order to help ensure the smooth succession of her grandson & multiple historians have suggested that this exertion could well have played a greater role in her end than poorly cooked poultry. Margaret’s life is a tale of remarkable resilience & survival against the odds. She became a great heiress after the death of her father John Beaufort, Duke of Somerset (through suspected suicide) days before her first birthday. She was married three times (four if her childhood & later annulled union with John de la Pole is included) & gave birth to her only child Henry Tudor (later #HenryVII) as a 13 year old widow in 1457. After she visited Henry in 1467 (& perhaps also realised that she wasn’t going to have any further children) she dedicated her life to his advancement.