She was one of just two women in 16th-century England to be a peeress in her own right suo jure without a husband in the House of Lords. One of the few members of the House of Plantagenet to have survived the Wars of the Roses , she was executed in at the command of King Henry VIII , the second monarch of the House of Tudor , who was the son of her first cousin, Elizabeth of York.
Margaret was born at Farleigh Castle in Somerset. Warwick was killed fighting against Margaret's uncles at the Battle of Barnet. Edward IV declared that Margaret's younger brother, Edward , should be known as Earl of Warwick , but only as a courtesy title and no peerage was ever created for him.
Isabel died suddenly on 22 December , when Margaret was only three years old. His lands and titles were thereby forfeited. The following year, the late King's marriage was declared invalid by the statute Titulus Regius , making his children illegitimate. The new Tudor King suspected anyone with blood ties to the Plantagenets as coveting the throne, [ 18 ] and as young Edward was the last male Plantagenet and a potential House of York claimant, [ 19 ] he was moved to the Tower of London in Margaret remained dynastically important to the new Tudor dynasty due to her Yorkist lineage and unquestionably noble blood.
John [ 23 ] was an older half-sister of the King's mother, Margaret Beaufort , [ 24 ] making him from a Lancastrian supporting family, [ 22 ] he was of a lower status compared to his new wife. It has been argued by historians such as Tracy Borman that this was intended to undermine her status, weaken her claim to the English throne and ensure that she was married to a loyal supporter. After the marriage, Margaret lived at her husband's manor of Bockmer, Buckinghamshire and gave birth to five children.
She was in attendance at court for important events such as at the Feast of St George in April He was appointed as a Knight of the Garter in , and he was entrusted with the prestigious role of Chamberlain for Arthur, Prince of Wales, the heir apparent to the throne. Richard Pole died of an illness in , [ 31 ] leaving Margaret a widow with five young children. She took lodgings at Syon Abbey , on the banks of the River Thames , along with her daughter Ursula and youngest son Geoffrey, as guests of the Bridgettine nuns.
