During Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light, Henry VIII mentions Lady Margaret as his niece. It’s later that we get the surname Douglas. Of course, when it comes to relatives of King Henry VIII, everyone wants to know how people are connected.
Lady Margaret Douglas is based on a real person in Tudor history. Yes, she really was the niece of King Henry VIII, and she did live in London. In fact, that relationship that was mentioned in the episode was a real one, and Margaret is very much like her namesake, Margaret Tudor!
Lady Margaret Douglas is Henry’s niece via his elder sister in Wolf Hall
Margaret was the daughter of Henry’s elder sister, also called Margaret. Henry VII arranged a marriage with King James IV of Scotland, and the two married in 1502 by proxy. They had their official wedding celebrations a year later, and the two would go on to have six children. You’ll know one of those as James V, the father of Mary, Queen of Scots.
After the death of James IV at the Battle of Flodden, Margaret went on to marry Archibald Douglas. The two had only one child, Margaret. After his death, Margaret married again, but she didn’t have any children with him.
Like her daughter would later do, Margaret allowed herself to be ruled by her heart now and then, including in the marriage to Archibald Douglas. It led to issues with the Scottish noblemen, and her children at the time were removed from her care. Up to that point, she had been regent for young James V.
How did Margaret Tudor get back to England?
For Margaret Douglas to be in England during Henry VIII’s reign, it means that her mother had to return. That happened in 1515, when Margaret began to fear for her safety with the new regent in Scotland. Henry VIII offered her safety in London, and she eventually took him up on that offer, heading there while pregnant with her daughter.
Archibald didn’t come with her, choosing to reconcile with the regent instead. This did make sense so that he wouldn’t be viewed as a traitor and lose everything that he had, but it would have hurt Margaret.
Lady Margaret Douglas lived in royal custody all her life, especially after her mother decided to head back to Scotland to reconcile with her father. At first, Lady Margaret lived in the household of Cardinal Wolsey, who was her godfather, and then she ended up in the household of Princess Mary (later Lady Mary and eventually Mary I of England).
When Anne Boleyn became queen, Lady Margaret was brought to her court to attend as a Lady-in-Waiting, which is where she met Thomas Howard, and this is where their love is supposed to have begun.
Lady Margaret is currently not in good graces with King Henry VIII in Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light, which does follow history. Just how much of that story will be shown isn’t clear, as this isn’t her story. It’s Cromwell’s. I would love to see a Margaret Douglas story.
Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light airs on Sundays at 9/8c on PBS.
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