The Thistle and the Rose: The Tudor Princesses

At the tender age of twelve, Princess Margaret was betrothed to the handsome and chivalrous King James IV of Scotland, who was sixteen years her senior. Her betrothal arose out of the Treaty of Perpetual Peace and was designed to bring about an end to the age old border wars between Scotland and England. Initially, Margaret viewed her forthcoming marriage with trepidation, only to find herself falling in love with her betrothed upon their first meeting. Theirs would be a love match, despite his philandering and siring of children outside their marriage. Unfortunately, their marriage did not have the intended effect upon the peace between Scotland and England, as King James IV courted the friendship of France, England's avowed enemy. This put Margaret, now Queen of Scotland, in an awkward position. Her brother Henry VIII, now King of England, looked to Margaret to bring her husband back into the fold, but James IV had his own ideas and paid little heed to the advice of his wife. Consequently, Scotland waged war on England, only to be defeated at the battle of Flodden Field, by the army of King Henry VIII. There, King James IV was slain, and Margaret found herself widowed at a young age. Her baby son was crowned King James V of Scotland, and she was named Regent in accordance with her late husband's wishes. Margaret, imbued with the same Tudor passion and tempestuousness as her brother, remained in Scotland, where she engaged in a lifelong battle for power and for control over her beloved young son. Ousted as Regent after a scandalous second marriage to the very handsome Archibald Douglas, head of the powerful Douglas clan and Earl of Angus, she eventually found herself battling not only her brother, but her craven second husband, as well. She ultimately sought to divorce him, much to the horror of her brother, King Henry VIII, who, unbeknownst to Margaret, was secretly mulling over the same marital resolution for himself.