Margaret Tudor, after a Holbein painting
Margaret Tudor is perhaps the most infamous Scottish queen consort, generally remembered as the evercomplaining sister of Henry VIII. As the wife of James IV, Margaret was queen consort of Scotland for ten years until the death of her husband in 1513 thrust her into a position of political power that she was entirely unequipped for. Margaret would be dowager queen for a period of 28 years, and spent the majority of her time being pulled between the conlicting interests of powerful men, whilst fighting a losing battle to gain access to the revenues and incomes that could have helped her wield more effective political control. Margaret’s inability to establish stable government, and her tendency to switch political allegiances, has left her with a poor reputation, dogged by accusations that she was ‘frivolous’ and ‘unreliable’. Yet this ignores the complex circumstances of Margaret’s queenship, both as consort and dowager, and overly simpliies the dificulties she faced as an English-born queen in latemedieval Scotland.