Blessed Margaret Pole
- Also known as
- Margaret Plantaganet
- Memorial
- 28 May
- Profile
- Daughter of the Duke of Clarence.
Niece of King Edward IV and King Richard III of England.
Married Sir Richard Pole in 1491.
Mother of five, one of whom became a cardinal.
Widow.
Unofficial ward of King Henry VIII, who made her Countess of Salisbury and governess to Princess Mary, daughter of King Henry VIII.
When she opposed Henry's plan to marry Ann Boleyn, she was driven from court and received the king's disfavor.
When her son, Reginald Cardinal Pole, wrote against Henry's presumptions to spiritual supremacy, the king decided to crush the family.
Two of Margaret's sons were executed in 1538 for the crime of being the brothers of Reginald.
The elderly Margaret was arrested soon after, falsley charged with plotting revolution; in 1539 she was sent to the Tower of London where she spent her remaining two years.
In 1541, at the outbreak of an actual uprising, Margaret was summarily executed with trial as a precaution.
Martyr.
- Born
- 14 August 1471 as Margaret Plantaganet
- Died
- beheaded 27 May 1541 on Tower Hill, London, England;
buried at Saint Peter ad Vincula, Tower of London
- Beatified
- 1886 by Pope Leo XIII
- Canonized
- pending
- Additional Information
-
Catholic Encyclopedia, by Blanche M Kelly
Sacred Heart Parish, Waterlooville, England
Tudor Place
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