Dates: October 8, 1515 - March 7, 1578
Heritage: daughter of Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, and Margaret Tudor, daughter of England's King Henry VII and Elizabeth of York -- Margaret Tudor was the widow of James IV of Scotland. Margaret Douglas married Matthew Stewart, the 4th Earl of Lennox.
Known for: grandmother of James VI of Scotland who became James I of England. James was the son of Margaret Douglas' son Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley. She was also the granddaughter of Tudor King Henry VII. Also known for her plotting on behalf of Roman Catholicism in England.
About Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox:
Margaret Douglas, daughter of her mother's second marriage, was brought up with and was a lifelong friend to King Henry VIII's daughter by Catherine of Aragon, Princes Mary, later England's Queen Mary I.
After Mary's death and the succession of Protestant Queen Elizabeth I in 1558, Margaret Douglas retired to Yorkshire, where she became involved with Roman Catholic plotting.
In 1566 Elizabeth had Lady Lennox sent to the Tower. Margaret Douglas was released after her son, Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley, was murdered. She was again imprisoned in 1574 when her son Charles married without royal permission, then she was pardoned in 1577 after he died. Margaret Douglas died only a year after being released.
The grandson of Margaret Douglas, James, who was the son of Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley, and of Mary, Queen of Scots, became King James VI of Scotland and, at the death of Elizabeth I, was crowned King James I of England. He was the first Stewart king.
