A Biography of Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox,1515-1578: Niece of Henry VIII and Mother-in-law of Mary, Queen of Scots (Studies in British History, V. 62)

Despite heavy academic interest in the Tudor period, many of the important secondary figures have been neglected, including Margaret Douglas, whose life and actions had a significant impact on the period. She was in the centre of events during much of the reigns of Henry VIII, Mary I and Elizabeth I. Niece to Henry VIII, wife of Matthew Stewart, the Earl of Lennox and a close claimant of the throne of Scotland, she was the mother of Henry, Lord Darnley, the husband of Mary Queen of Scots. It was due to her matrimonial schemes, for example, that a law was passed under Henry VIII reserving to the sovereign the right to regulate the marriages of the royal family.