Margaret Tudor (The Tudors)
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Princess Margaret Tudor is a fictional character on the Showtime television series The Tudors. She is portrayed by Gabrielle Anwar.
The character is based upon Mary Tudor, Queen of France, the sister of King Henry VIII of England, but the name of her sister Margaret Tudor is used to avoid confusion with Henry's daughter, Mary I of England.[1]
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[edit] The Princess bride
Engaged to the elderly King of Portugal, Margaret begs her brother, King Henry VIII of England, to reconsider the match. He refuses, and she is further irritated that he has chosen his common-born friend Charles Brandon to accompany her to Portugal and present her to her future husband. Margaret then pressures Henry to agree that, once her husband is dead, she may marry whomever she chooses. He seems to concede.
Margaret is at first dismissive of court lothario Brandon, but on the long sea voyage to Portugal they have passionate sex. Margaret marries the decrepit Portuguese king, who lives only a few days until she smothers him in his sleep. Henry is angry to lose the political alliance, but even more furious when he discovers that Margaret and Brandon have married without his consent. With accusations of treason, they are exiled from court; the Duke of Norfolk soon promises to intervene on Brandon's behalf in exchange for Brandon's assistance in ruining Norfolk's political rival, Cardinal Wolsey. As Brandon returns to favor at court, Margaret falls ill with pulmonary tuberculosis and dies.
[edit] Historical deviations
Historically, Henry's sister Princess Mary first married the French King Louis XII. The union lasted approximately three months, until his death; Louis was succeeded by his cousin Francis I, who was married to Louis' daughter Claude of France. Mary subsequently married Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk. As The Tudors begins, Henry is already negotiating a peace treaty with Francis; the series' Princess Margaret thus marries the Portuguese king, who lives only a few days until she smothers him in his sleep. There is no historical evidence or indication that Mary Tudor somehow contributed to the death of Louis XII. In addition, at the time of Mary's marriage to Louis XII, the King of Portugal was 45-year-old Manuel I, who was himself then married to Eleanor of Habsburg. By the time of the events of this series, the historical Brandon (who was already in his early 40s) and Princess Mary were long married with three children.
Henry's eldest sister, Princess Margaret Tudor, was married to King James IV of Scotland and became the grandmother of Mary, Queen of Scots.
