Talk:Margaret Pole, 8th Countess of Salisbury

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[edit] Reason for execution

The article reads: Eventually she was executed—on May 27 1541 in the Tower of London—by Henry VIII in continuation of his father's program of eliminating possible contenders for the throne.. Is this right? A more probable reason was because her Cardinal son would not recognise Henrys marriages.

Just an (more or less) educated guess: it might have been both. If she was still a contender for the throne, that right would have been inherited by her children. By sentencing her for treason, her children would lose the right of succession, which was probably more important than getting rid of a frail, nearly 70-year old woman who had not made any effort to ascend the throne. Henry VIII was still very cautious of other contenders because he feared the tudor dynasty might not be stable enough.
Possibly - she was his nearest living relative (other than his children). otoh Henry was upset with the Cardinal and had executed many other clergy--ClemMcGann 19:56, 27 May 2005 (UTC)
I don't think whe was his nearest relative. Unless I'm missing a closer link, Margaret Pole was Henry's mother's father's brother's daughter. His nearest relatives would have been his sister's children. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.48.4.35 (talk) 16:44, 25 October 2007 (UTC)
She was one of the most senior Yorkists (House of York) as a daughter of George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence. Certainly the Tudors had many Yorkists arrested and executed in fear that the Yorkist would come back to power and the Tudors would be sent back to Wales. Though when Margaret Pole was executed, the most senior Yorkist was probably Edward Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon, who was locked up in the Tower of London. - Yorkshirian (talk) 07:01, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Sainthood

Shouldn't there be some sort of note on her being "Blessed Margaret Pole", on account of her being beatified? - 16:55, 23 June 2006 (UTC)

I'm not sure, I suggest that you ask this query at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Saints - ClemMcGann 23:39, 23 June 2006 (UTC)

I can't believe that she was dragged to the block and struggled... As far as I know, during her time it was a question of honour to die bravely.

The story of her execution is true, and many people were appalled by the spectacle. She likely fought back because she considered the charges ridiculous and that no one had the right to execute her.68.72.107.16 18:29, 30 August 2007 (UTC)

An observation regarding her death date: I've been to the Tower in 1996 and have a photo of a sign listing people who where executed at that spot. It says 27th May, which I especially noted because that's my birthday. Now I've been there again last weekend and was quite perplexed to find this sign giving 28th May now as the date of her execution (I have a photo of that, too). Does anyone know how this happened? Is this official enough to be changed here in wikipedia? 91.64.155.30 10:22, 30 June 2007 (UTC)