Editing Lady Margaret Beaufort (section)

=== Reign of Edward IV ===
Years of Yorkist forces fighting Lancastrian for power culminated in the [[Battle of Towton]] in 1461, where the Yorkists were victorious. [[Edward IV]] was King of England. The fighting had taken the life of Margaret's father-in-law and forced Jasper Tudor to flee to Scotland and France to muster support for the Lancastrian cause.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gristwood |first=Sarah |title=Blood Sisters: The Women Behind the Wars of the Roses |publisher=Basic Books |date=2013 |location=New York |page=70}}</ref> Edward IV gave the lands belonging to Margaret's son to his own brother, the [[George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence|Duke of Clarence]]. Henry became the ward of [[William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke (died 1469)|Sir William Herbert]]. Again, Beaufort was allowed some visits to her son.

In 1469 the discontented Duke of Clarence and [[Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick|Earl of Warwick]] incited a rebellion against Edward IV, capturing him after a defeat of his forces. Beaufort used this opportunity to attempt to negotiate with Clarence, hoping to regain custody of her son and his holdings.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jones & Underwood |first=Michael & Malcolm |title=The King's Mother: Lady Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby |date=1992 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |page=49}}</ref> Soon, however, Edward was back in power.

Warwick's continued insurrection resulted in the brief reinstallation of the Lancastrian Henry VI in 1470–71, which was effectively ended with the Yorkist victory at the [[Battle of Barnet]]. Faced with York rule once again, Margaret allegedly begged Jasper Tudor, forced to flee abroad once more, to take 13-year-old Henry with him.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gristwood |first=Sarah |title=Blood Sisters: The Women Behind the Wars of the Roses |date=2013 |publisher=Basic Books |location=New York |page=114}}</ref> It would be 14 years before Beaufort saw her son again.

In 1471, Margaret's husband, Lord Stafford, died of wounds suffered at the [[Battle of Barnet]], fighting for the Yorkists. At 28 years old, Margaret became a widow again.<ref>Jones & Underwood, 58.</ref>

In June 1472, Margaret married [[Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby|Thomas Stanley]], the [[Lord High Constable of England|Lord High Constable]] and [[King of Mann]]. Jones and Underwood have suggested that Margaret never considered herself a member of the Stanley family.<ref>{{Harvnb|Jones|Underwood|1993|p=144}}</ref> Their marriage was primarily one of convenience; marrying Stanley enabled Margaret to return to the court of [[Edward IV]] and [[Elizabeth Woodville]]. Indeed, Gristwood speculates Beaufort organized the marriage with the sole aim of rehabilitating her image and securing herself a prime position from which to advocate for her son.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gristwood |first=Sarah |title=Blood Sisters: The Women Behind the Wars of the Roses |date=2013 |publisher=Basic Books |location=New York |pages=126–135}}</ref> Evidently her efforts were successful; Margaret was chosen by [[Elizabeth Woodville|Queen Elizabeth]] to be godmother to one of her daughters.

Holinshed, a Tudor chronicler, claims King Edward IV later proposed a marriage between Beaufort's son and his own daughter, [[Elizabeth of York]], intending to force Henry Tudor out of his safe haven on the continent. Poet Bernard Andre seems to corroborate this, writing of Tudor's miraculous escape from the clutches of Edward's envoys, allegedly warned of the deception by none other than his mother.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gristwood |first=Sarah |title=Blood Sisters: The Women Behind the Wars of the Roses |date=2013 |publisher=Basic Books |location=New York |page=163}}</ref>