The English Succession

Margaret’s marriage led to the unification of England and Scotland

The Treaty of Perpetual Peace was the first attempt in over 170 years to end the on/off warfare between England and Scotland. However, the marriage of Margaret and James also brought the Stewart house into the English line of succession. This had been opposed by many in England, but Henry VII had assured his critics that it would be England absorbing Scotland, not the other way round.

The marriage did lead to the eventual Union of the Crowns when Margaret and James’ great-grandson, King James VI, succeeded Queen Elizabeth I as King James I of England in 1603. Interestingly, Margaret was James’ great-grandmother on both sides of his family tree as his mother, Mary, Queen of Scots, was the daughter of King James V. His father, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, was the son of Lady Margaret Douglas, Margaret’s daughter with the Earl of Angus.