Margaret Bryan, Baroness Bryan (c. 1468 – c. 1551/52) was lady governess to the children of King

Henry VIII of England Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

, the future monarchs

Mary I Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, and as "Bloody Mary" by her Protestant opponents, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain from January 1556 until her death in 1558. Sh ...

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

, and

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first E ...

, as well as the illegitimate Henry FitzRoy.She was also Lady Governess to Henry's illegitimate but acknowledged son Henry FitzRoy, assuming her words of "''When my lady Mary was born it pleased the King’s grace

o make O, or o, is the fifteenth Letter (alphabet), letter and the fourth vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in ...

me lady mistress, and made me a baroness, and so I have been a m ther to thechildren his grace have had since''" are correct and her grammar is not incorrect as Henry VIII had no children between Mary and Elizabeth. If she had responsibility also for Henry FitzRoy that would have made her tenure as Mary's Lady Governess fairly short. Henry was born 15 June 1519, less than two and a half years after Mary. She was Lady Governess to Elizabeth for four years. The position of lady governess in her day resembled less that of the popular modern idea of a

governess A governess is a largely obsolete term for a woman employed as a private tutor, who teaches and trains a child or children in their home. A governess often lives in the same residence as the children she is teaching. In contrast to a nanny, th ...

, more that of a

nanny A nanny is a person who provides child care. Typically, this care is given within the children's family setting. Throughout history, nannies were usually servants in large households and reported directly to the lady of the house. Today, modern ...

. She was born Margaret Bourchier in about 1468 in

Beningbrough Beningbrough is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. The population as taken at the 2011 Census was less than 100. Details are included in the civil parish of Shipton, North Yorkshire. Beningbroug ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Her mother was

Elizabeth Tilney Elizabeth Tilney, Countess of Surrey (before 1445 – 4 April 1497) was an English heiress who became the first wife of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk (when still Earl of Surrey). She served successively as a lady-in-waiting to two Queen ...

and her father was Sir Humphrey Bourchier, who was killed at the

Battle of Barnet The Battle of Barnet was a decisive engagement in the Wars of the Roses, a dynastic conflict of 15th-century England. The military action, along with the subsequent Battle of Tewkesbury, secured the throne for Edward IV. On Sunday 14 April ...

on 14 April 1471 during the series of dynastic civil wars now known as the

Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These wars were fought bet ...

.See Peerage.com Ref i179938
/ref> Humphrey Bourchier was heir to the title

Baron Berners Baron Berners is a barony created by writ in the Peerage of England. From creation to first abeyance (1455–1693) The barony was created in 1455 for Sir John Bourchier, youngest son of William Bourchier, 1st Count of Eu, and younger brother ...

but having predeceased his father

John Bourchier, 1st Baron Berners John Bourchier, 1st Baron Berners, KG (died May 1474) was an English peer. Bourchier was the fourth son of William Bourchier, 1st Count of Eu, and his wife Anne of Woodstock, Countess of Buckingham, daughter of Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke o ...

, Margaret's brother

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

instead succeeded to the title as second Baron Berners. Humphrey Bourchier and Elizabeth Tilney had one further daughter who survived to adulthood. Margaret's younger sister was

Anne Bourchier Anne Bourchier (1517 – 28 January 1571) was the ''suo jure'' Baron Bourchier, 7th Baroness Bourchier, ''suo jure'' Lady Lovayne, and Baroness Parr of Kendal. She was the first wife of William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton, Earl of Essex, a ...

(1470–1530) who married Thomas Fiennes, 8th

Lord Dacre Baron Dacre is a title that has been created three times in the Peerage of England, every time by Hereditary peer#Writs of summons, writ. History The first creation came in 1321 when Ralph Dacre, 1st Baron Dacre, Ralph Dacre was Hereditary peer# ...

See Peerage.com Ref i28719
/ref> in 1492. Their son, also Thomas, was the 9th Lord Dacre who was executed for murder in 1541.

Marriages

Margaret Bourchier was married three times. Her first husband, with whom there may only have been a marriage agreement (a ‘pre-contract’), was Sir John Sandes (or Sandys). The marriage agreement was signed when Margaret was 10 or 11 years old on 11 November 1478.Douglas Richardson, Thread: 'Complete Peerage Additions/Corrections: Margaret Bourgchier, Lady Bryan', Rootsweb.Ancestry.com (Mail dated 5 Apr 2007

accessed 30 March 2009 Pre-contracts were not unusual among the Tudor period aristocracy and gentry, and it need not have resulted in a consummated marriage. She married Thomas Bryan (courtier), Sir Thomas Bryan sometime before 1490. Margaret Bryan was a

lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom sh ...

Catherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was Queen of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 11 June 1509 until their annulment on 23 May 1533. She was previously ...

and was present at Catherine's wedding to

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

in 1509.'Henry VIII: June 1509, 16–30 ', Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, Volume 1: 1509–1514 (1920), pp. 36–55
"Lady Bryan"
Date accessed: 31 March 2009 Margaret Bryan claimed to have been made Baroness Bryan ''

suo jure ''Suo jure'' is a Latin phrase, used in English to mean 'in his own right' or 'in her own right'. In most nobility-related contexts, it means 'in her own right', since in those situations the phrase is normally used of women; in practice, especi ...

'' on 18 February 1516, upon the birth of Henry and Catherine's daughter

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

, when she was appointed the infant's lady governess. Sir Thomas Bryan died sometime before 1517,See Peerage.com Ref i179939
/ref> and Margaret Bryan married her final husband, David Souche (or Zoche) in or before 1519. In July 1519, there is a record in the archives of Henry VIII's court that notes the payment of an annuity of 50 pounds to "MARGARET BRYAN, widow of Sir Thomas Bryan, and now wife of David Soche." The annuity paid "for services to the King and queen Katharine" included "one tun of Gascon wine yearly, out of the wine received for the King's use."Henry VIII: July 1519, 1–15', Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, Volume 3: 1519–1523 (1867), pp. 121–136
"margaret bryan"
Date accessed: 31 March 2009. David Souche may have died in 1526
/ref> or in 1536."Margaret, lady Brian, was the widow of Sir Thomas Brian, and having been made, as here stated, a baroness (though the fact is not noticed by our Peerage Historians), she was still called lady Brian after she had taken as her second husband David Soche. See Vol. III., No. 361. Apparently, this letter was written on David Soche's death." Footnote 1 to: 'Henry VIII: August 1536, 1–5', Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, Volume 11: July–December 1536 (1888), pp. 90–103
"Lady Bryan"
Date accessed: 31 March 2009.

Lady governess

Margaret Bryan became the lady governess for Mary in February 1516. More well known primary evidence exists to connect her with Henry's younger children,

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

and

Edward Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...

. From August 1536, there is a widely quoted letter from her to

Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; 1485 – 28 July 1540), briefly Earl of Essex, was an English lawyer and statesman who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false charge ...

, Henry VIII's chief minister, in which she complains of the economic difficulties of the household of "lady Elizabeth" since the change in her status (from legitimate to illegitimate) following the annulment of the King's marriage to her mother

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key ...

, and Anne's execution in May.

Now, as my lady Elizabeth is put from that degree she was in, and what degree she is at now I know not but by hearsay, I know not how to order her or myself, or her women or grooms. I beg you to be good lord to her and hers, and that she may have raiment, for she has neither gown nor kirtle nor petticoat, nor linen for smocks, nor kerchiefs, sleeves, rails, bodystychets, handkerchiefs, mufflers, nor "begens."'Henry VIII: August 1536, 1–5', Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, Volume 11: July–December 1536 (1888), pp. 90–103
"Lady Bryan"
Date accessed: 31 March 2009.
''(The more obscure items in this list are identified by the
Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a com ...
(2nd edn) as: rails = nightdresses; bodystychets = corsets; begens = nightcaps.)''

She also reports that: "My lady has great pain with her teeth, which come very slowly." (Elizabeth was to have serious difficulties with her teeth on and off for much of her life.) Margaret Bryan passed over responsibility for Elizabeth to Catherine Champernowne in October 1537 following the birth of Prince Edward, who became her new charge. A second letter to Cromwell, dated 11 March 1539, describes the Prince.

My lord Prince is in good health and merry. Would to God the King and your Lordship had seen him last night. The minstrels played, and his Grace danced and played so wantonly that he could not stand still ...'Appendix', Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, Volume 14 Part 2: August–December 1539 (1895), pp. 359–372
"Lady Bryan"
Date accessed: 31 March 2009

A late mention of Margaret Bryan in the archives is a note referring to the payment of a 20-pound annuity to "Lady Margaret Bryane, the King's servant" in 1545.'Henry VIII: January 1545, 26–31', Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, Volume 20 Part 1: January–July 1545 (1905), pp. 38–59
"Margaret Bryane"
Date accessed: 1 April 2009. She died in

Leyton Leyton () is a town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It borders Walthamstow to the north, Leytonstone to the east, and Stratford to the south, with Clapton, Hackney Wick and Homerton, across the River L ...

, now a suburb of

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

but at the time a village in

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

Family connections

Margaret Bryan had royal

Plantagenet The House of Plantagenet () was a royal house which originated from the lands of Anjou in France. The family held the English throne from 1154 (with the accession of Henry II at the end of the Anarchy) to 1485, when Richard III died in batt ...

bloodlines through her paternal great-grandmother,

Anne of Gloucester Anne of Gloucester, Countess of Stafford (30 April 1383 – 16 October 1438) was the eldest daughter and eventually sole heiress of Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester (the fifth surviving son and youngest child of King Edward III), by h ...

, who was the granddaughter of

King Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring ro ...

. She was also the maternal aunt of Henry VIII's wives Anne Boleyn and

Catherine Howard Catherine Howard ( – 13 February 1542), also spelled Katheryn Howard, was Queen of England from 1540 until 1542 as the fifth wife of Henry VIII. She was the daughter of Lord Edmund Howard and Joyce Culpeper, a cousin to Anne Boleyn (the s ...

as well as a member of the wider circle of kin and dependents around the

Howard family The House of Howard is an English noble house founded by John Howard, who was created Duke of Norfolk (third creation) by King Richard III of England in 1483. However, John was also the eldest grandson (although maternal) of the 1st Duke of the ...

Legacy

The only children Margaret Bryan had were from her marriage to Sir Thomas Bryan. Three of their surviving children were: Margaret Bryan, who married Sir

Henry Guildford Sir Henry Guildford, KG (1489–1532) was an English courtier of the reign of King Henry VIII, master of the horse and comptroller of the royal household. Early life He was the son of Sir Richard Guildford by his second marriage to Joan, s ...

Elizabeth Bryan Elizabeth Blomfield Bryan AM is an Australian executive director. She was the first woman to run a large financial institution in Australia. Biography Bryan grew up on her family's cattle and sheep properties near Coonabarabran in northern New ...

, who became the wife of Sir Nicholas Carew, and

Sir Francis Bryan Sir Francis Bryan (about 1490 – 2 February 1550) was an English courtier and diplomat during the reign of Henry VIII. He was Chief Gentleman of the Privy chamber and Lord Justice of Ireland. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Bryan always reta ...

, who became Lord Chief Justice of Ireland. Through her daughter, Elizabeth, she was the great-grandmother of

Elizabeth Throckmorton Elizabeth, Lady Raleigh (''née'' Throckmorton; 16 April 1565 – c. 1647) was an English courtier, a Gentlewoman of the Privy Chamber to Queen Elizabeth I of England. Her secret marriage to Sir Walter Raleigh precipitated a long period of ro ...

, Lady Raleigh, wife to

Walter Raleigh Sir Walter Raleigh (; – 29 October 1618) was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonisation of North America, suppressed rebellion ...

and chief lady-in-waiting to Queen

In fiction

Margaret Bryan makes an appearance in Kathryn Lasky's novel for young readers, ''Elizabeth I, Red Rose of the House of Tudor''. In the book she is nicknamed "Muggie" by the four-year-old Princess Elizabeth.Kathryn Lasky, ''Elizabeth I, Red Rose of the House of Tudor'' (Scholastic Inc. 1999). See page 24. She also appears in ''The Lady Elizabeth'' by

Alison Weir Alison Weir ( Matthews; born 1951) is a British author and public historian. She primarily writes about the history of English royal women and families, in the form of biographies that explore their historical setting. She has also written nu ...

. In the TV series ''

The Tudors ''The Tudors'' is a historical fiction television series set primarily in 16th-century England, created and written by Michael Hirst and produced for the American premium cable television channel Showtime. The series was a collaboration among ...

'', the role of "Lady Margaret Bryan" is played by

Jane Brennan Jane Brennan is an Irish people, Irish actress. Primarily known for her work on the stage, she played Mary Lacey in the Academy Award-nominated film ''Brooklyn (film), Brooklyn''. She also had a recurring role as Margaret Bryan, Lady Margaret Br ...

. Like many of the characters in the show, she is a composite of the woman on whom she was based and also of Anne Shelton, who was in overall charge of Princess Elizabeth's household. Unlike Margaret Bryan, Anne Shelton had a very difficult relationship with Mary Tudor when she was living in Elizabeth's household.See the Internet Movie Database
/ref>

Notes

External links

Genealogy of Margaret Bryan at TudorPlace.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bryan, Margaret 1468 births 1550s deaths

Margaret Bryan Margaret Bryan, Baroness Bryan (c. 1468 – c. 1551/52) was lady governess to the children of King Henry VIII of England, the future monarchs Mary I, Elizabeth I, and Edward VI, as well as the illegitimate Henry FitzRoy.She was also Lady Govern ...

People from Hambleton District 16th-century English women 15th-century English women 15th-century English people

Margaret Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular througho ...

Barons in the Peerage of England English baronesses Governesses to the English Royal Household English ladies-in-waiting Household of Catherine of Aragon Court of Henry VIII