caption death_date children death_place birth_place title image_size parents birth_date spouse image article_title name
lady margaret beaufort at prayer . 29 june 1509 henry vii of england london , england bletsoe castle , bedfordshire , england countess of richmond and derby 200px john of bletsoe beaufort , 1st duke of somerset margaret beauchamp 31 may 1443 john edmund tudor , 1st earl of richmond sir henry stafford de thomas stanley , 1st earl of derby la pole , 2nd duke of suffolk lady margaret beaufort from npg.jpg margaret beaufort , countess of richmond and derby
 lady margaret beaufort
margaret beaufort , countess of richmond and derby

margaret beaufort -lrb- usually pronounced : , ; or , -rrb- , countess of richmond and derby -lrb- 31 may 1443 -- 29 june 1509 -rrb- , was the mother of king henry vii and paternal grandmother of king henry viii of england .
she was a key figure in the wars of the roses and an influential matriarch of the house of tudor .
she is credited with the establishment of two prominent cambridge colleges , founding christ 's college in 1505 and beginning the development of st john 's college , which was completed posthumously by her executors in 1511 .
