On This Day In History . 31 May 1443 . Lady Margaret Beaufort was born at Bletsoe Castle, Bedfordshire. . ◼ She was the daughter & sole heiress of John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset, (a great-grandson of King Edward III through his third surviving son, John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster) by Katherine Swynford (later his wife). . ◼ Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond & Derby, was the mother of King Henry VII & 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 & beginning the development of St John’s College, which was completed posthumously by her executors in 1511. . . . #OnThisDayInHistory #ThisDayInHistory #TheYear1443 #LadyMargaretBeaufort #MargaretBeaufort #CountessofRichmond #CountessofDerby #Royalfamily #Heritage #HenryVII #HenryVII #WaroftheRoses #History #EnglishMonarchy #OnThisDay #RoyalHistory #BritishMonarchy #d31may #RoyalHistory #Otd #Bornthisdayinhistory #OnThisDay (at Bletsoe Castle) https://www.instagram.com/p/CA3X6rCDcVJ/?igshid=2i4hctu9dlrx