Discover Margaret Beaufort, one of the most remarkable and influential women of the Middle Ages, with historian Lauren Johnson.

Married at twelve; a mother and widow at thirteen; Margaret survived the Wars of the Roses, and two further marriages, to see her only child ascend the throne as the first monarch of the Tudor dynasty. During the reign of Henry VII, she exerted considerable influence at court and played a part in the upbringing of her grandson, the future Henry VIII.

This talk will take place in Margaret’s old stomping ground of Stamford, close to the palace at Collyweston where she ruled virtually as regent during her son’s reign.

About the speaker

Lauren Johnson is a historian of the Fifteenth and Early Sixteenth Centuries.

This era is the setting for her non-fiction works, So Great a Prince (an exploration of daily life in the first year of Henry VIII’s reign), Shadow King (a biography of King Henry VI) and her biography of Margaret Beaufort (Head of Zeus) published in 2025.

Lauren holds a Double First in History and Masters in Medieval Historical Research from Oxford University. Her Masters thesis investigated ‘The Impact of the Wars of the Roses on Noblewomen’.

She is currently studying for a Collaborative Doctorate with Manchester Metropolitan University and the National Archives, exploring religion and refugees in Early Modern Europe.

Lauren has acted as Historical Consultant for a number of creative and heritage producers, including Sky History (‘Royal Bastards: The Rise of The Tudors’), Dante or Die, Untold Arts, Ellipsis Entertainment and Historic Royal Palaces.

Her research for Untold Arts into Catalina of Motril, Catherine of Aragon’s Moorish bedchamber servant, has been published in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

Lauren has written articles and appeared on podcasts for History Today, BBC History, and History Hit. She has also written for Open Democracy, All About History and History Revealed. Her work in costumed historical interpretation was featured in Stylist magazine.

Lauren has contributed to a number of TV History programmes (C4, ITV, BBC, C5, Sky History).