Margaret Wotton, Marchioness of Dorset

Margaret Wotton
Marchioness of Dorset
Sketch of Margaret by Hans Holbein the Younger
Born1485
Boughton Malherbe, Kent
Died1541
England
Spouse(s)William Medley
Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset
IssueGeorge Medley
Lady Elizabeth Grey
Lady Katherine Grey
Lady Anne Grey
Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk
Lord John Grey
Lord Thomas Grey
Leonard Grey
Lady Mary Grey
FatherSir Robert Wotton
MotherAnne Belknap

Margaret Wotton, Marchioness of Dorset (1485 – 1541) was the second wife of Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset, and the mother of his children, including Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk, with whom she engaged in many quarrels during his minority over money and his allowance. Her lack of generosity to Henry shocked her peers as unmotherly, and inappropriate behaviour toward a high-ranking nobleman, relative[1] of King Henry VIII of England.

In 1534, she was compelled to answer to the charges that she was an "unnatural mother".[2]

On 10 September 1533, she stood as one of the godmothers of the future Queen Elizabeth I of England. She was the subject of two portraits by Hans Holbein the Younger. One of her many grandchildren was Lady Jane Grey.

  1. ^ Half 1st cousin once-removed
  2. ^ Harris, Barbara Jean. English Aristocratic Women 1450 – 1550: Marriage and Family; Property and Careers. p.115. Google Books. Retrieved 4 January 2011.