Henry Tudor’s mother, Margaret Beaufort, was part of the Beaufort family.
The House of Beaufort began with the children of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, and Katherine Swynford. Their children were born outside marriage but were later legitimised after John of Gaunt married Swynford. A parliamentary provision nevertheless excluded the Beauforts from inheriting the crown directly.
Margaret Beaufort was the daughter of John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset. Through this line, she descended from the Lancastrian branch of the Plantagenet family and passed a disputed royal claim to her only child, Henry Tudor.
Margaret’s importance grew during the Wars of the Roses. She married Edmund Tudor, whose half-brother was King Henry VI, and became a determined political supporter of her son. After Henry’s victory in 1485, she was often styled “the King’s Mother.” The Beaufort name is sometimes confused with the Woodvilles, Percy family or Nevilles, all powerful families in the same conflict but separate from Margaret’s lineage.