15th?16th-century English noble
Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham
KG
(3 February 1478 ? 17 May 1521) was an English nobleman. He was the son of
Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham
, and
Katherine Woodville
, and nephew of
Elizabeth Woodville
and
King Edward IV
. Thus, Edward Stafford was a first cousin once removed of
King Henry VIII
. He frequently attended the courts of Henry VII and Henry VIII.
[1]
He was convicted of treason and executed on 17 May 1521.
Family
[
edit
]
Edward Stafford, born 3 February 1478 at
Brecon Castle
in Wales, was the eldest son of
Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham
, and
Catherine Woodville
(the daughter of
Richard Woodville, 1st Earl Rivers
, by
Jacquetta of Luxembourg
, daughter of
Pierre de Luxembourg, Count of St. Pol
) and was thus a nephew of
Elizabeth Woodville
and King
Edward IV
.
[2]
By his father's marriage to Catherine Woodville, Stafford had a younger brother,
Henry Stafford, 1st Earl of Wiltshire
,
[a]
and two sisters:
Elizabeth
, who married
Robert Radcliffe, 1st Earl of Sussex
, and
Anne
, who married firstly Sir Walter Herbert (d. 16 September 1507), an illegitimate son of
William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke
,
[3]
and secondly
George Hastings, 1st Earl of Huntingdon
.
[4]
After the execution of the 2nd Duke of Buckingham, his widow, Catherine Woodville, married
Jasper Tudor
, second son of
Owen Tudor
and
King Henry V's
widow,
Catherine of Valois
. After Jasper Tudor's death on 21 December 1495, Catherine Woodville married Sir Richard Wingfield (d. 22 July 1525). Catherine Woodville died 18 May 1497. After her death,
Sir Richard Wingfield
married
Bridget Wiltshire
, daughter and heiress of Sir John Wiltshire of
Stone, Kent
.
[5]
Career
[
edit
]
In October 1483 Stafford's father was central in
Buckingham's rebellion
against
King Richard III
. He was beheaded without trial on 2 November 1483, whereby all his honours were
forfeited
. Stafford is said to have been hidden in various houses in
Herefordshire
at the time of the rebellion, and perhaps for the remainder of Richard III's reign. After Richard III's defeat at
Bosworth
on 22 August 1485, and
King Henry VII's
accession to the crown, Stafford was made a Knight of the
Order of the Bath
on 29 October 1485 as
Duke of Buckingham
, and attended Henry VII's coronation the following day, although his father's
attainder
was not formally reversed by Parliament until November. The young Duke's wardship and lands were granted, on 3 August 1486, along with the wardship of his younger brother, Henry Stafford, to the King's mother,
Margaret Beaufort
, and according to Davies it is likely Buckingham was educated in her various households.
[6]
Buckingham was in attendance at court at the elevation of Henry VII's second son, the future
King Henry VIII
, as
Duke of York
, on 9 November 1494, and was made a Knight of the
Order of the Garter
in 1495. In September 1497 he was a captain in the forces sent to quell a
rebellion in Cornwall
.
[
citation needed
]
As a young man, Buckingham played a conspicuous part in royal weddings and the reception of ambassadors and foreign princes, "dazzling observers by his sartorial splendour". At the wedding of Henry VII's eldest son and heir
Arthur, Prince of Wales
, and
Catherine of Aragon
in 1501, he is said to have worn a gown worth £1500. He was the chief challenger at the
jousting
tournament held the following day.
[7]
At the accession of
King Henry VIII
, Buckingham was appointed on 23 June 1509, for the day of the coronation only,
Lord High Constable
, an office which he claimed by hereditary right. He also served as
Lord High Steward
at the coronation and bearer of the crown. In 1509 he was made a member of the King's
Privy Council
. On 9 July 1510 he had
licence to crenellate
his manor of
Thornbury
, Gloucestershire, and according to Davies rebuilt the manor house as "an impressively towered castle" with "huge oriel windows in the living-quarters in the inner court".
[8]
In 1510 Buckingham was involved in a scandal concerning his sister,
Anne
, who was the wife of
George Hastings, 1st Earl of Huntingdon
.
[9]
After hearing rumours concerning her and
Sir William Compton
, Buckingham found Compton in Anne's room. Compton was forced to take the sacrament to prove that he and Anne had not committed adultery, and Anne's husband sent her away to a convent 60 miles (100 km) from the court. There is no extant evidence establishing that Anne and Sir William Compton were guilty of adultery. In 1523 Compton took the unusual step of bequeathing land to Anne in his will, and directing his executors to include her in the prayers for his kin for which he had made provision in his will.
[10]
There are some suggestions that the affair continued until 1513.
[
citation needed
]
Buckingham returned to the King's graces, being present at the marriage of Henry's sister, served in Parliament and was
present at the Field of the Cloth of Gold
negotiations with
Francis I of France
and at negotiations with
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
.
[
citation needed
]
From June to October 1513 Buckingham served as a captain during Henry VIII's invasion of France, commanding 500 men in the "middle ward".
[11]
About 1517 he was one of 12 challengers chosen to joust against the King and his companions but excused himself on the ground that he feared to run against the King's person. He and his wife, Eleanor, attended the
Field of the Cloth of Gold
in 1520.
[12]
Although Buckingham was appointed to commissions of the peace in 1514 and charged?together with other
Marcher lords
?with responsibility for keeping order in south Wales, particularly along the borderland
Welsh Marches
, he was rebuked by the King in 1518 for failing to achieve the desired results. Buckingham exercised little direct political influence and was never a member of the King's inner circle.
[13]
Buckingham's literary patronage included two translations, a printed translation of
Helyas, Knyghte of the Swanne
(on the
Knight of the Swan
), which he commissioned in 1512, and
A Lytell Cronicle
, a translation of an account of the Near East which he may have commissioned in 1520 in connection with his proposed pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
[13]
Betrayal and execution
[
edit
]
Buckingham was one of few peers with substantial
Plantagenet
blood and maintained numerous connections, often among his extended family, with the rest of the upper aristocracy, activities which attracted Henry's suspicion. During 1520, Buckingham became suspect of potentially treasonous actions and Henry authorised an investigation. The King personally examined witnesses against him, gathering enough evidence for a trial. The Duke was finally summoned to Court in April 1521 and arrested and placed in the Tower. He was tried before a panel of 17 peers, being accused of listening to prophecies of the King's death and intending to kill the King. Buckingham was executed on
Tower Hill
on 17 May 1521 and posthumously
attainted
by Act of Parliament on 31 July 1523, disinheriting most of his wealth from his children.
[14]
Some conclude this was one of the few executions of high personages under Henry VIII in which the accused was "almost certainly guilty". However, Sir
Thomas More
complained that the key evidence was
hearsay
from servants who, as commoners, were threatened and tortured to extract false confessions.
[15]
Marriage and issue
[
edit
]
In 1488, Henry VII had suggested a marriage between Buckingham and
Anne of Brittany
, but in December 1489 the executors of
Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland
, paid the King £4,000 for Buckingham's marriage to Percy's eldest daughter
Eleanor
(d. 1530). They had a son and three daughters:
[16]
- Henry Stafford, 1st Baron Stafford
(18 September 1501 ? 30 April 1563), who married
Ursula Pole
, daughter of
Sir Richard Pole
by his wife,
Margaret, Countess of Salisbury
, daughter of
George, Duke of Clarence
.
[17]
- Lady Elizabeth Stafford
(c. 1497 ? 30 November 1558), the second wife of
Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk
.
[18]
- Lady Katherine Stafford (c. 1499 ? 14 May 1555), who married
Ralph Neville, 4th Earl of Westmorland
.
[19]
- Lady Mary Stafford, the youngest daughter, who married, about June 1519, as his third wife,
George Neville, 5th Baron Bergavenny
.
[20]
Buckingham is also said to have had three
[b]
illegitimate children:
[19]
In fiction
[
edit
]
- The accusation and condemnation of Buckingham is depicted in the
Shakespeare
play
Henry VIII
.
- In the 2003 two-part drama
Henry VIII
starring
Ray Winstone
and
Helena Bonham Carter
, Buckingham is played by
Charles Dance
.
[23]
His character was a minor one, killed off in the first 15 minutes.
- Buckingham is a character in the first two episodes of the first season of the drama series
The Tudors
in 2007. Portrayed by
Steven Waddington
,
[24]
[25]
Buckingham's intrigues are fictionalised, with several key facts omitted.
- Buckingham's (fictional) son is a character in the novel
The Blanket of the Dark
, by John Buchan (1931).
[26]
He has grown up as Peter Pentecost in the forests near Oxford and is told of his true heritage in the year 1536. Later he has a fateful encounter with the King and decides that he does not wish to pursue a life of power.
- He is portrayed by Olly Rix in the 2019
Starz
miniseries
The Spanish Princess
,
[27]
where he is depicted early on as seducing one of
Catherine of Aragon
's ladies in waiting.
Ancestry
[
edit
]
Ancestors of Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham
|
---|
| | | | | | | | | 16.
Edmund Stafford, 5th Earl of Stafford
[31]
| | | | | | | 8.
Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham
[31]
| | | | | | | | | | 17.
Lady Anne of Gloucester
[31]
| | | | | | | 4.
Humphrey Stafford, Earl of Stafford
[28]
| | | | | | | | | | | | 18.
Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland
[32]
| | | | | | | 9. Lady Anne Neville
[32]
| | | | | | | | | | 19.
Lady Joan Beaufort
[32]
| | | | | | | 2.
Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | 20.
John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset
[33]
| | | | | | | 10.
Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset
[33]
| | | | | | | | | | 21.
Lady Margaret Holland, Duchess of Clarence
[33]
| | | | | | | 5.
Lady Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Stafford
[28]
| | | | | | | | | | | | 22.
Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick
[36]
| | | | | | | 11.
Lady Eleanor Beauchamp
[34]
| | | | | | | | | | 23.
Elizabeth de Berkeley
[36]
| | | | | | | 1.
Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 12.
Sir Richard Wydeville
[29]
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 6.
Richard Woodville, 1st Earl Rivers
[29]
| | | | | | | | | | | | 26. Thomas Bedlisgate
[29]
| | | | | | | 13. Joan Bedlisgate
[29]
| | | | | | | | | | 27. Joan Beauchamp
[29]
| | | | | | | 3.
Catherine Woodville, Duchess of Buckingham
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | 28.
John of Luxembourg, Lord of Beauvoir
[35]
| | | | | | | 14.
Peter of Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol
[35]
| | | | | | | | | | 29.
Marguerite of Enghien
[35]
| | | | | | | 7.
Jacquetta of Luxembourg
[30]
| | | | | | | | | | | | 30.
Francis of Baux
[30]
| | | | | | | 15.
Margaret de Baux
[30]
| | | | | | | | | | 31. Sueva Orsini
[30]
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
According to Davies he may have had another brother, Humphrey Stafford, who died young.
- ^
Davies names only two illegitimate children, Henry and Margaret.
References
[
edit
]
Citations
[
edit
]
- ^
Ross, James (2023).
"Alienated Outsider or Integrated Courtier? Edward Stafford, Third Duke of Buckingham, 1498?1521 and the Royal Court"
.
History
.
108
(379?380): 20?40.
doi
:
10.1111/1468-229X.13346
.
ISSN
0018-2648
.
- ^
Richardson IV 2011
, p. 82.
- ^
Harris 2002
, p. 145.
- ^
Richardson II 2011
, p. 374;
Richardson IV 2011
, p. 82;
Davies 2008
;
Dockray 2004
.
- ^
Richardson IV 2011
, pp. 82?83;
Davies 2008
.
- ^
Cokayne 1912
, p. 390;
Cokayne 1959
, p. 738;
Richardson IV 2011
, p. 85;
Pollard 1898
, p. 446;
Davies 2004
;
Davies 2008
.
- ^
Pollard 1898
, p. 446;
Davies 2004
;
Davies 2008
.
- ^
Cokayne 1912
, p. 390;
Pollard 1898
, p. 446;
Davies 2008
;
Richardson IV 2011
, p. 85.
- ^
Hart, Kelly (2009).
The Mistresses of Henry VIII
(1st ed.). The History Press.
ISBN
978-0-7524-4835-0
.
- ^
Harris 2002
, p. 83.
- ^
Pollard 1898
, p. 446; According to Cokayne, p. 390, Buckingham commanded the right-wing at the siege of Therouanne.
- ^
Davies 2008
;
Richardson IV 2011
, p. 85.
- ^
a
b
Davies 2008
.
- ^
Pollard 1898
, p. 447.
- ^
John Guy,
Tudor England
(1988) p. 97.
- ^
Davies 2008
;
Richardson IV 2011
, pp. 85?87.
- ^
Richardson IV 2011
, p. 86.
- ^
Richardson II 2011
, pp. 415?416.
- ^
a
b
Richardson IV 2011
, p. 85.
- ^
Richardson I 2011
, p. 170.
- ^
STAFFORD, Henry (by 1520-55 or later), of Pickering, Yorks
,
The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1509?1558
, ed. S.T. Bindoff, 1982
- ^
Davies 2008
;
Harris 2002
, p. 161.
- ^
"Henry VIII"
.
The Sydney Morning Herald
. 27 March 2004
. Retrieved
16 May
2021
.
- ^
"
'The Tudors': Showtime's Update of a Monarchy"
.
NPR.org
. Retrieved
16 May
2021
.
- ^
"Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham (1478?1521)"
.
Welsh Country Magazine
. 29 April 2021
. Retrieved
16 May
2021
.
- ^
"The Blanket of the Dark"
.
www.johnbuchansociety.co.uk
. The John Buchan Society
. Retrieved
16 May
2021
.
- ^
Petski, Denise (17 May 2018).
"
The Spanish Princess
: Charlotte Hope To Star In
The White Princess
Follow-Up On Starz"
.
Deadline Hollywood
. Retrieved
19 May
2018
.
- ^
a
b
Fritze, Ronald H.; Robison, William Baxter (2002).
Historical Dictionary of Late Medieval England, 1272-1485
. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 509.
ISBN
978-0-313-29124-1
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
White, Geoffrey H., ed. (1949), "Rivers",
The Complete Peerage
, vol. XI, London: The St Catherine Press, pp. 16?19
, retrieved
5 May
2018
- ^
a
b
c
d
Baldwin, David
(2010).
Elizabeth Woodville: Mother of the Princes in the Tower
. The History Press. Genealogical table 4.
- ^
a
b
c
Rawcliffe, C. "Stafford, Humphrey, first duke of Buckingham (1402?1460)".
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
(online ed.). Oxford University Press.
doi
:
10.1093/ref:odnb/26207
.
(Subscription or
UK public library membership
required.)
- ^
a
b
c
Richardson, Douglas (2011). Everingham, Kimball G. (ed.).
Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families
. Vol. III (2nd ed.). Salt Lake City. p. 246.
ISBN
144996639X
.
{{
cite book
}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link
)
- ^
a
b
c
Pollard, Albert Frederick (1901).
"Beaufort, John (1373?-1410)"
. In
Lee, Sidney
(ed.).
Dictionary of National Biography
(1st supplement)
. Vol. 1. London: Smith, Elder & Co. pp. 158?159.
- ^
Weir, Alison (1999).
Britain's Royal Family: A Complete Genealogy
. London: The Bodley Head. pp. 105?106.
- ^
a
b
c
Matthieu, Ernest (1877).
Histoire de la ville d'Enghien
(in French). Dequesne-Masquillier. p. 103
. Retrieved
15 May
2018
.
- ^
a
b
Gairdner, James (1885).
"Beauchamp, Richard de (1382-1439)"
. In
Stephen, Leslie
(ed.).
Dictionary of National Biography
. Vol. 4. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
Sources
[
edit
]
- Burke, John (1831).
A general and heraldic dictionary of the peerages of England, Ireland, and Scotland, extinct, dormant, and in abeyance
. Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley. p.
490
.
- Cokayne, George Edward (1912).
The Complete Peerage edited by Vicary Gibbs
. Vol. II. London: St Catherine Press.
- Cokayne, George Edward (1959).
The Complete Peerage edited by Geoffrey H. White
. Vol. XII (Part II). London: St Catherine Press.
- Davies, C. S. L. (2008). "Stafford, Edward, third duke of Buckingham (1478?1521)".
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
(online ed.). Oxford University Press.
doi
:
10.1093/ref:odnb/26202
.
(Subscription or
UK public library membership
required.)
- Davies, C. S. L. (2004). "Stafford, Henry, second duke of Buckingham (1455?1483)".
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
(online ed.). Oxford University Press.
doi
:
10.1093/ref:odnb/26204
.
(Subscription or
UK public library membership
required.)
- Dockray, Keith (2004). "Stafford, Henry, earl of Wiltshire (c. 1479?1523)".
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
(online ed.). Oxford University Press.
doi
:
10.1093/ref:odnb/70804
.
(Subscription or
UK public library membership
required.)
- Harris, Barbara J. (2002).
English Aristocratic Women, 1450?1550
. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Pollard, Albert Frederick (1898).
"Edward Stafford (1478?1521)"
. In
Lee, Sidney
(ed.).
Dictionary of National Biography
. Vol. 53. London: Smith, Elder & Co. pp. 446?447.
- Richardson, Douglas (2011). Everingham, Kimball G. (ed.).
Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families
. Vol. I (2nd ed.). Salt Lake City.
ISBN
978-1449966379
.
{{
cite book
}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link
)
- Richardson, Douglas (2011). Everingham, Kimball G. (ed.).
Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families
. Vol. II (2nd ed.). Salt Lake City.
ISBN
978-1449966386
.
{{
cite book
}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link
)
- Richardson, Douglas (2011). Everingham, Kimball G. (ed.).
Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families
. Vol. IV (2nd ed.). Salt Lake City.
ISBN
978-1460992708
.
{{
cite book
}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link
)
External links
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