Mother Lady Anne Neville Name Humphrey Earl | Died May 22, 1458, England | |
Father Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham Spouse Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Stafford Children Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham Parents Lady Anne Neville, Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham Grandchildren Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham Similar People Henry Stafford - 2nd Duke, Edward Stafford - 3rd Duke, Anne Hastings - Countess, Catherine Woodville - Duchess, Edmund Beaufort - 2nd Duke | ||
Humphrey Stafford (c. 1425 – c. 22 May 1458), generally known by his courtesy title of Earl of Stafford, was the eldest son of Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Lady Anne Neville (d. 1480).
Biography
His maternal grandparents were Ralph de Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland and Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmorland. His maternal uncles included (among others) Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury (father of Warwick, the Kingmaker), Robert Neville who was first Bishop of Salisbury and then Bishop of Durham, William Neville, 1st Earl of Kent and Edward Nevill, 3rd Baron Bergavenny. His most prominent maternal aunt was Cecily Neville, wife of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York and mother to among others Edward IV of England, Edmund, Earl of Rutland, George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence and Richard III of England.
Lord Stafford fought under his father-in-law in support of the House of Lancaster during the First Battle of St Albans. He appears to have been badly wounded at this battle, but either eventually died of his wounds or from the plague, predeceasing his own father in 1458.
Stafford married Lady Margaret Beaufort, daughter of Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset and Lady Eleanor Beauchamp. Lady Margaret was the sister of Henry Beaufort, the 3rd Duke of Somerset (executed 15 May 1464 after Battle of Hexham) and Edmund Beaufort, the 4th Duke of Somerset (executed 6 May 1471 after the Battle of Tewkesbury. Her maternal grandparents were Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warmwick and his first wife Elizabeth Berkeley. By her father, she was a niece of Joan Beaufort, Queen of Scots and a cousin to Lady Margaret Beaufort (mother of King Henry VII). By her mother, Lady Margaret was a niece of Anne de Beauchamp, 16th Countess of Warwick and as such, a cousin to Isabel, Duchess of Clarence and queen consort Anne Neville.
Lord and Lady Stafford had a single son, Henry (4 September 1455 – 2 November 1483). Henry was styled Earl of Stafford on his father's death, and succeeded his paternal grandfather as Duke of Buckingham in June 1473, following the latter's death at the Battle of Northampton on 10 July 1460.