Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham
Encyclopedia
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 the former Lady Catherine Woodville, daughter of the 1st Earl Rivers
and sister-in-law of King Edward IV
.
in Wales
. His father, who was strongly implicated in the murder of the two princes in the Tower, was attainted
and executed for rebelling against King Richard III
in 1483, when Stafford was five. Two years later, when King Henry VII
ascended the throne, the attainder was reversed and the wardship of the young Duke of Buckingham, along with all his lands, was given to the King's mother, the Countess of Richmond and Derby. (A possible reason for the reversal of the attainder is that Buckingham was a first cousin of Queen Elizabeth
, the King's wife.)
accepted £4000 from the estate of Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland
for Buckingham's hand for the earl's eldest daughter, Lady Alianore (Eleanor) Percy
. They had four children:
Edward was also said to have had two illegitimate children
One of their main residences was Thornbury
, which had been in the family since 1087. In 1508, Edward was granted permission to castellate the manor, work that was not completed due to his execution. In 1511, he was subsequently granted a further 1000 acres (4 km²) of land in the area by Henry VIII
: Buckingham was Lord High Steward
at the King's coronation in 1509, where he also carried the King's crown, and in 1514 he became Lord High Constable
.
Buckingham fell out dramatically with the King in 1510, when he discovered that the King was having an affair with the Countess of Huntingdon, the Duke's sister and wife of the 1st Earl of Huntingdon
. She was taken to a convent sixty miles away. There are some suggestions that the affair continued until 1513. However, he returned to the King's graces, being present at the marriage of Henry's sister, served in Parliament and being present at negotiations with Francis I of France
and Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
.
, became an object of Henry's suspicion. During 1520, Buckingham became suspected of potentially treasonous actions and Henry VIII 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; however, the King's mind appeared to be decided and conviction was certain. He was executed on Tower Hill on 17 May. He was posthumously attainted
by Act of Parliament on 31 July 1523.
Guy (1988) concludes 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 from servants was hearsay.
Duke of Buckingham
The titles Marquess and Duke of Buckingham, referring to Buckingham, have been created several times in the peerages of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. There have also been Earls of Buckingham.-1444 creation:...
, KG
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
(3 February 1478 – 17 May 1521) was an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
nobleman. He was the son of Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham
Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham
Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, KG played a major role in Richard III of England's rise and fall. He is also one of the primary suspects in the disappearance of the Princes in the Tower...
and the former Lady Catherine Woodville, daughter of the 1st Earl Rivers
Richard Woodville, 1st Earl Rivers
Richard Woodville , 1st Earl Rivers, KG was an English nobleman, best remembered as the father of Elizabeth Woodville, wife of Edward IV....
and sister-in-law of King Edward IV
Edward IV of England
Edward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England...
.
Early life
Stafford was born at Brecknock CastleBrecon
Brecon is a long-established market town and community in southern Powys, Mid Wales, with a population of 7,901. It was the county town of the historic county of Brecknockshire; although its role as such was eclipsed with the formation of Powys, it remains an important local centre...
in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. His father, who was strongly implicated in the murder of the two princes in the Tower, was attainted
Attainder
In English criminal law, attainder or attinctura is the metaphorical 'stain' or 'corruption of blood' which arises from being condemned for a serious capital crime . It entails losing not only one's property and hereditary titles, but typically also the right to pass them on to one's heirs...
and executed for rebelling against King Richard III
Richard III of England
Richard III was King of England for two years, from 1483 until his death in 1485 during the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty...
in 1483, when Stafford was five. Two years later, when King Henry VII
Henry VII of England
Henry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
ascended the throne, the attainder was reversed and the wardship of the young Duke of Buckingham, along with all his lands, was given to the King's mother, the Countess of Richmond and Derby. (A possible reason for the reversal of the attainder is that Buckingham was a first cousin of Queen Elizabeth
Elizabeth of York
Elizabeth of York was Queen consort of England as spouse of King Henry VII from 1486 until 1503, and mother of King Henry VIII of England....
, the King's wife.)
Family
In December 1489 Henry VIIHenry VII of England
Henry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
accepted £4000 from the estate of Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland
Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland
Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland, KG son of Henry Percy, 3rd Earl of Northumberland and his wife Eleanor Poynings, daughter of Richard Poynings, Lord Poynings....
for Buckingham's hand for the earl's eldest daughter, Lady Alianore (Eleanor) Percy
Eleanor Percy, Duchess of Buckingham
Eleanor Percy, Duchess of Buckingham , also known as Alianore, was a daughter of Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland by his wife Lady Maud Herbert, herself a daughter of the first Earl of Pembroke. She married Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, who was beheaded in 1521 on false charges of...
. They had four children:
- Mary, (born c. 1494), who married the 5th Baron BergavennyGeorge Nevill, 5th Baron BergavennyGeorge Nevill, 5th and de jure 3rd Baron Bergavenny KG, PC was an English courtier. He held the office of Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports.-Life:...
; parents of Mary Nevill, Baroness DacreMary Nevill, Baroness DacreMary Fiennes, Baroness Dacre was the daughter of George Nevill, 5th Baron Bergavenny by his third wife, Mary, daughter of Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham.... - Elizabeth Howard, Duchess of NorfolkElizabeth Howard, Duchess of NorfolkElizabeth Howard was the eldest daughter of Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham and the wife of Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk...
, (1497 – 30 November 1558), who married the 3rd Duke of NorfolkThomas Howard, 3rd Duke of NorfolkThomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, KG, Earl Marshal was a prominent Tudor politician. He was uncle to Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, two of the wives of King Henry VIII, and played a major role in the machinations behind these marriages... - Catherine, (c. 1499 – 14 May 1555) who married Ralph Neville, 4th Earl of WestmorlandRalph Neville, 4th Earl of WestmorlandRalph Neville, 4th Earl of Westmorland KG, PC was an English peer and soldier.-Early life:Ralph Neville was born to Ralph Neville, Lord Neville and Edith Sandys, and was the grandson of Ralph Neville, 3rd Earl of Westmorland and Isabel Booth. When his father died in 1498 he took the style of Lord...
. - Henry Stafford, 1st Baron StaffordHenry Stafford, 1st Baron StaffordHenry Stafford, 1st Baron Stafford was born in Penshurst, Kent, England the eldest son of Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham and Eleanor Percy, Duchess of Buckingham. Eleanor was the daughter of Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland and Maud Herbert, Countess of Northumberland...
(18 September 1501 – 30 April 1563).
Edward was also said to have had two illegitimate children
- Margaret (c. 1511 – 25 May 1537), One source says she was married firstly to William Cheney and secondly to John Bulmer. A second says she married his ward Thomas Fitzgerald, the son of the 9th Earl of KildareGerald FitzGerald, 9th Earl of KildareGerald FitzGerald, 9th Earl of Kildare , also known in Irish as Gearóid Óg , was a figure in Irish History. In 1513 he inherited the title of Earl of Kildare and position of Lord Deputy of Ireland from his father.-Family:...
. - Henry
One of their main residences was Thornbury
Thornbury Castle
Thornbury Castle is a castle in Thornbury, South Gloucestershire, England. It was begun in 1511 as a home for Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham. It is not a true castle , but rather an early example of a Tudor country house, with minimal defensive attributes. It is now a grade I listed...
, which had been in the family since 1087. In 1508, Edward was granted permission to castellate the manor, work that was not completed due to his execution. In 1511, he was subsequently granted a further 1000 acres (4 km²) of land in the area by Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
Life at Court
As a young man, Buckingham was made a Knight of the Garter (1495), and had various ceremonial roles at the Royal Court of Henry VII. He garnered even further honours following the accession of King Henry VIIIHenry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
: Buckingham was Lord High Steward
Lord High Steward
The position of Lord High Steward of England is the first of the Great Officers of State. The office has generally remained vacant since 1421, except at coronations and during the trials of peers in the House of Lords, when the Lord High Steward presides. In general, but not invariably, the Lord...
at the King's coronation in 1509, where he also carried the King's crown, and in 1514 he became Lord High Constable
Lord High Constable
There are two current and one former royal offices in the United Kingdom of Lord High Constable:* The Lord High Constable of England, the seventh of the Great Officers of State, ranking beneath the Lord Great Chamberlain and above the Earl Marshal...
.
Buckingham fell out dramatically with the King in 1510, when he discovered that the King was having an affair with the Countess of Huntingdon, the Duke's sister and wife of the 1st Earl of Huntingdon
George Hastings, 1st Earl of Huntingdon
George Hastings, 1st Earl of Huntingdon was born in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, the son of Edward Hastings, 2nd Baron Hastings and Mary Hungerford. George Hastings was created the first Earl of Huntingdon by Henry VIII of England on 3 November 1529. On the same day his son Francis gained a seat at the...
. She was taken to a convent sixty miles away. There are some suggestions that the affair continued until 1513. However, he returned to the King's graces, being present at the marriage of Henry's sister, served in Parliament and being present at negotiations with Francis I of France
Francis I of France
Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...
and Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
.
Betrayal and Execution
Buckingham, with his Plantagenet blood and numerous connections by descent or marriage with the rest of the aristocracyAristocracy
Aristocracy , is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". In origin in Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the best qualified citizens, and contrasted with monarchy...
, became an object of Henry's suspicion. During 1520, Buckingham became suspected of potentially treasonous actions and Henry VIII 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; however, the King's mind appeared to be decided and conviction was certain. He was executed on Tower Hill on 17 May. He was posthumously attainted
Writ of attaint
A writ of attaint is an obsolete writ in English law, issued to inquire whether a jury had given a false verdict in a trial.In criminal cases, the writ of attaint was issued at the suit of the Crown, and in civil cases at the suit of either party. The correctness of the verdict would be determined...
by Act of Parliament on 31 July 1523.
Guy (1988) concludes 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
Thomas More
Sir Thomas More , also known by Catholics as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, social philosopher, author, statesman and noted Renaissance humanist. He was an important councillor to Henry VIII of England and, for three years toward the end of his life, Lord Chancellor...
complained that the key evidence from servants was hearsay.
In fiction
- Buckingham is played by Charles DanceCharles DanceWalter Charles Dance, OBE is an English actor, screenwriter and director. Dance typically plays assertive bureaucrats or villains. His most famous roles are Guy Perron in The Jewel in the Crown , Dr Clemens, the doctor of penitentiary Fury 161, who becomes Ellen Ripley's confidante in Alien 3 ,...
in the 2003 two part drama Henry VIII starring Ray WinstoneRay WinstoneRaymond Andrew "Ray" Winstone is an English film and television actor. He is mostly known for his "tough guy" roles, beginning with that of Carlin in the 1979 film Scum and as Will Scarlet in the cult television adventure series Robin of Sherwood. He has also become well known as a voice over...
and Helena Bonham CarterHelena Bonham CarterHelena Bonham Carter is an English actress of film, stage, and television. She made her acting debut in a television adaptation of K. M. Peyton's A Pattern of Roses before winning her first film role as the titular character in Lady Jane...
. 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. Portrayed by Steven WaddingtonSteven WaddingtonSteven Waddington is an English actor who is probably best known for his supporting role in Michael Mann's The Last of the Mohicans. He trained at East 15 Acting School in Loughton Essex. His first film role was as the eponymous king in Derek Jarman's Edward II...
, Buckingham's intrigues are fictionalized, with several key facts omitted. - The accusation and condemnation of Buckingham is depicted in the Shakespeare play Henry VIII.