Lady Margaret Clifford
Encyclopedia
Margaret Stanley, Countess of Derby (née Clifford) (1540 – 28 September 1596) was the only surviving daughter of Henry Clifford, 2nd Earl of Cumberland
and Lady Eleanor Brandon
.
Her maternal grandparents were Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk
and Mary Tudor, former queen consort of France. Mary was the third daughter of King Henry VII of England
and Elizabeth of York
.
.
suggested a marriage of his youngest son Guildford to Margaret, yet, although the proposal had the warm support of Edward VI, her father was against it. A year later, in June 1553, the Imperial
ambassador Jehan Scheyfve reported that Northumberland's brother Andrew Dudley
would marry Margaret. The Dudleys were imprisoned when Mary I
gained the throne and Margaret married Henry Stanley, 4th Earl of Derby
on 7 February 1554. They had something of a stormy relationship. Margaret wrote that there were several "breaches ansd reconciliations", but that her husband finally left her leaving serious debt.
They had four children:
insisting on her innocence. She claimed that the accused sorcerer, William Randall, was in fact her physician, who was staying with her because he could cure "sickness and weakness in my body". Randall was subsequently executed. No charges were brought against the countess, but she was banished from court. She wrote repeatedly to the queen complaining that she was in a "black dungeon of sorrow and despair....overwhelmed with heaviness through the loss of your majesty's favor and gracious countenance." She also continued to be plagued by demands from creditors. She died in 1596 without having recovered royal favour.
Margaret outlived her eldest son, Ferdinando; her granddaughter, Lady Anne Stanley, Ferdinando's oldest daughter, took her place as heiress presumptive
. This proved meaningless as Anne was never allowed to succeed Queen regnant
Elizabeth I of England
. Anne, her two younger sisters, and their children were passed over for James VI of Scotland.
, and his wife Lady Eleanor, daughter of Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk
, and Mary Tudor, Dowager Queen of France. As a result the painting has been frequently exhibited in the past as a portrait of Lady Eleanor, regardless of the fact that she died in 1547, well before the date of this portrait. It is, however, a rule of heraldry that impaled arms are not used by the children of a marriage, as they would have their own. Hence the later addition and erroneous use of the arms here suggests that the identity of the portrait was already unclear only two or three generations after it was painted, a situation by no means unusual amid the frequent early deaths, multiple marriages, and shifting alliances and fortunes of the most powerful families of the Tudor era. Later the portrait was thought to represent the only child of Eleanor and Henry to survive infancy, Margaret. Unfortunately the inscription on the right which might have provided a check (Margaret would have been aged 25-28 at the time of this portrait) has been truncated; although the Roman numerals of the year can apply only to 1565-8, the age of the sitter cannot be ascertained with any useful accuracy. The National Portrait Gallery
has an online sketch of this portrait identified as Lady Eleanor, but the portrait remains in dispute.
Henry Clifford, 2nd Earl of Cumberland
Henry Clifford, 2nd Earl of Cumberland was a member of the Clifford family which held the seat of Skipton from 1310 to 1676. He was married to Lady Eleanor Brandon, a niece of Henry VIII of England.-Family:...
and Lady Eleanor Brandon
Lady Eleanor Brandon
Lady Eleanor Brandon was the third child and second daughter of Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk and Princess Mary Tudor, the Dowager Queen consort of France. She was a younger sister of Lady Frances Brandon and an elder sister of Henry Brandon, 1st Earl of Lincoln...
.
Her maternal grandparents were Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk
Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk
Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, 1st Viscount Lisle, KG was the son of Sir William Brandon and Elizabeth Bruyn. Through his third wife Mary Tudor he was brother-in-law to Henry VIII. His father was the standard-bearer of Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond and was slain by Richard III in person at...
and Mary Tudor, former queen consort of France. Mary was the third daughter of King Henry VII of England
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....
and Elizabeth of York
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....
.
Heiress to the throne
According to the will of Henry VIII, Margaret was in line to inherit the throne of England. Upon the death of her mother she became seventh in line. However, both her cousins Jane Grey and Mary Grey died without issue, and their sister, her other cousin, Catherine Grey, died without the legitimacy of her two sons ever being proven. Margaret quickly moved up to becoming the first in line to the throne, but died prior to the death of Elizabeth IElizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
.
Marriage and family
In 1552 John Dudley, 1st Duke of NorthumberlandJohn Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland
John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland, KG was an English general, admiral, and politician, who led the government of the young King Edward VI from 1550 until 1553, and unsuccessfully tried to install Lady Jane Grey on the English throne after the King's death...
suggested a marriage of his youngest son Guildford to Margaret, yet, although the proposal had the warm support of Edward VI, her father was against it. A year later, in June 1553, the Imperial
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
ambassador Jehan Scheyfve reported that Northumberland's brother Andrew Dudley
Andrew Dudley
Sir Andrew Dudley, KG was an English soldier, courtier, and diplomat. A younger brother of John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland, he served in Henry VIII's navy and obtained court offices under Edward VI...
would marry Margaret. The Dudleys were imprisoned when Mary I
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
gained the throne and Margaret married Henry Stanley, 4th Earl of Derby
Henry Stanley, 4th Earl of Derby
Henry Stanley, 4th Earl of Derby KG was a prominent English nobleman who served as Lord High Steward during the trial of Philip Howard, 20th Earl of Arundel....
on 7 February 1554. They had something of a stormy relationship. Margaret wrote that there were several "breaches ansd reconciliations", but that her husband finally left her leaving serious debt.
They had four children:
- Hon. Edward Stanley. Died young.
- Ferdinando Stanley, 5th Earl of DerbyFerdinando Stanley, 5th Earl of DerbyFerdinando Stanley, 5th Earl of Derby was the son of Henry Stanley, 4th Earl of Derby and Lady Margaret Clifford. According to the will of Henry VIII, his mother was heiress presumptive of Elizabeth I of England from 1578 to her own death in 1596...
(c. 1559 – 16 April, 1594). - William Stanley, 6th Earl of DerbyWilliam Stanley, 6th Earl of DerbyWilliam Stanley, 6th Earl of Derby was an English nobleman. Stanley inherited a prominent social position that was both dangerous and unstable, as his mother was heir to Queen Elizabeth I under the Third Succession Act, a position that fell to his deceased brother's oldest daughter in 1596,...
(c. 1561 – 29 September 1642). - Hon. Francis Stanley (b. 1562). Died young.
Disgrace and death
In 1579 she was arrested after she had been heard discussing a proposed marriage of Queen Elizabeth to the Duke d'Alencon. She was opposed to it as it threatened her own possible accession to the crown. She was then accused of using sorcery to predict when Elizabeth would die, and even of planning to poison Elizabeth. Simply predicting the death of a monarch was a capital offence at the time. The countess was put under house arrest. She wrote to Francis WalsinghamFrancis Walsingham
Sir Francis Walsingham was Principal Secretary to Elizabeth I of England from 1573 until 1590, and is popularly remembered as her "spymaster". Walsingham is frequently cited as one of the earliest practitioners of modern intelligence methods both for espionage and for domestic security...
insisting on her innocence. She claimed that the accused sorcerer, William Randall, was in fact her physician, who was staying with her because he could cure "sickness and weakness in my body". Randall was subsequently executed. No charges were brought against the countess, but she was banished from court. She wrote repeatedly to the queen complaining that she was in a "black dungeon of sorrow and despair....overwhelmed with heaviness through the loss of your majesty's favor and gracious countenance." She also continued to be plagued by demands from creditors. She died in 1596 without having recovered royal favour.
Margaret outlived her eldest son, Ferdinando; her granddaughter, Lady Anne Stanley, Ferdinando's oldest daughter, took her place as heiress presumptive
Heir Presumptive
An heir presumptive or heiress presumptive is the person provisionally scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question...
. This proved meaningless as Anne was never allowed to succeed Queen regnant
Queen regnant
A queen regnant is a female monarch who reigns in her own right, in contrast to a queen consort, who is the wife of a reigning king. An empress regnant is a female monarch who reigns in her own right over an empire....
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
. Anne, her two younger sisters, and their children were passed over for James VI of Scotland.
Portrait
There is a discrepancy as to who the sitter is in the Hans Eworth portrait which is featured. The coat of arms in the top left corner, which may have been added later, are the impaled arms (those of a husband and wife) of Henry Clifford, 2nd Earl of CumberlandHenry Clifford, 2nd Earl of Cumberland
Henry Clifford, 2nd Earl of Cumberland was a member of the Clifford family which held the seat of Skipton from 1310 to 1676. He was married to Lady Eleanor Brandon, a niece of Henry VIII of England.-Family:...
, and his wife Lady Eleanor, daughter of Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk
Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk
Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, 1st Viscount Lisle, KG was the son of Sir William Brandon and Elizabeth Bruyn. Through his third wife Mary Tudor he was brother-in-law to Henry VIII. His father was the standard-bearer of Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond and was slain by Richard III in person at...
, and Mary Tudor, Dowager Queen of France. As a result the painting has been frequently exhibited in the past as a portrait of Lady Eleanor, regardless of the fact that she died in 1547, well before the date of this portrait. It is, however, a rule of heraldry that impaled arms are not used by the children of a marriage, as they would have their own. Hence the later addition and erroneous use of the arms here suggests that the identity of the portrait was already unclear only two or three generations after it was painted, a situation by no means unusual amid the frequent early deaths, multiple marriages, and shifting alliances and fortunes of the most powerful families of the Tudor era. Later the portrait was thought to represent the only child of Eleanor and Henry to survive infancy, Margaret. Unfortunately the inscription on the right which might have provided a check (Margaret would have been aged 25-28 at the time of this portrait) has been truncated; although the Roman numerals of the year can apply only to 1565-8, the age of the sitter cannot be ascertained with any useful accuracy. The National Portrait Gallery
National Portrait Gallery
National Portrait Gallery can refer to:*National Portrait Gallery in Canberra*Portrait Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, Ontario*National Portrait Gallery , with satellite galleries in Denbighshire, Derbyshire and Somerset...
has an online sketch of this portrait identified as Lady Eleanor, but the portrait remains in dispute.