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Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham KG (15 August 1402 – 10 July 1460), an English nobleman, great grandson of King Edward III on his mother's side, was best-known as a military commander in the Hundred Years' War and in the Wars of the Roses.

Early life

He was born at Stafford, Staffordshire, England, the son of Edmund Stafford, 5th Earl of Stafford and Anne of Gloucester, daughter of Edward III's youngest son Thomas of Woodstock.

When Humphrey was a small child his father died and he became 6th Earl of Stafford, inheriting a large estate with lands in more than a dozen counties.

He was Knighted in 1421, became a Privy Councillor in 1424. He was made a knight of the Order of the Garter in 1429.

Stafford had been Lieutenant-General of Normandy between 1430 and 1432 and was created, in 1431, the Count of Perche, a province in English-occupied Normandy by King Henry VI. This title was one of many granted by Henry VI to his leading supporters during the English occupation of France.

On 14 September 1444 he was created Duke of Buckingham. He had previously been recognized as Earl of Buckingham, by right of his mother, who was the Countess of Stafford.

War of the Roses

Captain of Calais, Seneschal of Halton in 1439, and Lieutenant of the Marches from 1442 – 1451, he also served as an Ambassador to France in 1446. Stafford became Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports and Constable of Dover Castle (and Queensborough, on the Isle of Sheppey), in 1450.

Buckingham was one of the lords who arrested Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester at Bury St Edmunds on 18 February 1447. Although loyal to King Henry VI he was reluctant to take up arms for Somerset and when the conflict between York and Somerset burst into open war in 1455 he seemed to be the ideal choice to negotiate. After York failed to get an undertaking that Somerset would be tried he was given command of the King's army in the First Battle of St. Albans but was wounded and captured with the King when the Earl of Warwick scored a remarkable success. In spite of this Buckingham kept an open mind and helped maintain a relative stability during York's second protectorate.

Unfortunately, his actions estranged him from Queen Margaret. Even so his decision in favour of the queen in 1459 made possible York's humiliation at Ludford Bridge and he was rewarded with extensive grants from the estates of Sir William Oldhall.

In 1460 with the invasion by Warwick increasingly likely he was appointed Warden of the Cinque Ports. In the lead up to the Battle of Northampton fought on 10 July 1460 he brusquely told a group of Yorkist bishops that they were not men of peace but men of war and there could be no peace with Warwick. In this Buckingham was supported by his son-in-law Shrewsbury, Beaumont and Egremont but all four were killed by Kentishmen outside the king's tent after Grey de Ruthyn's treachery. Buckingham was buried at Grey Friars.

Family

Stafford married Anne Neville, daughter of Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland and Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmorland sometime before 18 October 1424, at Raby Castle, County Durham, England. They had the following children:

1. Humphrey Stafford, Earl of Stafford (d. 1458). Married Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Stafford, daughter of Edmund Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset and Eleanor Beauchamp. They were parents of Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham.
2. Henry Stafford (d. 1471. Second husband of Lady Margaret Beaufort, daughter of John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset and Margaret Beauchamp. Margaret Beaufort had previously been married to Edmund Tudor, the eldest half-brother of Henry VI, and had given birth to the future Henry VII two months after Edmund's death. She and Henry Stafford had no children together.
3. Edward Stafford
4. Catherine Stafford (1437 - 26 December 1476). Married John Talbot, 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury.
5. George Stafford (born 1439). Twin brother of William Stafford.
6. William Stafford (born 1439). Twin brother of George Stafford.
7. John Stafford, 1st Earl of Wiltshire (d. 8 May 1473. Married Constance Green. They were the parents of Edward Stafford, 2nd Earl of Wiltshire.
8. Joan Stafford (1442 - 1484). Married first William Beaumont and secondly William Knyvett.
9. Anne Stafford (1446 - 1472). Married first Aubrey de Vere, son of John de Vere, 12th Earl of Oxford. She married secondly Thomas Brooke, 8th Baron Cobham.
10. Margaret Stafford. Married Robert Dunham.

His eldest son having already died, Humphrey was succeeded by his grandson Henry.

Modern Reenactment

The era is recreated by the Historical reenactment group Buckingham's Retinue, that attempts to portray the Stafford Household and the Duke of Buckingham's Riding Retinue. They are considered by English Heritage and the BBC to be sufficiently authentic in their portrayals to have been employed by them in such a capacity.

Further reading

• Rawcliffe, Carole. The Staffords, Earls of Stafford and Dukes of Buckingham 1394–1521. Cambridge University Press, 1978.

References

• vandeleurcreagh.org Accessed November 25, 2007
• Burke's Peerage
• Buckingham's Retinue Reenactment Site