Humphrey Stafford, Earl of Stafford

Who was Humphrey Stafford, Earl of Stafford?

Humphrey Stafford, generally known by his courtesy title of Earl of Stafford was the son of Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Lady Anne Neville.

His maternal grandparents were Ralph de Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland and Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmorland. His maternal uncles included Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury, 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 survived for a least another 2–3 years. This may account for his disappearance from the contemporary records of the time. In 1458 he died from the plague.