The Other Boleyn Girl - William Stafford and Mary Boleyn

Sir William Stafford

Your 13th Great-Grandfather

Sir William Stafford (1500-1556)  of Chebsey, in Staffordshire was an Essex landowner  and the second husband of Mary Boleyn, sister of Anne Boleyn, and one-time mistress of King Henry VIII of England.


Biography

Stafford was the son of Humphrey Stafford of Blatherwycke, in Northamptonshire,  and his wife, Margaret, the daughter of Sir John Fogge of Ashford, in Kent. The family were distant relatives of the mighty Staffords, who controlled the dukedom of Buckingham  and the earldom of Wiltshire until 1521 [1] Nonetheless, William Stafford was a commoner,  and only a second son, and thus served Henry VIII as a soldier.[2]

King Henry VIII

In 1532, Stafford  was listed as one of the two hundred people who accompanied Henry VIII to 
France. The purpose of the journey was for Henry and his fiancée, Anne Boleyn, to meet with Francis I so that he might show his public support and approval for the annulment of Henry's first marriage to Catherine of Aragon. 

Queen Anne Boleyn

Among the other travellers was Anne Boleyn's sister, Mary,the younger  daughter of Thomas Boleyn, who was by then the Earl of both Wiltshire and Ormonde. 

 With her connections, Mary had excellent  marriage prospects.[3]  
Nonetheless, Mary and Stafford married in secret in 1534. When the marriage was discovered after Mary became pregnant, the couple were banished from court.

Mary Boleyn
Your 13th Step Great Grandmother

The couple initially lived at Chebsey in Staffordshire, but later moved to the Boleyn family home, Rochford Hall at Rochford, in Essex. They lived in relative obscurity until Mary died in 1543, after which Stafford served in Scotland. 

Rochford Hall, Essex, UK

He was knighted there in 1545 and, two years later, became an MP for Hastings. Also in 1545, Stafford remarried, this time to his distant cousin, Dorothy Stafford (your 13th great grandmother), the youngest daughter of Henry Stafford, 1st Baron Stafford and Ursula Pole.

During the reign of Mary I, Stafford and his family fled to Geneva. He died there on 5 May 1556, not living to see the reign of his first wife's niece, Elizabeth  I, or to see his wife, children, and stepchildren  become influential courtiers in Elizabeth's court.[4]


Marriages and Issue

Stafford married firstly, Mary Boleyn (d. 19 July 1499), daughter of Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire, and Elizabeth Boleyn, Countess of Wiltshire.  They had two recorded children:

•   Anne Stafford (1534-?), likely named in honour of Mary's sister, Anne Boleyn.
•   Edward Stafford (1535-1545).

Stafford married secondly,  Dorothy Stafford (d. 22 September  1604), daughter of Henry Stafford, 1st Baron Stafford, and Ursula Pole. They had six children:

•   Elizabeth Stafford (1546–6 February 1599), married firstly, Sir William Drury, by whom she had issue; she married secondly, Sir John Scott.
•   Dorothy Stafford (b. 1548).
•   Sir Edward Stafford of Grafton (1552–1604), married firstly, Roberta Chapman by whom   he had issue; he married secondly, Douglas Sheffield.
•   Ursula Stafford (b.1553), married Richard Drake of Esher, by whom she had issue.
•   William Stafford (1554–1612), married Anne Gryme, by whom he had issue.
•   Sir John Stafford of Marlwood  Park (January 1556–1624), married Millicent Gresham.

William Stafford (courtier)                                                                         
                                                                 
In Popular Culture

Films & Television

•   Stafford is portrayed by Eddie Redmayne in the Hollywood  adaptation of The Other Boleyn Girl, by Philippa Gregory,  alongside Scarlett Johansson as Mary Boleyn.
•   Phillip Glenister played Stafford alongside Natascha McElhone  as Mary in the BBC film of The Other Boleyn Girl.
•   Stafford is mentioned in the Showtime series The Tudors, in regards to his marriage to Mary Boleyn. He does not, however, appear on-screen.

Books

•   Stafford  appears as a principal  character in The Last Boleyn, by Karen Harper, a book about the life of Mary Boleyn in the years before, during,  and after her time as the mistress of Henry VIII . He was called by all who knew him (in particular Henry VIII ) as "Staff".
•   Stafford (called "William") also was a main character in The Other Boleyn Girl, by Philippa 
Gregory, who escorts Mary Boleyn to Hever Castle, first starting in 1527. They become friends soon after the death of Mary's first husband, William Carey and William (Stafford) buys Mary's children, Catherine Carey, Lady Knollys and Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon their first ponies. Mary and William marry in 1533, and in secret, and Anne Boleyn, Mary's sister, doesn't discover it until a year later, when Mary discovers that she is pregnant for the third time with her daughter, also called Anne.


References

[1]  Humphrey Stafford was first cousin five times removed of Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham.
[2]  Hart, Kelly (June 1, 2009). The mistresses of Henry VIII 
(http://book.google.com/books?id=r6HGPAAACAAJ) (First ed.). The History
Press. pp. 114–118. ISBN 0-7524-4835-8. .
[3]  Not only was Mary the daughter of an earl, but also the niece of Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk through her mother, Elizabeth Howard. Coupled with the fact that she was the future sister-in-law  to a king, Mary could expect to marry very well.
[4]  Mary Boleyn had two children during her first marriage to Sir William Carey, Henry and 
Catherine Carey. The children were both rumored to have been fathered by Henry VIII, but the claim is dismissed by most historians.


Bibliography

•   The Mistresses of Henry VIII by Kelly Hart
•   Bindoff, The Commons 1509-1558
•   Oxford DNB, Mary Boleyn
                                                                  
                                                                
Article  Sources and Contributors

William Stafford (courtier) Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=504829488 
Contributors: AxelBoldt, Bender235, Boleyn, Bzero, Charles Matthews, Courcelles, Craigy144, Deb, Eingangskontrolle,  Fernbom2, France3470, Gene93k, Hqb, Jack Wills It, Jeanne boleyn,  Jed keenan, Jwillbur,  LoveActresses, Lucian Sunday, Maryanneboleyn, Mpaquett, MsGrizabella, Optimist on the run, Owner ch, Piscesnikki, Rachelcgen, Ser Amantio di Nicolao,  Sjbodell, Sketchmoose, Smonson, Suetsumuhana, Textbook, Vesperholly, Woohookitty, YUL89YYZ, G. Barbiero, 33 anonymous edits
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Watch The Other Boleyn Girl here:  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xftwiCh-xmE
This is the BBC version on YouTube