Ancestral Trails 2016 » Margaret CLIFFORD (1540-1596)

Personal data Margaret CLIFFORD 

• She was born in the year 1540 in Broughton Castle, Westmorland.
• Title: Countess of Derby
• (Ancestry) : House of Clifford.
• She died on September 29, 1596 in Cleveland Row, Middlesex, she was 56 years old.
• A child of Henry CLIFFORD and Eleanor BRANDON

Household of Margaret CLIFFORD

She is married to Henry STANLEY.

They got married on February 7, 1554/55 at Whitehall, Westminster, Middlesex, she was 14 years old.

Child(ren):

1. William STANLEY  1561-1642 
2. Ferdinando STANLEY  1559-1594 

Notes about Margaret CLIFFORD

Margaret Stanley, Countess of Derby (née Lady Margaret 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, Queen of France. Mary was the third daughter of King Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York.

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 Lady Jane Grey and Lady Mary Grey died without issue, and their sister, her other cousin, Lady Catherine Grey, died without the legitimacy of her two sons ever being proven (this was later established but only after the death of Elizabeth I). Margaret quickly moved up to becoming the first in line to the throne, but died prior to the death of Elizabeth I.

Marriage and family
In 1552 John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland 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 1555. They had something of a stormy relationship. Margaret wrote that there were several "breaches and reconciliations", but that her husband finally left her leaving serious debt.

They had four children:

Edward Stanley. Died young.
Ferdinando Stanley, 5th Earl of Derby (c. 1559 - 16 April 1594).
William Stanley, 6th Earl of Derby (c. 1561 - 29 September 1642).
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'Alençon. 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 Walsingham 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 continued to be plagued by demands from creditors.

She died in 1596 without having recovered royal favour, and having 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 Elizabeth I. Anne, her two younger sisters, and their children were controversially passed over for James VI of Scotland, who was genealogically senior despite being a foreigner.
SOURCE: Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Clifford,_Countess_of_Derby

Do you have supplementary information, corrections or questions with regards to Margaret CLIFFORD?
The author of this publication would love to hear from you!

Timeline Margaret CLIFFORD

Click on the names for more info. Symbols used:  grandparents    parents    brothers/sisters    children