Cecily Bonville | |
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suo jure Baroness Harington and Bonville Marchioness of Dorset Countess of Wiltshire |
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Presumed effigy of Cecily Bonville on her tomb in the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Astley, Warwickshire, drawing of 1890
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Spouse(s) |
Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset (m.1474-1501) Henry Stafford, 1st Earl of Wiltshire (m.1503-1523) |
Issue
Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset
Leonard Grey, 1st Viscount Grane Lady Dorothy Grey Lady Mary Grey Lady Elizabeth Grey Lady Cecily Grey Lord Edward Grey Lady Eleanor Grey Lady Margaret Grey Lord Anthony Grey Lady Bridget Grey Lord George Grey Lord Richard Grey Lord John Grey |
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Noble family | Bonville Neville |
Father | William Bonville, 6th Baron Harington |
Mother | Lady Katherine Neville |
Born | c.30 June 1460 |
Died | 12 May 1529 (aged 68) |
Buried | Collegiate Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Astley, Warwickshire |
Cecily Bonville, 7th Baroness Harington and 2nd Baroness Bonville (c. 30 June 1460 – 12 May 1529) was an English peer, who was also Marchioness of Dorset by her first marriage to Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset, and Countess of Wiltshire by her second marriage to Henry Stafford, 1st Earl of Wiltshire.
The Bonvilles were loyal supporters of the House of York during the series of dynastic civil wars that were fought for the English throne, known as the Wars of the Roses (1455–1487). When she was less than a year old, Cecily became the wealthiest heiress in England after her male relatives were slain in battle, fighting against the House of Lancaster.
Cecily's life after the death of her first husband in 1501, was marked by an acrimonious dispute with her son and heir, Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset. This was over Cecily's right to remain sole executor of her late husband's estate and to control her own inheritance, both of which Thomas challenged following her second marriage to Henry Stafford; a man many years her junior. Their quarrel required the intervention of King Henry VII and the royal council.
Lady Jane Grey, Lady Catherine Grey and Lady Mary Grey were her great-granddaughters. All three were in the Line of Succession to the English throne. Jane, the eldest, reigned as queen for nine days in July 1553.
Cecily Bonville was born on or about 30 June 1460 at Shute Manor in Shute near Axminster, Devon, England. She was the only child and heiress of William Bonville, 6th Baron Harington of Aldingham and Lady Katherine Neville, a younger sister of military commander Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick known to history as "Warwick the Kingmaker". Her family had acquired the barony of Harington through the marriage of her paternal grandfather, William Bonville, to Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of William Harington, 5th Baron Harington of Aldingham.