Dorothy Stafford

Dorothy Stafford, Lady Stafford (1 October 1526 – 22 September 1604) was an English noblewoman, and an influential person at the court of Queen Elizabeth I of England, to whom Dorothy served as Mistress of the Robes. Dorothy was the second wife of Sir William Stafford, widower of Mary Boleyn. Dorothy and her family were forced to seek exile in Geneva during the reign of Mary I due to their Protestant religion. The Protestant reformer John Calvin stood as godfather to her youngest son.

Through her maternal grandmother, Margaret Pole, 8th Countess of Salisbury, Dorothy had a claim to the English throne.

Dorothy Stafford was born on 1 October 1526, the youngest daughter of Henry Stafford, 1st Baron Stafford and Lady Ursula Pole, whose mother, Margaret Pole, 8th Countess of Salisbury, would be executed for treason in 1541 by the order of King Henry VIII. Through her grandmother, who was the last surviving member of the Plantagenet dynasty, Dorothy and her siblings had a claim to the English throne. Dorothy had thirteen siblings, of whom the names of twelve are known. With her sister Susan, she was raised in the household of her aunt, Elizabeth Stafford, Duchess of Norfolk. Dorothy was the Duchess's favourite niece, to whom she was very generous, giving her many gifts of clothing and money.