Elizabeth Stafford, Duchess of Norfolk | |
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Church of St Mary-at-Lambeth, burial place of the Duchess of Norfolk
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Born | c.1497 |
Died | 30 November 1558 |
Buried | Church of St Mary-at-Lambeth, Surrey |
Noble family | Stafford (by birth) Howard (by marriage) |
Spouse(s) | Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk |
Issue
Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey
Lady Mary Howard Thomas Howard, 1st Viscount Howard of Bindon Lady Muriel Howard Lady Katherine Howard |
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Father | Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham |
Mother | Lady Eleanor Percy |
Lady Elizabeth Stafford (later Duchess of Norfolk) (c.1497 – 30 November 1558) was the eldest daughter of Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham and Lady Eleanor Percy. By marriage she became Duchess of Norfolk. Her stormy marriage to Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, created a public scandal.
Lady Elizabeth Stafford, born about 1497, was the eldest daughter of Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, and Eleanor Percy (d. 1530). Through both parents Elizabeth was a descendant of King Edward III. Her grandparents on her father's side were Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, and Lady Katherine Woodville (sister of queen consort Elizabeth Woodville), and on her mother's, Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland, and Lady Maud Herbert. Her paternal grandfather, the 2nd Duke, was executed for treason in 1483 by King Richard III, and in 1521 her own father suffered the same fate when he was beheaded on Tower Hill for treason against King Henry VIII.
Elizabeth had a brother and two sisters:
Elizabeth's father is also said to have had three illegitimate children, who would have been Elizabeth's siblings of the half blood:
Elizabeth lived at home until at least 1508. According to Harris, Elizabeth's father saw that all his children received some education and her literacy is attested to by the fact that she was termed by the poet John Skelton an admirer and friend of the muses and his particular patron. Elizabeth came to court in 1509 as a lady-in-waiting to Catherine of Aragon, and became the Queen's lifelong friend.