William Brandon (standard-bearer)
| Sir William Brandon | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1456 |
| Died | 22 August 1485 Near Ambion Hill, Market Bosworth, England |
| Allegiance | Henry Tudor |
| Rank | Standard-bearer |
| Unit | House of Lancaster |
| Battles/wars | War of the Roses: Battle of Bosworth |
| Relations |
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Sir William Brandon (1456 – 22 August 1485) of Soham, Cambridgeshire was Henry Tudor's standard-bearer at the Battle of Bosworth, where he was killed by King Richard III. He was the father of Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk.
William was the son of Sir William Brandon of Wangford, Suffolk, and Soham, Cambridgeshire, Knight Marshal of Marshalsea (1425 - 4 March 1491) and wife (married 1462) Elizabeth Wingfield (died 28 April 1496/1497). He had numerous siblings, including Sir Thomas Brandon, who fought with him at the Battle of Bosworth and later became a leading courtier and Master of the Horse of Henry VII.
In 1478 Sir John Paston wrote that Brandon had been arrested for an attempted rape: "yonge William Brandon is in warde and arestyd ffor thatt he scholde have fforce ravysshyd and swyvyd an olde jentylwoman ..." By that time he was already married to Elizabeth Bruyn, a widow with two sons, and according to Paston there were rumours he would be hanged for his offence. Brandon apparently escaped prosecution however, because a few years later he was one of the key London connections behind the Buckingham Revolt of 1483, along with his brother Thomas and brother-in-law, Wingfield. Pardoned in March 1484, he boarded a ship at Mersea in November and sailed for France, where he was supposedly joined by his wife, who gave birth to their eldest son in Paris. He joined his brother Thomas in the relief of the Hammes fortress.
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