Edmund Stafford, 5th Earl of Stafford
Edmund Stafford | |
|---|---|
| Earl of Stafford Baron Audley | |
| Born | 2 March 1377 |
| Died | 22 July 1403 (aged 26) |
| Buried | Austin Friars, Stafford |
| Spouse(s) | Hugh de Stafford, 2nd Earl of Stafford |
| Mother | Philippa de Beauchamp |
Edmund Stafford, 5th Earl of Stafford and 1st Baron Audley,
He inherited the earldom at the age of 18, the third of three out of four brothers to inherit the title. His eldest brother, Sir Ralph, died before inheriting the title and his other two elder brothers died without issue.
Marriage and children
He married
With Anne he had three children:
- John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, and his mistress, later wife, Katherine Roet. Had issue.
- Anne Stafford, Countess of March (d. 20 September 1432), who married firstly Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March. Edmund and Anne had no children. She married, secondly, John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter (d.1447), and had one son and a daughter: Henry, Duke of Exeter (1430 – 1475), and Lady Anne Holland (d. 26 December 1486).
- Philippa Stafford, died young.
Later life and death
He was made a
He was killed by the Scotsman, Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas, while fighting with the royalist forces of King Henry IV at the Battle of Shrewsbury on 21 July 1403. He was buried at the Church of the Austin Friars in Stafford.
Shakespeare
The death of the earl at the battle of Shrewsbury is mentioned in Henry IV Part 1 but otherwise he is not in the play. "And thou shalt find a king that will revenge Lord Stafford’s death". Henry IV Part 1 Act 5 Scene 3 by William Shakespeare.
References
- ^ a b A general and heraldic dictionary of the peerages of England, Ireland, and Scotland, extinct, dormant, and in abeyance by John Burke. Publisher Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, 1831. p491. From Google books, accessed 24 January 2010.
- Sir Nicholas Harris Nicolas and William Courthope, published 1857. Google Books, accessed 24 January 2010.