Edmund de Stafford ★

1370s–1390s

Born 2 March 1377, son of Hugh de Stafford, 2nd Earl of Stafford, and Philippa de Beauchamp. After three elder brothers died he became 5th Earl of Stafford by 1395. Married Anne of Gloucester, his late brother Thomas's widow, on 28 June 1398.

1400s

Made a Knight of the Bath at Henry IV's coronation and a Knight of the Garter in 1403. Killed fighting for Henry IV at the Battle of Shrewsbury on 21 July 1403 and buried at the Austin Friars in Stafford.

Family Background

Edmund Stafford was born March 2, 1377, son of Hugh de Stafford, 2nd Earl of Stafford, and Philippa de Beauchamp, from one of England's most prominent noble families.

Inheritance of the Earldom

Edmund's path to the earldom ran through repeated family tragedy: his eldest brother Ralph died before inheriting, and two further elder brothers died without heirs, leaving Edmund to inherit the title at just eighteen, the third of four brothers to hold it, becoming 5th Earl of Stafford by 1395.

Marriage to Anne of Gloucester

On June 28, 1398, Edmund married Anne of Gloucester, granddaughter of Edward III through her father Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester — remarkably, Anne was already his own brother Thomas's widow, a marriage permitted under special license because Thomas had died before the earlier marriage was consummated.

Children

Edmund and Anne had three children, most notably Humphrey Stafford, who married into the Neville family and became 1st Duke of Buckingham, and a daughter Anne, who married first Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March, and later John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter.

Royal Service and Death at Shrewsbury

Edmund was made a Knight of the Bath at Henry IV's coronation and Knight of the Garter in 1403. He was killed fighting for Henry IV at the Battle of Shrewsbury on July 21, 1403, cut down by Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas, and was buried at the Church of the Austin Friars in Stafford. His death is commemorated in Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1, where the king vows vengeance for it.