William Stafford (1554–1612) was an English courtier and conspirator. He was the son of William Stafford of

Chebsey Chebsey is a small village in Staffordshire 2.5 miles southeast of Eccleshall on a confluence of Eccleshall water and the River Sow some 5 miles northwest of Stafford. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 566. It comprise ...

, who had been the brother-in-law of

Henry VIII of England Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

and the uncle of

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

. The elder William Stafford's first marriage had been to

Mary Boleyn Mary Boleyn, also known as Lady Mary, (c. 1499 – 19 July 1543) was the sister of English queen consort Anne Boleyn, whose family enjoyed considerable influence during the reign of King Henry VIII. Mary was one of the mistresses of Henry VII ...

, sister of

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key ...

, and Stafford was the child of his second marriage to

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 she served as Mistress of the Robes. Dorothy Stafford was the second ...

Early life

In 1555, William's strongly Protestant family went into exile in Geneva, Switzerland. They were there for nearly two years and were associates with

John Calvin John Calvin (; frm, Jehan Cauvin; french: link=no, Jean Calvin ; 10 July 150927 May 1564) was a French theologian, pastor and reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system ...

who was godfather to William's brother. Following the death of his father, the remaining family moved to Basel, where they lived next door to

John Knox John Knox ( gd, Iain Cnocc) (born – 24 November 1572) was a Scottish minister, Reformed theologian, and writer who was a leader of the country's Reformation. He was the founder of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. Born in Giffordgat ...

. They returned to Waltham, Essex in 1559. William was educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the ...

, where he was admitted in 1564, and

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...

, where he matriculated in 1571. In 1573 he was elected a fellow of New College, but two years later he was deprived of his fellowship for being away without leave. He came to London, where his mother was in attendance on Queen Elizabeth.

Travel and Espionage

In 1585, William went to France secretly, staying in the lodgings of his brother Sir Edward Stafford, ambassador to France, and spying on his own account. When this was found out, he begged Sir

Francis Walsingham Sir Francis Walsingham ( – 6 April 1590) was principal secretary to Queen Elizabeth I of England from 20 December 1573 until his death and is popularly remembered as her "spymaster". Born to a well-connected family of gentry, Wals ...

's intercession with his mother. He soon returned to England. The following year, William became involved with the plans of Châteauneuf, the French ambassador. By 1587, Châteauneuf was conspiring to poison Queen Elizabeth, using William Stafford's court connections to plant a poisoned gown or saddle for the queen's use. William confessed the plot to Walsingham, who arrested the conspirators. William was released from the Tower in August 1588 without any charges being brought. It is speculated that William was an agent provocateur for Walsingham in this plot; certainly he suffered no lasting harm from the episode.Great Britain. Public Record Office: Calendar of State Papers, Domestic series, of the reigns of Edward VI., Mary, Elizabeth, 1547-

625 __NOTOC__ Year 625 ( DCXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 625 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar er ...

preserved in the State paper department of Her Majesty's Public Record Office. Addenda 1580–1625. London, Longman & Co., 1872. v.12, p.199, 203. After this, William retired to a quiet life in the country. In 1593 he married Anne Gryme, daughter of Thomas Gryme of Antingham, Norfolk, and soon became a father. His son was another William Stafford, a notable author. He died on 16 November 1612.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stafford, William 1554 births 1612 deaths Alumni of New College, Oxford English spies 17th-century English people 16th-century Protestants 17th-century Protestants

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

16th-century spies 17th-century spies English courtiers Court of Elizabeth I