![Coat of arms of Sir William Stanley, KG](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/Coat_of_arms_of_Sir_William_Stanley%2C_KG.png)
Sir William Stanley
KG (c. 1435 – 16 February 1495) was an English soldier and the younger brother of
Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby
Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby, KG (1435 – 29 July 1504) was an English nobleman. He was the stepfather of King Henry VII of England. He was the eldest son of Thomas Stanley, 1st Baron Stanley and Joan Goushill.
A landed magnate of imm ...
. Stanley fought with his troops in several battles of the
Wars of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These wars were fought bet ...
.
Private life
Born at Latham, Ormskirk, Lancashire, Sir William was the younger son of
Thomas Stanley, 1st Baron Stanley
Sir Thomas Stanley, 1st Baron Stanley, titular King of Mann, KG (c. 1405 – 11 or 20 February 1459), of Lathom and Knowsley, Lancashire, was a Privy Councillor, Comptroller of the Royal Household
The Comptroller of the Household is an ancie ...
. In 1465 he married Joan, daughter of John Beaumont, 1st
Viscount Beaumont
Baron Beaumont is an ancient title in the Peerage of England, created in 1309 for a younger branch of the French counts of ''de Brienne'' family. The sixth Baron Beaumont was created Viscount Beaumont (the first creation of this rank in England) ...
, and widow of
John, Lord Lovel. Following the execution of her second husband the
Earl of Worcester
Earl of Worcester is a title that has been created five times in the Peerage of England.
Five creations
The first creation came in 1138 in favour of the Norman noble Waleran de Beaumont. He was the son of Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leices ...
, Sir William married secondly, c.1471, Elizabeth Hopton, daughter of Thomas Hopton with whom he had a daughter, Jane Stanley. They lived at
Holt, Wrexham
Holt is a medieval market town and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. It is situated on the border with England and in the historic county of Denbighshire. Holt Castle was begun by Edward I shortly after the English invasion of Wale ...
.
Career
William Stanley fought on the Yorkist side at the
Battle of Blore Heath
The Battle of Blore Heath was a battle in the English Wars of the Roses. It was fought on 23 September 1459, at Blore Heath in Staffordshire. Blore Heath is a sparsely populated area of farmland, two miles east of the town of Market Drayton in ...
in 1459, whereas his elder brother Thomas, Lord Stanley had raised troops by the commission of the Lancastrian Crown but refrained from committing his forces on either side. Attainted in 1459, he fled into exile, but returned to fight for the Yorkists in 1461 at
Towton
Towton is a small village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Selby District of North Yorkshire, England. It was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire until 1974.
History
In 2010 and 2011 a pair of gold torcs dating ...
. In 1465 he was granted the Skipton lands and castle of the dispossessed Lancastrian Cliffords. Following the
Battle of Tewkesbury
The Battle of Tewkesbury, which took place on 4 May 1471, was one of the decisive battles of the Wars of the Roses in England. King Edward IV and his forces loyal to the House of York completely defeated those of the rival House of Lancaster ...
in 1471, it was he who captured Queen
Margaret of Anjou
Margaret of Anjou (french: link=no, Marguerite; 23 March 1430 – 25 August 1482) was Queen of England and nominally Queen of France by marriage to King Henry VI from 1445 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471. Born in the Duchy of Lorrain ...
, who led the Lancastrian faction, and he was made a
Knight Banneret
A knight banneret, sometimes known simply as banneret, was a medieval knight ("a commoner of rank") who led a company of troops during time of war under his own banner (which was square-shaped, in contrast to the tapering standard or the penn ...
by the king. In 1483 he was made Chief Justice of North Wales. Richard III, shortly after becoming king, rewarded Sir William by granting him land in North Wales.
Having been loyal to Richard, Stanley nevertheless changed sides in 1485, and suddenly supported the Lancastrian
Henry Tudor's bid for the throne. Stanley is best known for his action at the
Battle of Bosworth
The Battle of Bosworth or Bosworth Field was the last significant battle of the Wars of the Roses, the civil war between the houses of Lancaster and York that extended across England in the latter half of the 15th century. Fought on 22 Augu ...
, where he decisively attacked the Yorkists under Richard, helping to secure
Henry VII's victory. This was in contrast to the non-committal attitude of his elder brother, Henry's stepfather, who was inhibited by the fact that Richard held his son hostage. In gratitude for his timely intervention, the new king bestowed many favours on Sir William, including the post of
Lord Chamberlain
The Lord Chamberlain of the Household is the most senior officer of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom, supervising the departments which support and provide advice to the Sovereign of the United Kingdom while also acting as the main cha ...
and
Chamberlain of the Exchequer
Chamberlain may refer to:
Profession
*Chamberlain (office), the officer in charge of managing the household of a sovereign or other noble figure
People
*Chamberlain (surname)
**Houston Stewart Chamberlain (1855–1927), German-British philosop ...
.
However, in 1495 Stanley was convicted of treason and executed for his support of the pretender
Perkin Warbeck
Perkin Warbeck ( 1474 – 23 November 1499) was a pretender to the English throne claiming to be Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, who was the second son of Edward IV and one of the so-called "Princes in the Tower". Richard, were he alive, ...
. Though the evidence was circumstantial, he admitted the offence in the hope that through a full confession he would escape execution. The King, partly to avoid antagonizing his mother and stepfather, was at first inclined to spare Sir William's life. Yet ultimately the King feared that by showing clemency, he would be endangering himself through encouraging other potential conspirators. As a consequence, Sir William was condemned to death, and a few days later, beheaded.
Letitia Elizabeth Landon
Letitia Elizabeth Landon (14 August 1802 – 15 October 1838) was an English poet and novelist, better known by her initials L.E.L.
The writings of Landon are transitional between Romanticism and the Victorian Age. Her first major breakthrough ...
's poetical illustration ''Sir William Stanley'', to the heading portrait above, tells his story.
[ ]
In popular culture
Sir William Stanley appears as a character in three episodes of the 1972
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
.
'', Stanley is portrayed by Guy Williams.