1. Dorothy Stafford, Lady Stafford 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.
12 Facts About Dorothy Stafford
1. 2.
Dorothy Stafford was the second wife of Sir William Stafford, widower of Mary Boleyn.
3.
Dorothy Stafford's grandmother was the last surviving member of the Plantagenet dynasty.
4.
Dorothy Stafford was the Duchess's favourite niece, to whom she was very generous, giving her many gifts of clothing and money.
5.
About 1545 Dorothy Stafford married her distant cousin, Sir William Stafford, the second son of Sir Humphrey Stafford of Blatherwycke, Northamptonshire, by his first wife, Margaret Fogge, the daughter of Sir John Fogge of Ashford, Kent.
6.
Sir William Dorothy Stafford is said to have had at least two children by Mary, but both are said to have died young.
7.
Sir William Stafford and Dorothy Stafford had three sons and three daughters:.
8.
In 1563 Dorothy Stafford was appointed Mistress of the Robes to Queen Elizabeth, and exercised much influence at the royal court.
9.
Dorothy Stafford used her influence with the Queen to promote the causes of both her friends and casual acquaintances; in 1569, Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury, seeking a prebend for a colleague, wrote to her requesting that she "speak some good word" on the matter to the Queen.
10.
Dorothy Stafford held her post at court until the Queen's death in 1603, having served her for 40 years.
11.
Dorothy Stafford's eldest daughter, Elizabeth Stafford, was a Lady of the Bedchamber, and her son-in-law, Richard Drake, served as the Queen's Equerry.
12.
Dorothy Stafford served Queen Elizabeth 40 Yeeres, lying in the Bedchamber, esteemed of her, loved of all, doing good, all she could, to every Body, never hurt any; a continual Remembrancer of the Suits of the Poor.