3 Generations: Margaret Pole, Ursula Pole & Dorothy Stafford

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ursula Pole Stafford – via Tudor Chronicles:

Ursula Pole was born in 1504 and was the only daughter of Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury and Sir Richard Pole. Making Ursula the granddaughter of the Duke of Clarence and therefore had a claim to the English throne. Sir Richard Pole died when Ursula was only one year old. Ursula had four older brothers all of whom acquired positions within King Henry VIII’s court. Ursula grew up at the family home at Warblington Castle, Hampshire whilst her mother acted as Royal Governess to the Princess Mary.

Lady Ursula married Henry Stafford, 1^st Baron Stafford on 16^thFebruary 1518 when she was 15 years old and he was 18. The marriage was suggested by Cardinal Wolsey and arranged by Edward Stafford, the Duke of Buckingham.

 

The couple had 14 children in total, seven sons and seven daughters. Their eldest daughter Dorothy would go on to serve Queen Elizabeth I as Mistress of the Robes. Ursula had seen many of her family members lose their lives at the hands of the royal executioner from her mother and brother to her son Thomas was executed for treason for leading an unsuccessful uprising against Queen Mary I in 1557

From the Stafford Family: A Genealogy:

Dorothy was born on 1 October 1526, the youngest daughter of Henry Stafford, 1st Baron Stafford and Lady Ursula Pole. Her mother was the daughter of Margaret Pole, 8th Countess of Salisbury, who would be executed for treason in 1541 by the order of King Henry VIII. Through her grandmother, who was the last surviving member of the Plantagenet dynasty, Dorothy and her siblings had a claim to the English throne. Dorothy had 13 siblings, of whom 12 names are known. She, along with her sister Susan, was raised in the household of her aunt Elizabeth Stafford, Duchess of Norfolk. Dorothy was the Duchess’s favourite niece, to whom she was very generous, giving her many gifts of clothing and money.

 

You’ll probably also notice the difference in sources. Was Dorothy the oldest or youngest daughter of Ursuala Pole?

History House of Plantagenet House of Tudor House of York