Humphrey Stafford, Earl of Stafford

Humphrey Stafford (b. 1425 - d ?. 22 May 1458), generally known by his courtesy title of Earl of Stafford was the son of Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Lady Anne Neville (d 1480).

His maternal grandparents were Ralph de Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland and Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmorland. His maternal uncles included (among others) Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury (father of Warwick, the Kingmaker), Robert Neville who was first Bishop of Salisbury and then Bishop of Durham, William Neville, 1st Earl of Kent and Edward Nevill, 3rd Baron Bergavenny. His most prominent maternal aunt was Cecily Neville, wife of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York and mother to among others Edward IV of England, Edmund, Earl of Rutland, George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence and Richard III of England.

Lord Stafford fought under his father-in-law in support of the House of Lancaster during the First Battle of St Albans. He appears to have been badly wounded at this battle but survived for a least another 2–3 years. This may account for his disappearance from the contemporary records of the time. In 1458 he died from the plague.

Marriage and issue
Stafford married Lady Margaret Beaufort, daughter of Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset and Lady Eleanor Beauchamp. Her maternal grandparents were Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick and his first wife Elizabeth Berkeley. By her father, she was a niece of Joan Beaufort, Queen of Scots and a cousin to Lady Margaret Beaufort (mother of King Henry VII). By her mother, Lady Margaret was a niece of Anne de Beauchamp, 16th Countess of Warwick and as such, a cousin to Isabel, Duchess of Clarence and queen consort Anne Neville.

Lord and Lady Stafford had a single son Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham (4 September 1455 – 2 November 1483).

His only son Henry was styled Earl of Stafford on his father's death, and succeeded his paternal grandfather as Duke of Buckingham in June 1473, following the latter's death at the Battle of Northampton on 10 July 1460.