Portrait of Anne Stafford, c. 1535, by Ambrosius Benson

Background

Anne Stafford was born around 1483 in Ashby, Leicestershire, England. In the year of her birth, her father was executed for treason by order of King Richard III. Her mother, a sister of the queen of King Edward IV, cared for Anne until her own marriage.

Anne's siblings were: Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham; Henry Stafford, 1st Earl of Wiltshire; and Elizabeth Stafford, Countess of Sussex.

Her first cousins included (among others) John Tuchet, 8th Baron Audley, Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset, Richard Grey, Elizabeth of York, Mary of York, Cecily of York, Edward V of England, Margaret of York, Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York, Anne of York, George Plantagenet, Duke of Bedford, Catherine of York, Bridget of York and Elizabeth Herbert, 3rd Baroness Herbert.

Marriages and children

Anne married twice, first to Sir Walter Herbert, a son of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke and Anne Deveureux. The marriage was childless. Her husband died on 16 September 1507.

Her second husband was George Hastings, whom she married in December 1509. He would become Earl of Huntingdon in 1529. They had eight children:

• Francis Hastings, 2nd Earl of Huntingdon (1514 - 25 January, 1569). Father of both Henry Hastings, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon and George Hastings, 4th Earl of Huntingdon.
• William Hastings.
• Catherine Hastings.
• Sir Thomas Hastings. Married Winifred Pole, daughter of Henry Pole, 1st Baron Montagu and Jane Neville. Jane was a daughter of George Nevill, 4th Baron Bergavenny and Margaret Fenne.
• Edward Hastings, Baron Hastings of Loughborough.
• Henry Hastings.
• Mary Hastings. Married Thomas Berkeley, 6th Baron Berkeley.
• Dorothy Hastings. Married Sir Richard Deveraux, a son of Walter Devereux, 1st Viscount Hereford. They were parents of Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex.

Notoriety

Anne entered into an affair with King Henry VIII around 1510, only one year after Henry wed Catherine of Aragon, and one year after Anne married Lord Hastings. Their adultery became a scandal when made public. Her brother, the Duke of Buckingham, was enraged. Her husband, Lord George Hastings, sent her to a convent. There are suggestions that her relationship with the King continued until 1513, however.

Afterward, Anne was involved with the man who had been the go-between during her relationship with the king – Sir William Compton. He wrote his will in 1522, leaving her many lands. He died in 1528 of the sweating sickness.

Fictional portrayals

Anna Brewster portrayed Anne Stafford in two 2007 episodes of the Showtime television series The Tudors. In the series, however, Anne is presented as the Duke of Buckingham's daughter, and is involved not with Henry VIII but with a fictionalized version of the King's future brother-in-law Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk. Anne is also a character in the Philippa Gregory (author of best selling book The Other Boleyn Girl) novel, The Constant Princess.

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