April 1st 1471: Courting Sir Henry Stafford
Sir Henry Stafford had fought with the Lancastrians at the Battle of Towton in 1461, but on being pardoned by King Edward had become a regular visitor to his court and a supporter. He had been with Edward on the campaign in Lincolnshire which had resulted in Warwick and Clarence fleeing to France. After this campaign his brother Sir John Stafford was raised to the Peerage as the Earl of Wiltshire, but Henry was overlooked, possibly because of doubts about his loyalty.
In 1458, Henry had married Lady Margaret Beaufort, widow of Edmund Tudor. Her son Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond. was a problem to King Edward, as a possible Lancastrian claimant to the throne. After the readeption of King Henry VI, Stafford and Margaret had an audience with the restored king and many meetings with the Duke of Clarence.
Edward’s return to England put Stafford in a quandary. His instincts would be much more to do with survival than any sort of loyalty at a time when choosing the wrong side was likely to lead to death. He sat out the early stages of the campaigning, through the month of March, at the family home, Woking Old Hall. He kept a very low profile.
After his return to England Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset had dined with Stafford at Old Woking Hall, and when he left London, abandoning Warwick in favour of awaiting the return of Margaret of Anjou, he spent four days at Woking trying to persuade Sir Henry to join him. Henry prevaricated. On 28th March Somerset left, with his escort of forty men but without Henry. He didn’t give up, though, and some of Henry’s trusted retainers were sent to Salisbury with instructions to play for time. This ruse worked and Henry stayed in Woking, at least for the moment, avoiding taking sides.