Sir William Stanley
Born c. 1435, William Stanley was the younger brother of Thomas Stanley, earl of Derby. William fought on the Yorkist side of the battles of Blore Heath, Towton & Tewkesbury. His first marriage, in 1465 was to Joan Beaumont, Lady Lovel, mother of Francis Lovel. They had three children. His second marriage was to Elizabeth Hopton in 1471. Hopton had been previously married to John Tiptoft, earl of Worcester.
Like his brother, William helped Richard III suppress Buckingham’s Rebellion and he was rewarded with Buckingham’s former position as chief justice of north Wales as well as the duke’s lordship of Thornbury in Gloucestershire.
Famously, although he was at the battle of Bosworth, he did not come to Richard’s aid, preferring to wait it out, and finally fighting for Tudor. According to Vergil, he saved Tudor’s life on the battlefield and the Great Chronicle relates that he crowned him there. For this service, he was richly rewarded by Henry VII who was his brother’s step-son, although he may have been disappointed not to receive a peerage.
In 1495 William was convicted of treason as he had secretly communicated with Perkin Warbeck. It has been suggested that he was once again, playing both sides, as he had done at Bosworth. He was beheaded in February of that year.
For more on William Stanley and his wives see this article from the Ricardian: The wives of Sir William Stanley [PDF]
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