Margaret Stanley, Countess of Derby

Margaret Stanley, Countess of Derby (née Lady Margaret Clifford; 1540 – 28 September 1596) was the only surviving daughter of Henry Clifford, 2nd Earl of Cumberland, and Lady Eleanor Brandon. Her maternal grandparents were Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, and Mary Tudor, Queen of France. Mary was the third daughter of King Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York.

Early life Margaret was born at Brougham Castle in 1540. Her mother died when she was seven and her father left court.

Claim to the throne According to the will of Henry VIII, Margaret was in line to inherit the throne of England. Upon the death of her mother, Margaret became seventh in line. However, both her cousins Lady Jane Grey and Lady Mary Grey died without issue, and their sister, her other cousin, Lady Katherine Grey, died without the legitimacy of her two sons ever being proven (this was later established but only after the death of Elizabeth I). Margaret quickly moved up to becoming the first in line to the throne but died prior to the death of Elizabeth I.

Marriage and family In 1552, John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland, suggested a marriage of his youngest son Guildford to Margaret, yet, although the proposal had the warm support of Edward VI, her father was against it. A year later, in June 1553, the Imperial ambassador Jehan Scheyfve reported that Northumberland's brother Andrew Dudley would marry Margaret. The Dudleys were imprisoned when Mary I gained the throne.

Margaret was bought clothes including a French-style gown of purple satin at the time of Mary's coronation. She joined Mary's court and married Henry Stanley, 4th Earl of Derby, on 7 February 1555 in the Chapel Royal at Whitehall Palace. In 1567, Lady Le Strange petitioned the Queen's advisor, William Cecil, for a financial settlement from her estranged husband. In 1578, her cousin Mary Grey died making Margaret heir according to the Will of Henry VIII.

She and her husband had four children: Edward Stanley. Died young. She wrote to Francis Walsingham insisting on her innocence. She claimed that the accused sorcerer, William Randall, was in fact her physician, who was staying with her because he could cure "sickness and weakness in my body". Randall was subsequently executed. No charges were brought against the countess, but she was banished from court. She wrote repeatedly to the queen complaining that she was in a "black dungeon of sorrow and despair ... overwhelmed with heaviness through the loss of your majesty's favour and gracious countenance." She continued to be plagued by demands from creditors.