born:   1435 in Lathom, Lancashire, England
died: 28 July 1504
During the Wars of the Roses, Stanley supported the Lancastrian Henry VI, but he had Yorkist sympathies, as he had married Eleanor, sister of the Yorkist Richard Neville, earl of Warwick. In the battle of Blore Heath (1459), Stanley did not use his troops on the king’s behalf; and in 1461, after the Yorkist Edward IV had become king, he was appointed chief justice of Cheshire. He held office continuously under both Edward IV and Richard III, becoming lord steward, a privy councilor, and constable of England—this despite his support of the brief Lancastrian restoration in 1471 and his marriage (1482) to Margaret Beaufort, the mother of Henry Tudor, the Lancastrian claimant to the throne. In the battle of Bosworth (1485) he took the field nominally in support of Richard III but took no part in the fighting; after the battle he crowned his stepson Henry VII on the battlefield. He was created (1485) earl of Derby and remained powerful at court until his death.

Father: Thomas Stanley
Mother: Joan Goushill

Spouse:  Eleanor Neville

Children:
1. George Stanley

Spouse: Margaret Beaufort