Name

Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby

Biography

The most consequential political operator in fifteenth-century England. Survived every king of the Wars of the Roses. Married Margaret Beaufort, Henry Tudor's mother. At Bosworth on 22 August 1485, he positioned six thousand men between the two armies and waited. When Richard III charged at Henry, Sir William Stanley intervened. Thomas — who had committed no troops to the fighting — picked up Richard's crown, found under a hawthorn bush, and placed it on Henry Tudor's head. The man who had fought for nobody crowned the new king. Created Earl of Derby 27 October 1485.

Active Period

c.1435–1504

Also Known As

Thomas Stanley, Lord Stanley

1st Earl of Derby

Place

Bosworth Field

Lathom, Lancashire

Knowsley, Lancashire

Family / Group

The Stanley Dynasty

Period

Stanley Lordship

Role / Office

Lord of Mann

Earl of Derby

Lord High Constable

Book Chapter

Chapter 3