Lady Eleanor Brandon, Countess of Cumberland

Eleanor Clifford, Countess of Cumberland (née Lady Eleanor Brandon; 1519 – 27 September 1547) was the third child and second daughter of Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk and Princess Mary Tudor, the Dowager Queen consort of France.[1] She was a younger sister of Lady Frances Brandon and an elder sister of Henry Brandon, 1st Earl of Lincoln. She was also a younger paternal half-sister of Lady Anne Brandon and Lady Mary Brandon from her father's second marriage. After her mother's death in 1533, her father remarried to Catherine Willoughby and Eleanor became an elder half-sister of Henry Brandon, 2nd Duke of Suffolk and Charles Brandon, 3rd Duke of Suffolk.
Her paternal grandparents were Sir William Brandon and Elizabeth Bruyn. Her maternal grandparents were Henry VII of England and his queen consort Elizabeth of York. She was thus a niece of Henry VIII.
Countess of Cumberland
Lady Eleanor was a descendant of a member of the Tudor dynasty and therefore her marriage would advance the political ambitions of any given husband. In March 1533, a marriage contract was written up for Lady Eleanor and Henry Clifford, the eldest son and heir of Henry Clifford, 1st Earl of Cumberland by Lady Margaret Percy.[2] However, since her mother died nine months later, she waited to go and live with her young husband and in-laws. In anticipation of Eleanor's arrival, the Earl of Cumberland built two towers and the great gallery within Skipton Castle.[3] Eleanor married Clifford in June 1535; her uncle King Henry VIII was present.[3][4][5][6]
In January 1536, Eleanor was designated the chief mourner for the funeral service of Catherine of Aragon, first Queen consort of Henry VIII, at Peterborough Cathedral.[7]
There is not much known about her later life and she left only one letter:
"Dear heart,
After my most hearty commendations, this shall be to certify you that since your departure from me I have been very sick and at this present my water is very red, whereby I suppose I have the jaundice and the ague both, for I have none abide [no appetite for] meat and I have such pains in my side and towards my back as I had at Brougham, where it began with me first. Wherefore I desire you to help me to a physician and that this bearer my bring him with him, for now in the beginning I trust I may have good remedy, and the longer it is delayed, the worse it will be. Also my sister Powys [Anne Brandon] is come to me and very desirous to see you, which I trust shall be the sooner at this time, and thus Jesus send us both health.
At my lodge at Carlton, the 14th of February.
And, dear heart, I pray you send for Dr Stephens, for he knoweth best my complexion for such causes.
By your assured loving wife, Eleanor Cumberland"
Issue
With Henry Clifford:

• Lady Margaret Clifford (1540 - 28 September 1596); she married Henry Stanley, 4th Earl of Derby.
• Henry Clifford; died an infant.
• Charles Clifford; died an infant.

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https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brougham_Castle
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Lady Eleanor Brandon was born in 1519/20.3

She was the daughter of Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk and Mary Rose Tudor.1

She married Henry Clifford, 2nd Earl of Cumberland, son of Henry Clifford, 1st Earl of Cumberland and Lady Margaret Percy, circa June 1537 at Southwark, London, England.1

She died on 27 September 1547 at Brougham Castle. She was buried at Skipton, Yorkshire, England.

    From circa June 1537, her married name became Clifford.

Child of Lady Eleanor Brandon and Henry Clifford, 2nd Earl of Cumberland

   * Lady Margaret Clifford+1 b. 1540, d. 29 Sep 1596

Citations

  1. [S37] Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes (Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003), volume 1, page 1064. Hereinafter cited as Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 107th edition.

  2. [S3409] Caroline Maubois, "re: Penancoet Family," e-mail message to Darryl Roger Lundy, 2 December 2008. Hereinafter cited as "re: Penancoet Family."

  3. [S11] Alison Weir, Britain's Royal Family: A Complete Genealogy (London, U.K.: The Bodley Head, 1999), page 150. Hereinafter cited as Britain's Royal Family.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Eleanor Clifford, Countess of Cumberland

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Eleanor Clifford, Countess of Cumberland (1519 – 27 September 1547) was the third child and second daughter of Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk and Mary Tudor, the former Queen consort of France. She was a younger sister of Henry Brandon, 1st Earl of Lincoln and Lady Frances Brandon, and an elder half-sister of Henry Brandon, 2nd Duke of Suffolk and Charles Brandon, 3rd Duke of Suffolk.

Her paternal grandparents were Sir William Brandon and Elizabeth Bruyn. Her maternal grandparents were Henry VII of England and his queen consort Elizabeth of York. She was thus a niece of Henry VIII.

[edit]Countess of Cumberland

Eleanor was descendant of a member of the Tudor dynasty and therefore her marriage would advance the political ambitions of any given husband. In 1533, her father agreed to her engagement to Henry Clifford, the eldest son and heir of Henry Clifford, 1st Earl of Cumberland by Margaret Percy.

In January, 1536, Eleanor was designated the chief mourner for the funeral service of Katharine of Aragon, first Queen consort of Henry VIII, at Peterborough Cathedral.

She married her fiancé in June 1537 at latest. They were parents of three children:

Lady Margaret Clifford (1540 - 28 September 1596). She married Henry Stanley, 4th Earl of Derby.

Henry Clifford. Died an infant.

Charles Clifford. Died an infant.

[edit]Prospects of succeeding to the throne

The Third Succession Act of 23 March 1544 defined that Eleanor was in line to succeed her maternal uncle Henry VIII. She was eighth-in-line for the throne following:

Edward, Prince of Wales, her first cousin.

Lady Mary Tudor, her first cousin.

Lady Elizabeth Tudor, her first cousin.

Lady Frances Brandon, her elder sister.

Lady Jane Grey, her eldest niece.

Lady Catherine Grey, her second niece.

Lady Mary Grey, her third niece.

Henry VIII died on 28 January 1547. Prince Edward became King Edward VI. Lady Eleanor was the seventh-in-line for the throne, but she died on 27 September the same year. Her place in line was taken by her daughter. Her husband later remarried Anne Dacre, who bore him six more children.

Eleanor Brandon was the youngest daughter of Charles Brandon, duke of Suffolk (1485-August 22,1545) and Mary Tudor (March 18,1495-June 25,1533). She married Henry Clifford, 2nd earl of Cumberland (1517-January 2,1570) in 1537, by whom she had a daughter, Margaret (1540-September 29,1596) and two sons, Henry and Charles, who died young. The story of Eleanor Clifford’s abduction during the Pilgrimage of Grace is fiction. She was not yet married at that time. She did not live long enough to become involved in the quarrel over the succession, but she passed her dangerous inheritance of royal blood on to her daughter. Portrait: sketch by Holbein?; a sketch and portrait by Hans Eworth c.1560, identified by some as Eleanor because of the coat of arms, is not her. The arms were added much later. It is not Eleanor's daughter Margaret, either. The sitter is probably Margaret Wentworth (see her entry).