Katherine de Stafford


Katherine de Stafford, Countess of Suffolk was a daughter of Hugh de Stafford, 2nd Earl of Stafford and his wife Philippa de Beauchamp. By her marriage to Michael de la Pole, 2nd Earl of Suffolk, she became known as the Countess of Suffolk.

Family

Katherine was one of nine children born to Hugh de Stafford, 2nd Earl of Stafford and his wife Philippa de Beauchamp. Some of her siblings included Margaret de Stafford, Countess of Westmorland and Edmund Stafford, 5th Earl of Stafford.
Her paternal grandparents were Ralph Stafford, 1st Earl of Stafford and Margaret de Audley. Her maternal grandparents were Thomas de Beauchamp, 11th Earl of Warwick and Katherine Mortimer, a daughter of Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March. Through his paternal and maternal grandmothers, she was descended from Edward I and John, King of England respectively.

Marriage and children

Katherine was married to Michael de la Pole, 2nd Earl of Suffolk in April 1383. He was a son of Michael de la Pole, 1st Earl of Suffolk and Katherine Wingfield. They had the following issue, the eldest of whom would not be born until 1394, eleven years after their marriage:
Michael died on 18 September 1415, from the flux. Katherine died four years later, on 8 April 1419.

Ancestry