Lady Anne Stanley

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This article is about Tudor heir to the English throne. For her cousin and wife of the 1st Earl of Ancram, see Anne Stanley, Countess of Ancram.

Anne Stanley, Countess of Castlehaven (May 1580 – c. October 1647), was the eldest daughter and heir of Ferdinando Stanley, 5th Earl of Derby and Alice Spencer. She was second-in-line to the English throne upon the death of Elizabeth I.

Her paternal grandparents were Henry Stanley, 4th Earl of Derby and Lady Margaret Clifford. Margaret was a daughter of Henry Clifford, 2nd Earl of Cumberland and Lady Eleanor Brandon. Eleanor was herself the youngest daughter of Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk and Mary Tudor.

1 Future Queen of England?
2 Marriages
3 Legacy
4 Pedigree
5 External links

[edit] Future Queen of England?

According to the will of Queen Elizabeth's father, Henry VIII, Elizabeth's throne was to pass to the descendants of Henry's younger sister, Mary Tudor, Duchess of Suffolk and Dowager Queen of France, making her the next logical heir.

There was a senior line of descent through Mary Tudor's granddaughter Lady Catherine Grey, who secretly married Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford. The marriage was annulled, which made their two sons illegimate and their descendents were removed from the royal succession. However, James VI of Scotland was Elizabeth's closest relative and the great-grandson of Margaret Tudor, Mary Tudor's older sister. As the senior male descendent of Margaret Tudor, he had been favored as the next successor for several years before Elizabeth's death. Anne was passed over in favor of James, who became King James I of England.

[edit] Marriages

Anne was an unmarried woman at the time of Elizabeth's death in 1603.

On February 28, 1607, Anne Stanley married Grey Brydges, 5th Baron Chandos of Sudeley, son of William Brydges, 4th Baron Chandos and Mary Hopton. They had the following five children:

Hon. Robert Brydges (b. 1611), died young.
Anne Brydges (b. 1612), she did marry, however, little is known as to who and whether there were any issue. There is little evidence about her life.
Elizabeth Brydges (1619-1678), married her stepbrother, James Tuchet, 3rd Earl of Castlehaven.
George Brydges, 6th Baron Chandos (1620-1654), married 1. Lady Susan Montagu; 2. Jane Savage. No surviving issue, except for one daughter from his first marriage.
William Brydges, 7th Baron Chandos (1621-1676), married Susan Kerr. No issue.

On July 22, 1624 at Harefield, she married Sir Mervyn Tuchet, 2nd Earl of Castlehaven, thus becoming Countess of Castlehaven.

The couple had one child together:

Anne Tuchet, died young and unmarried.[1]

The marriage was unhappy, and the Countess accused her husband and his manservant (sexual companion), Giles Browning (or Giles Broadway) of rape, after she bore a child to the manservant. Further charges were brought against her husband on the complaint of her step-son, James Tuchet, 3rd Earl of Castlehaven. Ultimately, it brought about the execution of her husband and manservant for sexual crimes.

Lady Anne Stanley died at Ruislip, and was buried on October 11, 1647.

[edit] Legacy

There is no conculsive evidence that Lady Anne Stanley's line ever went extinct. However, if her line did, there has been some suggestion that the right of succession should have been passed to her two younger sisters Lady Frances Stanley (b. 1583) and Lady Elizabeth Stanley (b. 1588). Their descendents, William Villiers, 10th Earl of Jersey, senior descendent of Lady Frances Stanley, and Michael Abney-Hastings, 14th Earl of Loudoun, senior descendent of Lady Elizabeth Stanley, are said to be the real heirs to Lady Anne Stanley's claim to the throne of the Kingdom of England.