The marriage was relatively long and successful and coincided roughly with the minority of Margaret's son, the future Henry VII of England.
However, Stafford later switched his allegiance to the House of York and towards the end of his life contributed to the restoration of Edward IV.
The date of Henry's birth is unknown, but since his parents were married some time before 18 October 1424 and he was their second son, it is thought that he was born round about 1425.
In his will Henry's father settled 400 marks' worth of land on the couple, but the main part of their income came from Margaret's estates.
[3] Both Henry and Margaret were great-grandchildren of John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford and early in the Wars of the Roses they both supported the Lancastrian cause.
[3] Shortly afterwards, Edward purchased Henry Tudor's wardship for £1000 and placed him in the household of William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke, a staunch Yorkist.
[4] His brother John, was a regular visitor at Woking "to hunt and play cards" and the staff there included Reginald Bray, who was Henry's Receiver-General.
However, despite his illness (see below), Henry was with Edward IV on 12 March 1470 at the Battle of Losecoat Field, where the rebel forces of Sir Robert Welles were defeated.
However, on 12 April he made a firm decision to support Edward and to join him, accompanied by his Steward, John Gilpyn, and other retainers.
[8] Henry is believed to have suffered from the skin disease erysipelas, also known as "St Anthony's Fire" and thought at the time to be a form of leprosy.