William Stafford (1 March 1554 – 16 November 1612) was an English courtier and conspirator.
He was the son of William Stafford of Chebsey, who had been the brother-in-law of Henry VIII of England and the uncle of Elizabeth I.
[1] In 1555, William's strongly Protestant family went into exile in Geneva, Switzerland.
Following the death of his father, the remaining family moved to Basel, where they lived next door to John Knox.
It is speculated that William was an agent provocateur for Walsingham in this plot; certainly he suffered no lasting harm from the episode.