Stafford was the second son of Sir Humphrey Stafford (died 22 September 1545) of Cottered and Rushden, Hertfordshire,[2] by his first wife, Margaret Fogge, daughter of Sir John Fogge of Ashford, Kent.
[3] His family was distantly related to the mighty Stafford family, the Dukes of Buckingham and the Earls of Wiltshire until the fall of grace of Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham.
[4] Though born to a prominent family of landed gentry, William Stafford was a mere gentleman and only a second son, and thus served Henry VIII as a soldier.
[5] In 1532, Stafford was listed as one of the two hundred people who accompanied Henry VIII to France.
They lived in relative obscurity until Mary died in 1543, after which Stafford served in Scotland.