Eleanor Clifford

Eleanor Clifford, Countess of Cumberland, born Lady Eleanor Brandon in 1519, was the daughter of Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, and Mary Tudor, Dowager Queen of France. As a granddaughter of Henry VII and niece to Henry VIII, she was closely connected to the Tudor royal family. She was the younger sister of Lady Frances Brandon and older sister of Henry Brandon, Earl of Lincoln. Following her mother’s death in 1533, her father remarried, giving Eleanor additional half-siblings including Henry and Charles Brandon, Dukes of Suffolk.

Her marriage to Henry Clifford, heir to the Earl of Cumberland, was arranged in 1533 and formalized in 1535. The union was politically significant, and the wedding was attended by her uncle, King Henry VIII. Eleanor resided at Skipton Castle, where additions were made in preparation for her arrival. In 1536, she served as chief mourner at the funeral of Catherine of Aragon. Her lineage gave her a position of influence during a critical period in Tudor succession politics.