William Brandon

Sir William Brandon (died 1491), of Wangford in Suffolk, was an English landowner, administrator, soldier, courtier and politician. His grandson was Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, a courtier and close friend of King Henry VIII. Origins Born before 1430, he was probably the son of Robert Brandon, collector of customs at King's Lynn and Great Yarmouth, in Norfolk, who served as a Member of Parliament for Bishop's Lynn in 1421. Career He became a retainer of the local magnates, the Dukes of Norfolk, rising to be a senior member of the council of John de Mowbray, 4th Duke of Norfolk by 1476. In 1454-55 he acted as escheator for Norfolk and Suffolk, and in 1468 sat as a Member of Parliament for New Shoreham. In 1469 he was present at the Siege of Caister Castle, and in 1471 as a member of the victorious Yorkist forces he was knighted by King Edward IV on the field at the Battle of Tewkesbury. In 1471 he was one of ten knights who swore allegiance to the Prince of Wales, the future King Edward V.