Ralph was the eldest son and heir of
Hugh Stafford, 2nd Earl of Stafford, and
Philippa de Beauchamp, daughter of
Thomas de Beauchamp, 11th Earl of Warwick. As a youth he grew up in the
household of Queen
Anne of Bohemia. One of the king's household knights, he accompanied the royal army on the
1385 invasion of Scotland. In July, he was murdered between
York and
Bishopsthorpe by Richard II's half-brother,
John Holland. It is possible that Holland was acting in revenge for death of one of his
squires, whom, it has been suggested had themselves been killed by an
archer in Ralph's own
retinue; it may even be that a scuffle had taken place and caused the deaths of two of the earl's more "intemperate" members of his retinue. although it could also have occurred after an exchange of insults. Ralph Stafford had never married, and died childless, so the
earldom passed to his younger brother,
Thomas. Ralph Stafford was interred in
King's Langley Priory,
Hertfordshire. The king, it has been said, lost one of the most important colleagues he had ever had; Ralph Stafford was "not only a close friend... [but also] a potential ally and courtier magnate". ==References==