Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset

Thomas Grey was an English noble, whose mother Elizabeth Woodville became queen of Edward IV (r. 1461-1470, 1471-1483) in 1464. Thomas fought for Edward at the Battle of Tewkesbury on 4 May 1471, which secured the Crown for Edward, and for his role Thomas was showered with honors.

In 1475 Thomas created Marquess of Dorset, and he was also a knight of the Garter and a privy councilor. After the death of Edward IV, Grey’s half-brother succeeded the Crown as Edward V (r. 9 April 1483 – 26 June 1483), but after his short reign Grey found himself in trouble. Grey organized rebellion against the new king, Richard III (r. 1483-1485), and after that failed he fled to Brittany. However, Grey supported Henry VII (1485-1509) and after he secured the Crown Grey was restored to his lands that had been seized by Richard.

Thomas Gray augmented his substantial fortune by his two marriages to important heiresses which bought him land and estates. At the time of his death he was worth £20,000, about 0.5% of the £4m national income of the day. In 2010 that would be £5.5bn.