The 4th Earl of Derby.

Born in Lathom, Henry was the eldest son of Edward Stanley, 3rd Earl of Derby and his second wife Dorothy Howard. His maternal grandparents were Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk and his wife Agnes Tilney (1478-1545), daughter of Hugh Tilney of Boston and Eleanor Tailboys ^[1].

He was married on 7 February, 1554 to Lady Margaret Clifford. She was the only surviving child of Henry Clifford, 2nd Earl of Cumberland and Lady Eleanor Brandon. The marriage took place on a chapel of the Palace of Whitehall and was attended by both Queen regnant Mary I of England and her consort Philip II of Spain. They were relatives of the bride through her maternal grandmother Mary Tudor, former queen consort of France.

Henry and Margaret were parents to five children:

• Edward Stanley. Died young.
• Ferdinando Stanley, 5th Earl of Derby (c. 1559 – 16 April, 1594).
• William Stanley, 6th Earl of Derby (c. 1561 – September 29, 1642).
• Francis Stanley (b. 1562). Died young.
• Martha Stanley (b. 1565-?).

By Jane Halsall.

• Ursula Stanley, who was illegitimate, but acknowledged. She married John Salisbury (d. 1612), he was the son of Sir John Salisbury and Katheryn of Berain.

His father died on 24 October, 1572. Lord Derby inherited his peerages, the title Lord of Mann and the offices of Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire and Cheshire.

Elizabeth I of England created Derby a Knight of the Garter in 1574. He was created alongside Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke.

He was appointed ambassador to the court of Henry III of France in 1580. He was appointed to the Privy Council in 1585. He was among the chief officials of the trial of deposed Queen regnant Mary I of Scotland in 1586.

He was among the officials assigned to negotiate an end to the Anglo Spanish War following the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588. This assignment was a failure. In 1589, an English Armada under Sir Francis Drake and Sir John Norris suffered heavy casualties in battle with the Spanish naval fleet.

Elizabeth appointed Derby Lord High Steward in 1589 for the trial of Philip Howard, Earl of Arundel and Surrey. He returned to Lathom in retirement in 1592 and died there one or two years later.

References

External links

• http://www.tudorplace.com.ar/Bios/HenryStanley%284EDerby%29.htm
• http://www.leighrayment.com/peers/peersd2.htm
• Stanley's patronage of theater and/or music: ''Patrons and Performances Web Site''

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fr:Henry Stanley (4e comte de Derby)