Ferdinando Stanley, 5th Earl of Derby

Ferdinando Stanley, 5th Earl of Derby (1559 – 16 April 1594), was an English nobleman and politician. He was the son of Henry Stanley, 4th Earl of Derby, and Lady Margaret Clifford. Ferdinando had a place in the line of succession to Elizabeth I according to the will of Henry VIII, after his mother, whom he predeceased. His sudden death led to suspicions of poisoning amid fears of Catholic plots to overthrow Elizabeth.

Baron Strange In about 1572, when he was thirteen, Stanley matriculated as a member of the University of Oxford. A year later he was called to her Court by Queen Elizabeth, "to be shaped in good manners". He was subsequently summoned to Parliament in his father's Barony of Strange (of Knokyn) and became known as "Ferdinando, Lord Straunge". In 1579 he married Alice Spencer, the youngest daughter of Sir John Spencer of Althorp by his marriage to Catherine Kytson.

Ferdinando was a supporter of the arts, enjoying music, dance, poetry, and singing, but above all, he loved the theatre. He was the patron of many writers, including Robert Greene, Christopher Marlowe, Edmund Spenser, and William Shakespeare. Shakespeare may have been employed by Strange in his early years as one of Lord Strange's Men, when this troupe of acrobats and tumblers was reorganised, emphasising the performing of plays. By 1590, Strange was allied with the Admiral's Men, performing at The Theatre (owned by James Burbage, father of Richard Burbage).

During this period, Ferdinando remained circumspect about his true opinions on religion and other matters. The Jesuit writer Robert Parsons expressed frustration, stating that "diverse men" were not satisfied "with the course of this lord hitherto". Parsons hoped that the accession of the Stanleys to the English throne might aid the Roman Catholic cause, but that "the Earl of Derby's religion is held to be doubtful, as some do think him to be of all three religions [Roman Catholic; Church of England; Puritan] and others of none." Parsons added that "no side will esteem or trust him" because of this. Nevertheless, Elizabeth's chief minister Lord Burghley received several reports that "Papists" were attempting to build support for Ferdinando, whom they might agree unanimously to make king, as one of his informants stated. others alleged arsenic.

A contemporary note of the Earl's symptoms, the remedies he took, and the grounds for suspicion of witchcraft survive. He fell sick at Knowsley Hall but travelled to Lathom House where he took bezoar stone and, allegedly, powdered unicorn's horn as medicine. He died on 16 April 1594.

Succession From his marriage to Alice Spencer, was born his eldest daughter, Anne Stanley, Countess of Castlehaven, in 1580. Henry VIII's will would have made her queen in 1603 as heiress of Henry's younger sister Mary Tudor; Elizabeth was actually succeeded by James VI of Scotland, the heir of Henry's older sister, Margaret Tudor.

Bernard Burke also mentioned two younger daughters of the Earl and Alice Spencer. Lady Frances Stanley (1583–1636) became the wife of John Egerton, 1st Earl of Bridgewater and mother of John Egerton, 2nd Earl of Bridgewater. Lady Elizabeth Stanley (1588–1633) was married to Henry Hastings, 5th Earl of Huntingdon. Their son Ferdinando Hastings, 6th Earl of Huntingdon was named after his maternal grandfather.

Ferdinando was succeeded as Earl of Derby by his younger brother, William. But the Baronies of Strange (of Knokyn) , Mohun (of Dunster) , and Stanley , fell into abeyance between his daughters and coheirs. The Barony of Strange (of Knokyn) was, however, improperly assumed by the succeeding Earls of Derby, and being, erroneously, supposed, in 1628, to belong to them, gave occasion to a writ of that date whereby a new Barony of the name of "Strange" was created.

Ancestry