HUNTINGDON, EARLS OF. GEORGE HASTINGS, first earl of Huntingdon' (c. 1488-1545), was the son and successor of Edward, second Baron Hastings (d. 1500), and the grandson of William, Baron Hastings, who was put to death by Richard III. in 1483. He was created earl of Huntingdon in 1529, and he was one of the royalist leaders during the suppression of the rising known as the Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536. His eldest son FRANCIS, the second earl (c. 1514-1561), was a close friend and political ally of John Dudley, duke of Northumberland, sharing the duke's fall and imprisonment after the death of Edward VI. in ; but he was quickly released, and was employed on public business by Mary. His brother Edward (c. 1520-1572) was one of Mary's most valuable servants ; a stout Roman Catholic, he was master of the horse and then lord chamberlain to the queen, and was created Baron Hastings of Loughborough in 1558, this title becoming extinct when he died.
The second earl's eldest son HENRY, the third earl (c. married Northumberland's daughter Catherine. His mother was Catherine Pole (d. 1576), a descendant of George, Duke of Clarence; and, asserting that he was thus entitled to succeed Elizabeth on the English throne, Huntingdon won a cer tain amount of support, especially from the Protestants and the enemies of Mary, queen of Scots. In 1572 he was appointed presi dent of the council of the north and during the period between the flight of Mary to England in 1568 and the defeat of the Spanish armada, twenty years later, he was frequently employed in the north of England. He was for a short time in 1569 one of the custodians of Mary. Lady Elizabeth Hastings (1682— 1739), daughter of Theophilus, the seventh earl, was famous for her charities and her piety. Her beauty drew encomiums from Congreve and from Steele in the pages of the Tatler, and her other qualities were praised by William Law. She was a benefactor to Queen's college, Oxford. THEOPHILUS (1696-1746), the ninth earl, was the husband of the famous Selina, countess of Hunting don (q.v.). The earldom became dormant in 1789, and was not revived until 1818.
'The title of earl of Huntingdon had previously been held in other families (see HUNTINGDONSHIRE) . The famous Robin Hood (q.v.) is said to have had a claim to the earldom.