EDWARD STANLEY, 3rd earl of Derby 0508-1572), was a son of Thomas Stanley, 2nd earl and grandson of the ist earl, and suc ceeded to the earldom on his father's death in May i521. During his minority Cardinal Wolsey was his guardian, and as soon as he came of age he began to take part in public life. He helped to quell the rising known as the Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536; but remaining true to the Roman Catholic faith he disliked and op posed the religious changes made under Edward VI. Under Eliza beth his younger sons, Sir Thomas (d. 1576) and Sir Edward Stanley (d. 1609), were concerned in a plot to free Mary, queen of Scots, and he himself was suspected of disloyalty. He died at Lathom House, near Ormskirk, on Oct. 24, 1572.
Derby's first wife was Katherine, daughter of Thomas Howard, duke of Norfolk, by whom he had, with other issue, a son Henry, the 4th earl (c. i531-1593), who was a member of the council of the North, and like his father was lord-lieutenant of Lancashire. Henry was one of the commissioners who tried Mary, queen of Scots, and was employed by Elizabeth on other high undertakings both at home and abroad. He died on Sept. 25, 1593. His wife Margaret (d. 1596), daughter of Henry Clifford, 2nd earl of Cum berland, was descended through the Brandons from King Henry VII. Two of his sons, Ferdinando (c. 1559-1594), and William (c. 1561-1642), became in turn the 5th and 6th earls of Derby. Ferdinando, the 5th earl (d. 1594), wrote verses, and is eulogized by Spenser under the name of Amyntas.