George Hastings, 4th Earl of Huntingdon (1540 – 30 December 1604) was an English nobleman.
He was a son of
Francis Hastings, 2nd Earl of Huntingdon and Catherine Pole, daughter of
Henry Pole, 1st Baron Montagu and Jane Neville. He was a younger brother of
Henry Hastings, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon, and older brother of
Francis Hastings. He succeeded Henry as the 4th Earl.
He was
High Sheriff of Leicestershire in 1571 and
knight of the shire (MP) for
Derbyshire in 1562 and
Leicestershire
Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...
in 1584–1587. He was invested as a knight in 1565. They lived at
Gopsall and then
Loughborough, both in Leicestershire.
He hosted
Anne of Denmark and her children
Prince Henry and
Princess Elizabeth at
Ashby-de-la-Zouch
Ashby-de-la-Zouch, sometimes spelt Ashby de la Zouch () and shortened locally to Ashby, is a market town and civil parish in the North West Leicestershire district of Leicestershire, England. The town is near to the Derbyshire and Staffordshire ...
on 22 June 1603. Huntingdon was anxious for the queen to visit and enlisted the
Earl of Shrewsbury's steward Richard Bainbrigg and others to make his case that the royal party should come to
Ashby Castle from
Wollaton Hall.
He was succeeded by his grandson
Henry Hastings, 5th Earl of Huntingdon.
He died in 1604.
Marriage
George married
Dorothy Port, daughter and co-heiress of
Sir John Port of
Etwall, Derbyshire. They had five children:
*
Francis Hastings, Baron Hastings (1560–1595), who was father to
Henry Hastings, 5th Earl of Huntingdon.
*
Henry Hastings (1562 – 5 October 1650).
*Sir Edward Hastings.
*Catherine Hastings. Married first Sir Walter Chetwynd and secondly Sir
Edward Unton. Her second husband was a son of
Edward Unton and
Anne Seymour. Anne was a daughter of
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, and
Anne Stanhope.
*
Dorothy Hastings, was a Maid of Honour at court. She married a Scottish courtier, James Stewart, a son of
Walter Stewart of Blantyre.
[''HMC Manuscripts of the Duke of Portland'', vol. 9 (London, 1923), pp. viii, 119, 154.] Her second husband was Robert Dillon, 2nd
Earl of Roscommon.
References
History of Parliament HASTINGS, Sir George (c.1540–1604) of Etwall, Derbys, Gopsall, Leics and Loughborough, Leics*
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1540 births
1604 deaths
Lord-Lieutenants of Leicestershire
Lord-Lieutenants of Rutland
Members of the Parliament of England for Leicestershire
George Hastings, 4th Earl of Huntingdon
High Sheriffs of Leicestershire
English MPs 1563–1567
English MPs 1584–1585
English MPs 1586–1587
16th-century English nobility
4
People from Hinckley and Bosworth (district)
People from Loughborough
Barons Hastings
Barons Botreaux
Barons Hungerford
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