George Stanley, 9th Lord Strange of Knockyn (1460-1503) was an English nobleman and heir of Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby. Despite predeceasing his father in 1503, he was nevertheless a considerable soldier and aristocrat in his own right and held a number of senior offices of state.

He was born about 1460 in Knowsley, Lancashire, England, the eldest son of Thomas Stanley and his first wife Eleanor, sister of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, known as Warwick the Kingmaker. On his father's second marriage to Lady Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond he became stepbrother to her son, Henry Tudor, later King Henry VII.

He was invested as a Knight of the Order of the Bath in 1475 by King Edward IV. He held the offices of Constable of Pontefract Castle and Constable of Knaresborough Castle in 1485. He was present at the battle of Bosworth Field, but was held captive by Richard III because of his father's actions. He held the office of Constable of Wicklow Castle in 1486 and became Chief Justice of the Duchy of Lancaster in 1486. In 1487 he was invested with the Order of the Garter and made a Privy Counsellor.

He was married in 1482 to Joan L'Estrange, daughter of John L'Estrange and Jacquetta Woodville (daughter of Jacquetta of Luxembourg), thereby becoming 9th Baron Strange de jure uxoris (in the right of his wife) and was summoned to Parliament in this role.

Their children were:John Stanley, (d. 1503); Thomas Stanley, who following the premature death of his father, succeeded his grandfather as Thomas Stanley, 2nd Earl of Derby (1485-1521);James Stanley, Knight (1486-1562), who founded the branch of the family known as the 'Stanleys of Bickerstaffe', from which the 11th Earl of Derby and all subsequent Earls descend; George Stanley; Jane Stanley; Elizabeth Stanley and Margaret Stanley.

He died in Derby House, St Paul's Wharf, London over 4-5 December 1503, allegedly of poison following a banquet. He was buried in the London church of St James Garlickhythe nearby.

Sources

Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes (Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003), volume 1, page 1101.