William Astor, 4th Viscount Astor

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Member of the House of Lords
as a hereditary peer
4 July 1973 – 11 November 1999
Preceded byThe 3rd Viscount Astor
Succeeded bySeat abolished
as an elected hereditary peer
11 November 1999
Election1999
Preceded bySeat established
Personal details
Born
William Waldorf Astor III

(1951-12-27) 27 December 1951 (age 72)
Political partyConservative
Spouse
​
(m. 1976)​
Children3
Parents
RelativesSee Astor family
Alma materEton College
OccupationPolitician, businessman

William Waldorf Astor III, 4th Viscount Astor (born 27 December 1951) is an English businessman and politician who sits as a

Lord Temporal in the House of Lords. He is a member of the Astor family, which is known for its prominence in business, society, and politics in both the United States and the United Kingdom
.

Biography

Astor was a

Department of National Heritage
where he served until leaving the government in 1995.

He was a member of the Founding Council of the Rothermere American Institute at the University of Oxford.[1]

Viscount Astor is Chairman of

Silvergate Media
and director of Networkers Plc (since 2007) and trustee of Stanley Spencer Gallery in Cookham.

Political positions

Astor was an early opponent of the HS2 high-speed rail project.[2]

Marriage and children

Astor married Annabel Lucy Veronica Jones (born 1948), daughter of Timothy Angus Jones and Patricia David Pandora Clifford on 14 January 1976. They have three children:

  • Hon Flora Katherine Astor (born 7 June 1976). She is married to Theo Rycroft. They have three children: Nelson (born 2008), Pandora (born 2011) and Lydia (born 2016).
  • Hon William Waldorf "Will" Astor IV (born 18 January 1979). He is married to Lohralee Stutz. They have four children: William Waldorf (born 2012), Allegra Annabel (born 2013), Conrad Charles (born 2016) and India Isabel (born 2017).
  • Hon James Jacob "Jake" Astor (born 4 March 1981). He is married to Victoria L. Hargreaves. They have two children: Sibyl (born 2015) and Atalanta (born 2017).

The heir to the viscountcy is his elder son, Will.[3]

His wife Annabel's stepfather was his uncle Michael Langhorne Astor.

Viscountess Astor was previously married to Sir Reginald Sheffield, 8th Baronet by whom she is the mother of Samantha Cameron, wife of former Prime Minister David Cameron.

Arms

Coat of arms of William Astor, 4th Viscount Astor
Coronet
A Coronet of a Viscount
Crest
From a Mount Vert a Falcon rising proper ensigned by three Mullets Gold
Escutcheon
Or, a falcon resting on a dexter hand couped at the wrist proper and gauntleted gules in chief two fleurs-de-lys of the last
Supporters
Dexter: a North American Indian; Sinister: a North American fur trapper; each habited accoutred and holding in the exterior hand a Rifle all proper
Motto
Ad Astra (To the stars)

References

  1. ^ "Founding Council | The Rothermere American Institute". Rothermere American Institute. Archived from the original on 17 November 2012. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  2. ISSN 0261-3077
    . Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  3. ^ "Allegra Annabel Astor Birth Announcement". The Times. 21 August 2013.

External links

Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Viscount Astor
1966–present
Member of the House of Lords
(1972–1999) 		Incumbent
Parliament of the United Kingdom
New office
 Elected hereditary peer to the House of Lords
under the House of Lords Act 1999
1999–present 		Incumbent
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