| Viscountcy of Astor | |
|---|---|
 _Arms.svg) Arms of Viscount Astor: 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[1] | |
| Creation date | 28 June 1917 [2] |
| Created by | King George V |
| Peerage | Peerage of the United Kingdom |
| First holder | William Waldorf Astor, 1st Baron Astor |
| Present holder | William Astor, 4th Viscount Astor |
| Heir apparent | The Hon. William Astor |
| Remainder to | Heirs male of the first viscount's body, lawfully begotten |
| Subsidiary titles | Baron Astor |
| Seat(s) | Ginge Manor |
| Former seat(s) | Hever Castle Cliveden |
| Motto | Ad Astra ("To the stars")[3] |
1st Viscount Astor
Viscount Astor, of Hever Castle in the County of Kent, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1917 for the financier and statesman William Waldorf Astor, 1st Baron Astor. He had already been created Baron Astor, of Hever Castle in the County of Kent, in 1916, also in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.[4]
His eldest son Waldorf, the second Viscount, was the husband of Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor, the first woman to sit in the House of Commons. As of 2017[update], the titles are held by their grandson, the fourth Viscount, who succeeded his father in 1966. He is one of the ninety-two elected hereditary peers that remain in the House of Lords after the passing of the House of Lords Act 1999, and sits as a Conservative.
John Jacob Astor, 1st Baron Astor of Hever, was the third son of the first Viscount. This peerage, Baron Astor of Hever, was a separate creation in 1956 and not to be confused with the Viscount's subsidiary title of Baron Astor, of Hever Castle in the County of Kent. The Hon. David Astor CH, the Hon. Michael Astor and the Hon. Sir Jakie Astor, younger sons of the second Viscount, all gained prominence in public life.
The family seat is Ginge Manor, near Wantage, Oxfordshire.
The first three Viscounts Astor are buried within the Astor family chapel (also known as the Octagon Temple) at the Cliveden estate near Taplow, Buckinghamshire.[5]
- ^ Kidd, Charles, Debrett's Peerage & Baronetage 2015 Edition, London, 2015, p. 59.
- ^ "No. 30156". The London Gazette. 29 June 1917. p. 6409.
- ^ Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles (1929). Armorial Families: a Directory of Gentleman of Coat-Armour. Hurst & Blackett. p. 58. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
- ^ "Death of Lord Astor – a Great Anglo-American". The Times. 20 October 1919. p. 16.
- ^ dijit.net. "Astor Mausoleum - Mausolea & Monuments Trust". www.mmtrust.org.uk. Retrieved 11 August 2017.