Background and education. Stanley was born at 23 St James's Square, London, the eldest son of Frederick Stanley (later the 16th Earl of Derby), by his wife Lady Constance Villiers. Frederick Stanley was the second son of Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, who was three times Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.Villiers was the daughter of the Liberal statesman …

Frederick Arthur Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby (1841–1908) Edward George Villiers Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby (1865–1948) Edward John Stanley, 18th Earl of Derby (1918–1994) Edward Richard William Stanley, 19th Earl of Derby (born 1962) The heir apparent is the present holder's son, Edward John Robin Stanley, Lord Stanley (born 1998).