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Viscountcy of Astor
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
Creation date	28 June 1917
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")

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.

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, 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.

Baron Astor (1916)

• William Waldorf Astor, 1st Baron Astor (1848–1919) (created Viscount Astor in 1917)

Viscounts Astor (1917)

• William Waldorf Astor, 1st Viscount Astor (1848–1919)
• Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor (1879–1952)
• William Waldorf Astor, 3rd Viscount Astor (1907–1966)
• William Waldorf Astor, 4th Viscount Astor (born 1951)

The heir apparent is the present holder's eldest son, the Hon. William Waldorf Astor (born 1979).
The heir apparent's heir apparent is his son, William Waldorf Astor (born 2012).

Line of succession

• William Waldorf Astor, 1st Viscount Astor (1848-1919)
  • Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor (1879-1952)
    • William Astor, 3rd Viscount Astor (1907-1966)
      • William Astor, 4th Viscount Astor (b. 1951)
        • (1) William Astor (b. 1979)
          • (2) William Astor (b. 2012)
          • (3) Conrad Astor (b. 2016)
        • (4) James Astor (b. 1981)
    • David Astor (1912-2001)
      • (5) Richard Astor (b. 1955)
      • Thomas Astor (b. 1962)
    • Michael Astor (1916-1980)
    • Jakie Astor (1918-2000)
      • Michael Astor (b. 1946)
      • John Astor (1962-1963)
  • John Rudolph Astor (1881)
  • John Jacob Astor, 1st Baron Astor of Hever (1886-1971)
    • Gavin Astor, 2nd Baron Astor of Hever (1918-1984)
      • John Astor, 3rd Baron Astor of Hever (b. 1946)
        • Charles Astor (b. 1990)
      • Philip Astor (b. 1959)
    • Hugh Astor (1920-1999)
    • John Astor (1923-1987)
      • John Astor (1953-2016)
      • George Astor (b. 1958)

See also

• Baron Astor of Hever
• Astor family

References

1. Kidd, Charles, Debrett's Peerage & Baronetage 2015 Edition, London, 2015, p. 59.
2. "No. 30156". The London Gazette. 29 June 1917. p. 6409.
3. Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles (1929). Armorial Families: a Directory of Gentleman of Coat-Armour. Hurst & Blackett. p. 58. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
4. ^ "Death of Lord Astor – a Great Anglo-American". The Times. 20 October 1919. p. 16.
5. dijit.net. "Astor Mausoleum - Mausolea & Monuments Trust". www.mmtrust.org.uk. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
6. "Obituary: Lord Astor – A Life of Public Service". The Times. 1 October 1952. p. 9.
7. ^ "Obituary: Viscount Astor – Former M.P. for East Fulham". The Times. 9 March 1966. p. 12.

External links

• Cracroft's Peerage page
• Hesilrige, Arthur G. M. (1921). Debrett's Peerage and Titles of courtesy. London: London: Dean & son, limited. p. 71.

v t e Extant viscountcies in the peerages of Britain and Ireland
Sorted by kingdom in which created, then creation date
England	Hereford
Scotland	Falkland Arbuthnott Oxfuird
Great Britain	Bolingbroke St John Cobham Falmouth Torrington Hood
Ireland	Gormanston Mountgarret Valentia Dillon Massereene Charlemont Downe Molesworth Chetwynd Midleton Boyne Gage Galway Powerscourt Ashbrook Southwell de Vesci Lifford Bangor Doneraile Harberton Hawarden Ferrard Monck Gort
United Kingdom	St Vincent Melville Sidmouth Exmouth Combermere Hill Hardinge Bridport Portman Hampden Hambleden Knutsford Esher Goschen Ridley Colville of Culross Selby Knollys Allendale Chilston Scarsdale Mersey Cowdray Devonport Astor Wimborne St Davids Rothermere Allenby Chelmsford Long Ullswater Younger of Leckie Bearsted Craigavon Bridgeman Hailsham Brentford Buckmaster Bledisloe Hanworth Trenchard Samuel Runciman of Doxford Davidson Weir Caldecote Camrose Stansgate Margesson Daventry Addison Kemsley Marchwood Montgomery of Alamein Waverley Thurso Brookeborough Norwich Leathers Soulbury Chandos De L'Isle Monckton of Brenchley Tenby Mackintosh of Halifax Dunrossil Stuart of Findhorn Rochdale Slim Head Boyd of Merton Mills Blakenham Eccles Dilhorne
Italics: This title is held by a peer who holds another of higher precedence.

• Viscounts Astor
• 1917 establishments in the United Kingdom
• Noble titles created in 1917
• Viscountcies in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
• Astor family
• People from Hever, Kent