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William Waldorf Astor II, 3rd Viscount Astor (13 August 1907 – 7 March 1966) was an English businessman and Conservative Party politician. He was also a member of the Astor family.
In World War II, he served as a naval intelligence officer, acquiring no distinction, but gaining many influential contacts.[1] He returned as the Conservative MP for Wycombe in the 1951 general election, serving for ten months. On his father's death in 1952, he inherited his peerages, becoming the 3rd Viscount Astor and Baron Astor, with a seat in the House of Lords. This forced a by-election in Wycombe, which was won by the Conservative candidate John Hall.
Astor then took over the family's Cliveden estate in Buckinghamshire, where he and his family continued to live until 1966. Active in thoroughbredhorse racing, he inherited Cliveden Stud, a horse farm and breeding operation in the village of Taplow near Maidenhead.
During the 1963 Profumo affair, Astor was accused of having an affair with Mandy Rice-Davies. In response to being told during one of the trials arising out of the scandal that Astor had denied having an affair with her, Rice-Davies famously replied, "Well he would, wouldn't he?"
William married Sarah Norton (20 January 1920 – 4 February 2013; daughter of Richard, 6th Baron Grantley) on 14 June 1945 and they were divorced in 1953. They had one son together:
William married Phillipa Victoria Hunloke (10 December 1930 – 20 July 2005, whose maternal grandfather was Victor Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire) on 26 April 1955 and they were divorced on 3 June 1960. They had one daughter together:
Emily Mary Astor (born 9 June 1956)
William Astor married, finally Bronwen Alun-Pugh on 14 October 1960. They had two daughters:
Janet Elizabeth Astor (born 1 December 1961); she married the Earl of March and Kinrara, later the 11th Duke of Richmond, on 30 November 1991.
^Hammond, Peter W. (ed.) The Complete Peerage or a History of the House of Lords and All its Members From the Earliest Times, Volume XIV: Addenda & Corrigenda. (Stroud, Gloucestershire: Sutton Publishing, 1998) pages 669–670.
^"Viscount Astor Dies in Nassau Of Heart Attack at Age of 58. Son of Lady Nancy Astor. Former M.P. Was Named in '63 Profamo (sic) Scandal". New York Times. 8 March 1966. Retrieved 21 March 2010.
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This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources William Astor 3rd Viscount Astor news newspapers books scholar JSTOR June 2014 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article s lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article October 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message William Waldorf Astor II 3rd Viscount Astor 13 August 1907 7 March 1966 was an English businessman and Conservative Party politician He was also a member of the Astor family The Right HonourableThe Viscount AstorAstor with his wife Bronwen on their wedding dayMember of the House of Lords Lord TemporalIn office 30 September 1952 7 March 1966Hereditary PeeragePreceded byThe 2nd Viscount AstorSucceeded byThe 4th Viscount AstorMember of Parliament for WycombeIn office 25 October 1951 30 September 1952Preceded byJohn HaireSucceeded byJohn HallMember of Parliament for Fulham EastIn office 14 November 1935 15 June 1945Preceded byJohn WilmotSucceeded byMichael StewartPersonal detailsBornWilliam Waldorf Astor II 1907 08 13 13 August 1907Cliveden Buckinghamshire EnglandDied7 March 1966 1966 03 07 aged 58 Nassau BahamasSpousesSarah Norton m 1945 div 1953 wbr Phillipa Hunloke m 1955 div 1960 wbr Bronwen Alun Pugh m 1960 wbr Children4 including William 4th ViscountParent s Waldorf 2nd Viscount AstorNancy LanghorneRelativesAstor familyAlma materEton CollegeNew College OxfordOccupationBusinessman politician Contents 1 Background and education 2 Political career 3 Personal life and death 4 References 5 External linksBackground and education editWilliam was the eldest son of Waldorf Astor and Nancy Witcher Langhorne by marriage Viscountess Astor He was educated at Eton and at New College Oxford Political career editIn 1932 Astor was appointed secretary to Victor Bulwer Lytton 2nd Earl of Lytton at a League of Nations Committee of Enquiry in what was then known as Manchuria First elected to the House of Commons in 1935 he served as a Conservative Member of Parliament MP for Fulham East until 1945 Between 1936 and 1937 he was Parliamentary Private Secretary to the First Lord of the Admiralty Samuel Hoare who was then made Home Secretary in the new cabinet of Neville Chamberlain in 1937 In World War II he served as a naval intelligence officer acquiring no distinction but gaining many influential contacts 1 He returned as the Conservative MP for Wycombe in the 1951 general election serving for ten months On his father s death in 1952 he inherited his peerages becoming the 3rd Viscount Astor and Baron Astor with a seat in the House of Lords This forced a by election in Wycombe which was won by the Conservative candidate John Hall Astor then took over the family s Cliveden estate in Buckinghamshire where he and his family continued to live until 1966 Active in thoroughbred horse racing he inherited Cliveden Stud a horse farm and breeding operation in the village of Taplow near Maidenhead During the 1963 Profumo affair Astor was accused of having an affair with Mandy Rice Davies In response to being told during one of the trials arising out of the scandal that Astor had denied having an affair with her Rice Davies famously replied Well he would wouldn t he Personal life and death editAstor married three times 2 William married Sarah Norton 20 January 1920 4 February 2013 daughter of Richard 6th Baron Grantley on 14 June 1945 and they were divorced in 1953 They had one son together William Astor 4th Viscount Astor William Waldorf Astor III born 27 December 1951 he married Annabel Jones on 14 January 1976 William married Phillipa Victoria Hunloke 10 December 1930 20 July 2005 whose maternal grandfather was Victor Cavendish 9th Duke of Devonshire on 26 April 1955 and they were divorced on 3 June 1960 They had one daughter together Emily Mary Astor born 9 June 1956 William Astor married finally Bronwen Alun Pugh on 14 October 1960 They had two daughters Janet Elizabeth Astor born 1 December 1961 she married the Earl of March and Kinrara later the 11th Duke of Richmond on 30 November 1991 Pauline Marian Astor born 26 March 1964 Astor died in Nassau Bahamas aged 58 from a heart attack 3 and was buried in the Octagon Temple at Cliveden 4 His son succeeded him in the viscountcy References edit Anthony Summers amp Stephen Dorril Honeytrap Coronet Books 1987 page 64 Hammond Peter W ed The Complete Peerage or a History of the House of Lords and All its Members From the Earliest Times Volume XIV Addenda amp Corrigenda Stroud Gloucestershire Sutton Publishing 1998 pages 669 670 Viscount Astor Dies in Nassau Of Heart Attack at Age of 58 Son of Lady Nancy Astor Former M P Was Named in 63 Profamo sic Scandal New York Times 8 March 1966 Retrieved 21 March 2010 dijit net Astor Mausoleum Mausolea amp Monuments Trust www mmtrust org uk Retrieved 11 August 2017 External links editHansard 1803 2005 contributions in Parliament by the Viscount AstorParliament of the United KingdomPreceded byJohn Wilmot Member of Parliament for Fulham East1935 1945 Succeeded byMichael StewartPreceded byJohn Haire Member of Parliament for Wycombe1951 1952 Succeeded bySir John HallPeerage of the United KingdomPreceded byWaldorf Astor Viscount Astor1952 1966 Succeeded byWilliam Astor Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title William Astor 3rd Viscount Astor amp oldid 1183720528, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
