Viscount Astor, of Hever Castle

Hever Castle

Hever Castle is located in the village of Hever near Edenbridge, Kent, south-east of London, England. It began as a country house, built in the 13th century...

 in the County of Kent, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom

Peerage of the United Kingdom

The Peerage of the United Kingdom comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Act of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great Britain...

. It was created in 1917 for the financier and statesman William Waldorf Astor, 1st Baron Astor

William Waldorf Astor, 1st Viscount Astor

William Waldorf Astor, 1st Viscount Astor was a very wealthy American who became a British nobleman. He was a member of the prominent Astor family.-Life in United States:...

. 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, the second Viscount, was the husband of Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor

Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor

Nancy Witcher Astor, Viscountess Astor, CH, was the first woman to sit as a Member of Parliament in the British House of Commons.Constance Markievicz was the first woman elected to the House of Commons in December 1918 after running for the Sinn Féin party in 1918 General Election, but in line...

, the first woman to sit in the House of Commons

British House of Commons

The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...

. As of 2009 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 peer

Hereditary peer

Hereditary peers form part of the Peerage in the United Kingdom. There are over seven hundred peers who hold titles that may be inherited. Formerly, most of them were entitled to sit in the House of Lords, but since the House of Lords Act 1999 only ninety-two are permitted to do so...

s that remain in the House of Lords

House of Lords

The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....

 after the passing of the House of Lords Act 1999

House of Lords Act 1999

The House of Lords Act 1999 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that was given Royal Assent on 11 November 1999. The Act reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. For centuries, the House of Lords had included several hundred members who inherited their seats;...

, and sits as a Conservative

Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

.

John Jacob Astor, 1st Baron Astor of Hever

John Jacob Astor, 1st Baron Astor of Hever

Lieutenant-Colonel John Jacob Astor, 1st Baron Astor of Hever DL was a British military officer, statesman, a newspaper proprietor, and a member of the prominent Astor family...

, was the second son of the first Viscount. The Hon. David Astor

David Astor

Francis David Langhorne Astor CH was an English newspaper publisher and member of the Astor family.-Early life and career:...

, the Hon. Michael Astor and the Hon. Jakie Astor

Jakie Astor

Sir John Jacob "Jakie" Astor MBE was a British politician and sportsman and a member of the prominent Astor family....

, younger sons of the second Viscount, all gained prominence in public life.

The family seat is Ginge Manor, near Wantage

Wantage

Wantage is a market town and civil parish in the Vale of the White Horse, Oxfordshire, England. The town is on Letcombe Brook, about south-west of Abingdon and a similar distance west of Didcot....

, Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....

.

Viscounts Astor (1917)

• William Waldorf Astor, 1st Viscount Astor
  William Waldorf Astor, 1st Viscount Astor
  William Waldorf Astor, 1st Viscount Astor was a very wealthy American who became a British nobleman. He was a member of the prominent Astor family.-Life in United States:...
  
   (1848–1919)
• Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor
  Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor
  Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor was an American-born British politician and newspaper proprietor.-Early life:...
  
   (1879–1952)
• William Waldorf Astor, 3rd Viscount Astor (1907–1966)
• William Waldorf Astor, 4th Viscount Astor
  William Astor, 4th Viscount Astor
  William Waldorf Astor, 4th Viscount Astor is a British businessman and politician who sits as an elected hereditary peer in the House of Lords.-Biography:...
  
   (b. 1951)

The heir apparent

Heir apparent

An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....

is the present holder's son the Hon. William Waldorf Astor (b. 1979)