Henry Hastings, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon

Sir Henry Hastings, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon
The Earl of Huntingdon
Born	1535 Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, England
Died	December 14, 1595 (aged 59/60) York, England
Resting place	St Helen's Church, Ashby-de-la-Zouch
Title	Earl of Huntingdon
Other titles	Baron Hastings
Successor	George Hastings, 4th Earl of Huntingdon
Spouse(s)	Lady Katherine Dudley
Parents	Francis Hastings, 2nd Earl of Huntingdon Catherine Pole
Occupation	Administrator, diplomat, and military commander

Sir Henry Hastings, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon, KG, KB (ca. 1535 – 14 December 1595) was a Puritan nobleman. Educated alongside the future Edward VI, he was briefly imprisoned by Mary I, and later considered by some as a potential successor to Elizabeth I. He hotly opposed the scheme to marry Mary, Queen of Scots to Norfolk, and was entrusted by Elizabeth to see that the Scottish Queen did not escape at the time of the threatened uprising in 1569. He is served as President of the Council of the North from 1572 until his death in 1595.

He was born in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, the eldest son of Francis Hastings, 2nd Earl of Huntingdon, and Catherine Pole. He was educated at first by private tutors at his family manor. A year or so senior to Edward VI, Hastings joined the young prince at his studies at the king's invitation. He was tutored under Richard Cox, John Cheke and Jean Belmain. They provided both youths with an education based in the principles of Humanism. In 1548 he spent a brief period at Queens' College, Cambridge, profoundly influenced by the evangelical Protestantism he encountered at court and at the university.