13th Earl of Derby),母亲是卡罗林·玛格丽特·霍恩比(Charlotte Margaret Hornby),外祖父是杰弗里·霍恩比神父(Rev. GeoffreyHornby)。他的家族历史悠久,非常富裕,拥有大片土地,主要住在兰开夏郡诺斯利堂(Knowsley Hall)。德比受教于伊顿公学与牛津大学基督堂学院。
Duncan; Gibbs, Vicary; Doubleday, H. Arthur (Herbert Arthur); White, Geoffrey H. (Geoffrey Henllan). The complete peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great
2007: 30– [19 January 2013]. ISBN 978-0-9556753-3-1. John Caldwell; Emma Hornby; David Nicholas Maw. Essays on the History of English Music in Honour of