Charles Stanley, 8th Earl of Derby, 2nd Baron Strange (19 January 1628 – 21 December 1672), was an English nobleman and politician.

He was the eldest son of James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby and Charlotte de La Trémouille.

After succeeding to the Earldom, he lived quietly at Bidston Hall, Cheshire, emerging to support Booth's unsuccessful rising in 1659.

[1] In 1650, he married Dorothea Helena Kirkhoven (died 1674), daughter of Jehan, Lord of Heenvliet of Holland; he was one of the diplomats involved in negotiating the marriage between William II, Prince of Orange and Mary, Princess Royal, daughter of King Charles I, future parents of King William III of England.

[citation needed] They had two sons: In 1660, Dorothea, who had her father's Netherlands nationality, was naturalised as English by Act of Parliament.