He was the eldest son of Edward Stanley, 11th Earl of Derby, whose predecessor's heirs had used that courtesy title, but the right to two successive baronies Lord Strange (being baronies by writ) had descended to daughters, when the earldom had passed to the heir male.

This marriage produced Edward Smith-Stanley, 12th Earl of Derby and several other children, including Thomas Stanley (1753–1779).

He attended Westminster School where he became a close friend of the future soldier, playwright, and politician John Burgoyne, who was to surrender his army at Saratoga in 1777.

He was Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in the ministry of Lord North from 1762 and became a Privy Councillor at the same time.

The regiment was disembodied in December 1762 as the war was coming to an end, but Strange remained its colonel for the rest of his life.