William de Clinton, 1st Earl of Huntingdon (1304 – 1354) and Lord High Admiral, was the younger son of Baron John Clinton of Maxstoke (Warwickshire) and Ida De Odingsells, who was a great-great-granddaughter of Henry II. The Clintons were a great Norman family who had arrived with William the Conqueror in 1066. The surname Clinton came from the lordship of Clinton in Oxfordshire, given to them at the Conquest. Geoffrey de Clinton was Lord Chamberlain and Treasurer of Henry I, while Roger de Clinton was Bishop of Coventry 1127–1148.

William de Clinton was a boyhood companion of Edward III of England, and as one of the king's followers who secretly entered Nottingham Castle and captured Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March. The arrest and subsequent execution of Mortimer cleared the way for the adolescent Edward III to assume power. In 1333, Edward III created William de Clinton Earl of Huntingdon. William de Clinton died childless.

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