The Lords of Mann, Earls of Derby, continued in an unbroken line until 1736 with the death of James Stanley, 10 Earl of Derby. James left no heirs and so both the Earldom and the Lordship of Mann were temporarily left vacant.

The Earldom of Derby, an English / British peerage, entitled the successor to a seat in the House of Lords. It was therefore necessary for it to pass to a male line descendant. As a result, the peerage was succeeded by a distant relative, Edward Stanley, as a male line descendant of Sir James Stanley the younger brother of Thomas III, 2nd Earl of Derby (some 240 years later). From this point on, the Earls of Derby gave up any claim to the Isle of Man.

As the succeeding Earl of Derby made no claim to the Isle of Man, it was granted to the only claimant, James Murray, 2nd Duke of Atholl. James was a descendant in the female line to William Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby. His claim passing free of any contending claimants, James was granted the Isle of Man becoming the Lord of Mann.

During James' reign as the Lord of Mann, several attempts were made by England to purchase the Island and James refused all offers. In 1764, James died and the Island passed to his nephew and son-in-law, John Murray, 3rd Duke of Atholl. Perhaps seeing an opportunity to capitalize from the newly appointed Lord of Mann, England increased it's pressure. Trade was blocked around the Island and goods coming into the Isle of Man were seized. Left with little choice, Lord John agreed to the sale of the Island to the British crown.

In 1765 George III of the United Kingdom became the Lord of Mann. His take over of the Isle of Man was a military conflict that brought great fear to the Manx creating civil unrest. Historians consider George III's seizure of the Island not dissimilar to much of his reign as King as he is remembered for a great number of military conflicts, particularly the American Revolutionary War.

Since the reign of George III all succeeding monarchs in the United Kingdom have also succeeded as the Lords of Mann. Today, HM Queen Elizabeth II is also known as the Lord of Mann in her role as the de facto sovereign of the Isle of Man.

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