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Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton

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The Duke of Grafton

Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton KG (28 September 1663 – 9 October 1690) was the illegitimate son of King Charles II of England by Barbara Villiers, Countess of Castlemaine.

On 1 August 1672 he was married at the age of nine to the five-year-old Isabella, the daughter and heiress of Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington. The wedding ceremony was repeated on 7 November 1679. They were parents to Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton. Diana, Princess of Wales was one of his descendants.

At the time of his marriage, Henry was created Baron Sudbury, Viscount Ipswich, and Earl of Euston; in 1675 he was created Duke of Grafton. Charles II made him a Knight of the Garter in 1680. He was made a colonel of the Grenadier Guards in 1681.

He was brought up as a sailor, and saw military service at the siege of Luxembourg in 1684.[1] In that year, he received a warrant to supersede Sir Robert Holmes as Governor of the Isle of Wight, when the latter was charged with making false musters. However, Holmes was acquitted by court-martial and retained the governorship. In 1686 he killed John Talbot, brother of the Earl of Shrewsbury, in a duel.

At King James II's coronation Grafton was Lord High Constable. During the rebellion of the Duke of Monmouth he commanded the royal troops in Somerset; but later he acted with John Churchill, and joined William of Orange to overthrow the King in the Revolution of 1688.[1]

He died in 1690 of a wound received at the storming of Cork while leading William's forces.[1] He was 27. In October 1697 his widow married Sir Thomas Hanmer, a young Buckinghamshire baronet.

Ancestry

Family of Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton
16. Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley
8. James I of England
17. Mary, Queen of Scots
4. Charles I of England
18. Frederick II of Denmark
9. Anne of Denmark
19. Sofie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
2. Charles II of England
20. Antoine of Navarre
10. Henry IV of France
21. Jeanne III of Navarre
5. Henrietta Maria of France
22. Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
11. Marie de' Medici
23. Johanna of Austria
1. Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton
24. George Villiers
12. Edward Villiers
25. Audrey Saunders
6. William Villiers, 2nd Viscount Grandison
26. John St. John
13. Barbara St. John
27. Lucy Hungerford
3. Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland
28. Paul Bayning
14. Paul Bayning, 1st Viscount Bayning
29. Susanna Norden
7. Mary Bayning
30. Henry Glemham
15. Anne Glemham
31. Anne Sackville

Legacy

The Duke of Grafton owned land in what was then the countryside near Dublin, Ireland, which later became part of the city. A country lane on this land eventually developed into Grafton Street, one of Dublin's main streets.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Public Domain One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Grafton, Dukes of". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 12 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 316–317.

References

Political offices
Preceded by Vice-Admiral of England
1682–1689 		Succeeded by
Honorary titles
Vacant
Title last held by
The Earl of Northumberland 		Lord High Constable of England
1685 		Vacant
Title next held by
The Duke of Ormonde
Preceded by Lord Lieutenant of Suffolk
1685–1689 		Succeeded by
Military offices
Preceded by Colonel of the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards
1681–1688 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Colonel of the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards
1688–1689 		Succeeded by
Peerage of England
New creation Duke of Grafton
1675–1690 		Succeeded by
Earl of Euston
1672–1690
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