William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster
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William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster
Earl of Munster
Earl of Munster is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of Ireland and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The first creation came in the Peerage of Ireland in 1789 in favour of Prince William, the third son of King George III. He was made Duke of Clarence and St Andrews...

, (19 May 1824 - 30 April 1901) was an English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...

 aristocrat, and the grandson of King William IV
William IV of the United Kingdom
William IV was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death...

.

Family

FitzClarence's father, Lord George Augustus FitzClarence
George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster
George Augustus Frederick FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster PC , was the eldest natural son of William IV of the United Kingdom and his long-time mistress Dorothy Jordan....

, was the 1st Earl of Munster
Earl of Munster
Earl of Munster is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of Ireland and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The first creation came in the Peerage of Ireland in 1789 in favour of Prince William, the third son of King George III. He was made Duke of Clarence and St Andrews...

, and an illegitimate son of William IV
William IV of the United Kingdom
William IV was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death...

 by his long-time mistress Mrs. Jordan. Therefore Fitzclarence was the great-grandson of King George III. His mother was Mary Wyndham (d. 3 December 1842), the illegitimate daughter of George O'Brien Wyndham, 3rd Earl of Egremont.

Marriage and issue

FitzClarence was married to his first cousin Wilhelmina Kennedy-Erskine (27 June 1830 - 9 October 1906) on 17 April 1855. In later life, she became a novelist. They had 9 children;
  • Edward, Viscount Fitz-Clarence (29 March 1856-1870)
  • Hon. Lionel Frederick Archibald (24 July 1857-24 March 1863)
  • Maj. Geoffrey George Gordon, 3rd Earl of Munster
    Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster
    Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster, , was an English aristocrat, and the great-grandson of King William IV by his mistress Dorothea Jordan.-Family:...

     (18 July 1859-2 February 1902); died without issue
  • Hon. Arthur Falkland Manners (1860-1861)
  • Aubrey, 4th Earl of Munster (7 June 1862-1 January 1928); died without issue
  • Hon. William George (17 September 1864-4 October 1899)
  • Hon. Harold Edward (15 November 1870-28 August 1926); his son was the 5th Earl of Munster
    Geoffrey FitzClarence, 5th Earl of Munster
    Sir Geoffrey William Richard Hugh FitzClarence, 5th Earl of Munster KBE PC , was a British peer and Conservative politician....

  • Lady Lillian Adelaide Katherine Mary (10 December 1873-15 July 1948)
  • Lady Dorothea Augusta (5 May 1876-28 January 1942)

Life

He succeeded to the peerage on the suicide of his father, 20 March 1842. For the most part, FitzClarence led a typical Victorian upper-class life of hunting parties and balls. He died, at 23 Palmeira Square, Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...

, at the age of 77, when his cousin Edward VII was on the throne of the United Kingdom. He was buried at Cuckfield
Cuckfield
Cuckfield is a large village and civil parish in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England, on the southern slopes of the Weald. It lies south of London, north of Brighton, and east northeast of the county town of Chichester. Nearby towns include Haywards Heath to the southeast and Burgess...

, Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...

.

Trivia

As a young boy, his great aunt Victoria, Duchess of Kent, refused to let his mother take him to see her daughter, the future Queen Victoria, because she was afraid of 'something' happening. They were both under fifteen years old.

He was succeeded as Earl by his third son, Geoffrey George Gordon
Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster
Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster, , was an English aristocrat, and the great-grandson of King William IV by his mistress Dorothea Jordan.-Family:...

.
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