Fortune FitzRoy, Duchess Of Grafton
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Ann Fortune FitzRoy, Duchess of Grafton, (; 24 February 1920 – 3 December 2021) was a British
courtier A courtier () is a person who attends the royal court of a monarch or other royalty. The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of the retinues of rulers. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the officia ...
who served as Mistress of the Robes to Queen
Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
from 1967 until her death in 2021. She was the wife of
Hugh FitzRoy, 11th Duke of Grafton Hugh Denis Charles FitzRoy, 11th Duke of Grafton (3 April 1919 – 7 April 2011) was the son of Charles FitzRoy, 10th Duke of Grafton, and his first wife Lady Doreen Maria Josepha Sydney Buxton, second daughter of Sydney Buxton, 1st Earl Buxt ...
, and grandmother of Henry FitzRoy, 12th Duke of Grafton.


Early life and family

She was born on 24 February 1920 to
Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
Evan Cadogan Eric Smith , of Lower Ashfold, Slaugham,
Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...
, and his wife Beatrice Helen (née Williams). Her father was chairman of
National Provincial Bank National Provincial Bank was a retail bank which operated in England and Wales. It was created in 1833 as National Provincial Bank of England, and expanded largely by taking over a number of other banks. Following the transformative acquisitio ...
and
Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...
. By birth, she was a member of the Smith banking family and a descendant of Oswald Smith of Blendon Hall,
Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
, and thereby a second cousin once removed of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and a fourth cousin of Sir Oswald Mosley. Fortune had three brothers: Sir John Smith, a
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
MP, banker and founder of the Landmark Trust; Jeremy Fox Eric Smith; and Mark Smith, an eye specialist. She was an aunt of Serena Soames, Baroness Soames of Fletching (second wife of Lord Soames of Fletching), and of Dione Grimston, Countess of Verulam. Smith trained as a nurse at the Great Ormond Street Hospital. She was presented as a
debutante A debutante, also spelled débutante ( ; from , ), or deb is a young woman of aristocratic or upper-class family background who has reached maturity and is presented to society at a formal "debut" ( , ; ) or possibly debutante ball. Origin ...
at
court A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and Administration of justice, administer justice in Civil law (common law), civil, Criminal law, criminal, an ...
during the 1938
season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...
.


Marriage and children

On 12 October 1946, she married the then Earl of Euston – later the 11th Duke of Grafton – at St Mary's Church, Slaugham. The couple had first met at a ball at Euston Hall. They had five children: * James Oliver Charles FitzRoy, Earl of Euston (13 December 1947 – 1 October 2009). He married Lady Clare Amabel Margaret Kerr on 16 September 1972 and had five children, including Henry FitzRoy, 12th Duke of Grafton. * Lady Henrietta Fortune Doreen FitzRoy (born 14 September 1949). She married Edward Gerald Patrick St. George (1928–2004) in 1979, had issue. * Lady Virginia Mary Elizabeth FitzRoy (born 10 April 1954). Goddaughter of
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
. She married Lord Ralph William Francis Joseph Kerr (born 1957), second son of Peter Kerr, 12th Marquess of Lothian, on 6 September 1980; they were divorced in 1987, no issue. Married, secondly, Roger Babington Hill in 1995, no issue. * Lord Charles Patrick Hugh FitzRoy (born 7 January 1957), who married Diana Miller-Stirling, and has two sons. * Lady Olivia Rose Mildred FitzRoy (born 1 August 1963), who married Guy Monson, an investment funds manager, and has two daughters, Olivia and Leonora. In 1970, Hugh FitzRoy, Earl of Euston, succeeded his father after his death as 11th
Duke of Grafton Duke of Grafton is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1675 by Charles II of England for Henry FitzRoy, his second illegitimate son by the Duchess of Cleveland. The most notable duke of Grafton was Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke o ...
, whereupon she became known as the Duchess of Grafton. The Duke died in April 2011, and Fortune became the Dowager Duchess of Grafton. Her husband was succeeded as duke by their grandson, Henry FitzRoy, Viscount Ipswich, since their elder son died in 2009. She turned 100 in February 2020 and died in London on 3 December 2021, at the age of 101.


Royal service

She was a
Lady of the Bedchamber Lady of the Bedchamber is the title of a lady-in-waiting holding the official position of personal attendant on a British queen regnant or queen consort. The position is traditionally held by the wife of a peer. A lady of the bedchamber would gi ...
to
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
between 1953 and 1966, being appointed shortly before the
coronation A coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power using a crown. In addition to the crowning, this ceremony may include the presentation of other items of regalia, and other rituals such as the taking of special v ...
, and served as Mistress of the Robes from 1967 until her death in 2021. She accompanied the Queen on numerous overseas visits including
Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
in 1956,
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
in 1972,
Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
in 1980 and
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
in 1994. The Duchess, when Countess of Euston, was appointed a Commander of the
Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...
(CVO) in the 1965 New Year Honours, she was later promoted to a Dame Commander (DCVO) in the 1970 New Year Honours and a Dame Grand Cross (GCVO) in the 1980 Birthday Honours. She was appointed a
magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...
in the London juvenile courts in 1949, the youngest female magistrate at the time, and served as Justice of the Peace for
West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...
between 1972 and 1990. She was involved with many local charities in
East Anglia East Anglia is an area of the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, with parts of Essex sometimes also included. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, ...
such as the local branches of the British Heart Foundation and the Royal British Legion's Women's Division.


Honours


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grafton, Fortune Fitzroy, Duchess Of 1920 births 2021 deaths British debutantes British women centenarians Fortune British duchesses by marriage English justices of the peace Dames Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau Companions of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia Fortune FitzRoy, Duchess of Grafton Fortune Ladies of the Bedchamber Mistresses of the Robes to Elizabeth II Wives of knights