Geoffrey George Gordon FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster, DSO (18 July 1859 – 2 February 1902), known as Lord Tewkesbury 1870–1901, was a

British peer The peerages in the United Kingdom are a legal system comprising both hereditary and lifetime titles, composed of various noble ranks, and forming a constituent part of the British honours system. The term '' peerage'' can be used both coll ...

, and the great-grandson of

King William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...

by his mistress

Dorothea Jordan Dorothea Jordan, née Bland (21 November 17615 July 1816), was an Anglo-Irish actress, as well as a courtesan. She was the long-time mistress of Prince William, Duke of Clarence, later William IV, and the mother of ten illegitimate children by ...

Family

Born Geoffrey George Gordon FitzClarence, he was the son of William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster (19 May 1824 – 30 April 1901) and Wilhelmina Kennedy-Erskine (27 June 1830 – 9 October 1906). His parents were first cousins, thus making Geoffrey a great-grandson of William IV twice over. His grandfather on his paternal side was George Augustus FitzClarence and his grandmother on his maternal side was Lady Augusta FitzClarence, who were brother and sister. Geoffrey was the third son of nine children. His elder brothers, Edward and Lionel, both died before reaching their majority. Edward died at the age of 14, Lionel as a young child.

Military career

Lord Tewkesbury was commissioned into the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

as a subaltern of the 2nd Battalion King's Royal Rifle Corps (then the 60th Rifles). He served in the

Second Anglo-Afghan War The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, ps, د افغان-انګرېز دويمه جګړه) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the l ...

in 1879–1880 at the age of 19, was present at the engagement at Ahmed Kheyl, and Uraco, near Ghaznee, and accompanied Lord Roberts in the march to

Kandahar Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118. It is the c ...

, and was present at the battle of that name. He also saw some service with the third battalion of his regiment in the

First Boer War The First Boer War ( af, Eerste Vryheidsoorlog, literally "First Freedom War"), 1880–1881, also known as the First Anglo–Boer War, the Transvaal War or the Transvaal Rebellion, was fought from 16 December 1880 until 23 March 1881 betwee ...

in 1881. He became captain in 1888 and resigned his commission in the Regular Forces in 1895. After his retirement he joined the part-time 3rd (Militia) Battalion, Royal Scots (Lothian Regiment) as a captain on 25 March 1896, and after some years' service in command of a company was promoted to the honorary rank of major. The battalion was embodied in December 1899 to serve in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the South ...

, and in early March 1900 left Queenstown on the ''SS Oriental'' for

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. Lord Tewkesbury was mentioned in dispatches and received the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, ty ...

(DSO) for his service.

Peerage

It was during his last military engagement in

that Lord Tewkesbury received notice of his father's death and his own succession to the Munster earldom and other titles. He never returned to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, dying in South Africa at the age of 42 from an accident at Lace Mines, just nine months after becoming 3rd Earl of Munster. The 3rd Earl was unmarried and had no children. The earldom and other titles therefore passed to his next brother Aubrey.

Titles

* Hon Geoffrey FitzClarence (1859-1870) * Lord Tewkesbury (1870-1901) *

The Rt Hon ''The Right Honourable'' (abbreviation: ''Rt Hon.'' or variations) is an honorific style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire and the Commonwealth of Nations. The term is ...

the 3rd Earl of Munster (1901-1902)

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Munster, Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of 1859 births 1902 deaths Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster Schuyler family Van Cortlandt family English people of Dutch descent Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Royal Scots officers Edinburgh Militia officers King's Royal Rifle Corps officers British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British military personnel of the First Boer War British military personnel of the Second Anglo-Afghan War 3