Geoffrey William Richard Hugh FitzClarence, 5th Earl of Munster, KBE, PC (17 February 1906 – 26 August 1975) was a British peer and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

politician.

Background

Munster was the son of Major the Honourable Harold Edward FitzClarence (seventh son of

William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster, (19 May 1824 – 30 April 1901), styled Viscount FitzClarence from 1831 to 1842, was a British peer. He was named after his grandfather, King William IV. Biography FitzClarence's father, George FitzCla ...

and

Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster (''née'' Kennedy-Erskine; 27 June 1830 – 9 October 1906) was a British peeress and novelist. Her mother, Lady Augusta FitzClarence, was an illegitimate daughter of William IV of the United Ki ...

) and his wife, Frances Isabel Eleanor (née Keppel) (1874–1951), whose paternal grandfather, Rev. William Arnold Walpole Keppel, was a male-line great-grandson of

Willem van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle Lieutenant-General Willem (or William) Anne van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle (5 June 1702 – 22 December 1754) was a British soldier, diplomat and courtier. He held various roles in the household of George II (1683-1760), who was a personal fr ...

. The 2nd Earl of Munster was the son of George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster, the eldest illegitimate child of

William IV of the United Kingdom 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 h ...

and 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 ...

. Geoffrey Munster was educated at

Charterhouse School (God having given, I gave) , established = , closed = , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , president ...

Political career

Munster succeeded his uncle as fifth Earl of Munster in 1928 and took his seat on the Conservative benches in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

. In 1934, he was appointed a Lord-in-waiting (government whip in the House of Lords) in the National Government of

Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the first who belonged to the Labour Party, leading minority Labour governments for nine months in 1924 ...

, a post he held until 1938, the last three years under the premiership firstly of

Stanley Baldwin Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, (3 August 186714 December 1947) was a British Conservative Party politician who dominated the government of the United Kingdom between the world wars, serving as prime minister on three occasions, ...

and secondly of

Neville Chamberlain Arthur Neville Chamberlain (; 18 March 18699 November 1940) was a British politician of the Conservative Party who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. He is best known for his foreign policy of appeasemen ...

. In June 1938, Chamberlain appointed Munster

Paymaster-General His Majesty's Paymaster General or HM Paymaster General is a ministerial position in the Cabinet Office of the United Kingdom. The incumbent Paymaster General is Jeremy Quin MP. History The post was created in 1836 by the merger of the posit ...

, an office he held until January 1939, when he was made

Under-Secretary of State for War The position of Under-Secretary of State for War was a British government position, first applied to Evan Nepean (appointed in 1794). In 1801 the offices for War and the Colonies were merged and the post became that of Under-Secretary of State fo ...

. He remained in this position until September 1939. Munster returned to the government in January 1943 when

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

appointed him

Parliamentary Secretary for India and Burma This is a list of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State and Permanent Under-Secretary of State, Permanent Under-Secretaries of State at the India Office during the British India, period of British rule be ...

, a post he held until October 1944, and then served as

Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department This article lists past and present Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State serving the Home Secretary of the United Kingdom at the Home Office. Non-permanent and parliamentary under-secretaries, 1782–present *April 1782: Evan Nepean *April 1 ...

until July 1945 when Labour came to power. When Churchill became Prime Minister for a second time in 1951, Munster was appointed

Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies The Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies was a junior Ministerial post in the United Kingdom government, subordinate to the Secretary of State for the Colonies and, from 1948, also to a Minister of State. Under-Secretaries of State for the Col ...

, an office he retained until 1954, and was then

Minister without Portfolio A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet w ...

between 1954 and 1957. In 1954, he was admitted to the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

Honours

Apart from his political career, Lord Munster was also

Lord Lieutenant of Surrey This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Surrey. Since 1737, all Lords Lieutenant have also been Custos Rotulorum of Surrey. Lord Lieutenants of Surrey *William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton 1551–1553? *William Howard, ...

from 1957 to 1973. In 1957 he was made a Knight Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(KBE)

Personal life

Lord Munster married Hilary Wilson in 1928. Lord Munster died in August 1975, aged 69, and was succeeded in his titles by his second cousin, Edward Charles FitzClarence, 6th Earl of Munster. Hilary FitzClarence, Countess of Munster, was an accomplished musician who founded the Countess of Munster Musical Trust in 1958. She died in 1979 at Sandhills,

Bletchingley Bletchingley (historically "Blechingley") is a village in Surrey, England. It is on the A25 road to the east of Redhill and to the west of Godstone, has a conservation area with medieval buildings and is mostly on a wide escarpment of the Gr ...

. Her estate was sworn for probate as £799,392 (). The house which had at the time more than 10 acres was built in 1893 by Mervyn Macartney in free Tudor style and is protected under UK law with Grade II listing.

Notes

References

* Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990,

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Munster, Geoffrey FitzClarence, 5th Earl of 1906 births 1975 deaths Conservative Party (UK) Baronesses- and Lords-in-Waiting 5 English people of Dutch descent

Geoffrey FitzClarence, 5th Earl of Munster Geoffrey William Richard Hugh FitzClarence, 5th Earl of Munster, KBE, PC (17 February 1906 – 26 August 1975) was a British peer and Conservative politician. Background Munster was the son of Major the Honourable Harold Edward FitzClarence ( ...

Foreign Office personnel of World War II Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Lord-Lieutenants of Surrey Members of London County Council Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Ministers in the Chamberlain peacetime government, 1937–1939 Ministers in the Churchill caretaker government, 1945 Ministers in the Churchill wartime government, 1940–1945 Ministers in the Eden government, 1955–1957 Ministers in the Macmillan and Douglas-Home governments, 1957–1964 Ministers in the third Churchill government, 1951–1955 People educated at Charterhouse School Schuyler family War Office personnel in World War II