George Augustus Frederick FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster (29 January 179420 March 1842), was an English peer and soldier.
Biography
![Arms of the House of FitzClarence](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b1/Arms_of_the_House_of_FitzClarence.svg)
The eldest
illegitimate son
Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as '' ...
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 long-time 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 (lover), mistress of Duke of Clarence, Prince William, Duke of Clarence, later William IV, and the moth ...
, he was well-educated, although his written English was poor (as was that of several of his royal uncles). Like his siblings, he had little contact with his mother after his parents separated in 1811, preferring to rely on his expectations from his father. He served as an army officer during the
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...
and subsequently in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. His father, though proud of his military record, was deeply concerned about his drinking and gambling, vices to which many of William's brothers were prone.
He was created
Earl of Munster, Viscount FitzClarence and Baron Tewkesbury on 4 June 1831,
and made a
Privy Councillor
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 ...
in 1833. "Earl of Munster" had been a title held by his father before his accession to the British throne. George, like his siblings, was dissatisfied with the provisions made for him and this, combined with his increasing mental instability, caused a series of quarrels with his father, which ended in a complete breach in relations between them. The estrangement caused the King great distress, but those close to him thought it better that there be as little contact as possible, since Munster's visits invariably upset his father. Even the death of Munster's sister
Sophia de L'Isle, the King's favourite child, in April 1837, did not bring about a reconciliation.
He gained the rank of major-general in 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 ...
and held the office of ''
aide-de-Camp'' to his father King William IV between 1830 and 1837. He held the office of
Lieutenant of the Tower of London
The Lieutenant of the Tower of London serves directly under the Constable of the Tower. The office has been appointed at least since the 13th century. There were formerly many privileges, immunities and perquisites attached to the office. Like the ...
between 1831 and 1833, was
Constable and Governor of Windsor Castle
The Constable and Governor of Windsor Castle is in charge of Windsor Castle in England on behalf of the sovereign. The day-to-day operations are under the Superintendent, who is an officer of the Master of the Household's Department of the Roy ...
between 1833 and 1842 and ''aide-de-Camp'' to
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
between 1837 and 1841. He was elected president of the
Royal Asiatic Society
The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, commonly known as the Royal Asiatic Society (RAS), was established, according to its royal charter of 11 August 1824, to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the en ...
in 1841.
Marriage and children
FitzClarence married Mary Wyndham (29 August 1792 – 3 December 1842), daughter of
George Wyndham, 3rd Earl of Egremont
George may refer to:
People
* George (given name)
* George (surname)
* George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George
* George Washington, First President of the United States
* George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...
, and his mistress Elizabeth Fox, on 18 October 1819. They had seven children:
* Lady Adelaide Georgiana FitzClarence (28 August 1820 – 11 October 1883); died unmarried.
* Lady Augusta Margaret FitzClarence (29 July 1822 – 5 September 1846); married Baron Knut Philip
Bonde
The House of Bonde is an ancient Swedish noble family. Today, two branches of the family survive, the barons of the House of Bonde which is number 20 in the Swedish House of Nobility and the counts of the House of Bonde af Björnö, number 41.
...
in Paris in 1844, died of childbed fever in
Katrineholm
Katrineholm (pronunciation: or ) is a locality and the seat of Katrineholm Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden with 24,271 inhabitants in 2018. It is located in the inland of Södermanland and is the third largest urban area in the county ...
, Sweden, one daughter (Ingeborg Augusta Sofia
Bonde
The House of Bonde is an ancient Swedish noble family. Today, two branches of the family survive, the barons of the House of Bonde which is number 20 in the Swedish House of Nobility and the counts of the House of Bonde af Björnö, number 41.
...
, 1846–1872).
*
William George FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster (19 May 1824 – 30 April 1901).
*
Hon
Hon or HON may refer to:
People
* Han (surname) (Chinese: 韩/韓), also romanized Hon
* Louis Hon (1924–2008), French footballer
* Priscilla Hon (born 1998), Australian tennis player
Other uses
* Hon (Baltimore), a cultural stereotype of ...
Frederick Charles George FitzClarence (1 February 1826 – 17 December 1878); married Adelaide Augusta Wilhelmine Sidney, daughter of his aunt Sophia FitzClarence; no issue.
* Lady Mary Gertrude FitzClarence (ca. 1832 – 1834); died in infancy.
*
Captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
Hon George FitzClarence (15 April 1836 – 24 March 1894); married Maria Henrietta Scott (d. 1912), had issue, including
Charles FitzClarence. Grandfather of the 6th Earl of Munster and great-grandfather of the
7th (and last) Earl.
*
Lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...
Hon Edward FitzClarence (8 July 1837 – 23 July 1855); unmarried, died of wounds during the
Siege of Sevastopol in the
Crimean War
The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia.
Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...
.
Death
FitzClarence committed suicide at the age of 48 in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. He shot himself with a pistol presented to him by
King George IV
George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...
when Prince of Wales. The first shot only wounded his hand; while his footman went for help, having been told there had been an accident, Lord Munster put the gun in his mouth with his left hand and shot himself in the head. His suicide came as no surprise to his family who had long been concerned about his mental condition; his father's biographer attributes it to "a paranoiac sense of persecution." At his
inquest
An inquest is a judicial inquiry in common law jurisdictions, particularly one held to determine the cause of a person's death. Conducted by a judge, jury, or government official, an inquest may or may not require an autopsy carried out by a coro ...
, his doctor and a surgeon told the
coroner
A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into Manner of death, the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...
that they believed he was going mad, and in recent years there has been speculation that he suffered from the probably hereditary malady of
porphyria
Porphyria is a group of liver disorders in which substances called porphyrins build up in the body, negatively affecting the skin or nervous system. The types that affect the nervous system are also known as acute porphyria, as symptoms are ra ...
which had afflicted his grandfather and several other members of the family.
[Van der Kiste, John, ''George Fitzclarence, Earl of Munster'', Amazon KDP, 2012.]
He was succeeded in the earldom and other titles by his eldest son, William.
Works
*''Memoirs of the Late War: Comprising the Personal Narrative of Capt. Cooke, the History of the Campaign of 1809 in Portugal, by the Earl of Munster, and a Narrative of the Campaign of 1814 in Holland'' (1831); An account of his experiences in the
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...
*''Fahrasat al-kutub allatī narghabu an nabtāʻahā wa-al-masāyil allatī tuwaḍḍiḥu jins al-kutub allatī narghabu al-ḥuṣūl ʻalayhā innamā najhalu asmāyihā wa-al-masāyil fī ʻilm al-ḥarb'' () (1840); on the art of Islamic warfare, a catalogue list of library desiderata in Arabic, Persian, Turkish, and Hindustani, compiled by
Aloys Sprenger
Aloys Sprenger (born 3 September 1813, in Nassereith, Tyrol; died 19 December 1893 in Heidelberg) was an Austrian Oritentalist.
Sprenger studied medicine, natural sciences as well as oriental languages at the University of Vienna. In 1836 he ...
and commissioned by FitzClarence.
*''Meadows of gold and mines of gems'' (translation from the
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
'Murudj al-dhaha'; ), (London, 1841); by Aloys Sprenger; English translation of the historical encyclopedia by the tenth-century
Abbasid
The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...
scholar
al-Masudi
Al-Mas'udi ( ar, أَبُو ٱلْحَسَن عَلِيّ ٱبْن ٱلْحُسَيْن ٱبْن عَلِيّ ٱلْمَسْعُودِيّ, '; –956) was an Arab historian, geographer and traveler. He is sometimes referred to as the "Herodotus ...
dedicated to FitzClarence Earl of Munster. In his preface the Austrian orientalist acknowledges the earl's assistance correcting and rendering the Arabic into the English idom, and in the compilation of the notes.
Ancestry
References
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External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Munster, George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of
1794 births
1842 deaths
Arabists
British Army generals
British Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars
British orientalists
British politicians who committed suicide
British military personnel who committed suicide
Fellows of the Royal Society
George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster
Illegitimate children of William IV of the United Kingdom
Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Peers of the United Kingdom created by William IV
Military personnel from London
Sons of kings
Presidents of the Royal Asiatic Society
Suicides by firearm in England
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