Lord Adolphus FitzClarence,
GCH,
ADC
ADC may refer to:
Science and medicine
* ADC (gene), a human gene
* AIDS dementia complex, neurological disorder associated with HIV and AIDS
* Allyl diglycol carbonate or CR-39, a polymer
* Antibody-drug conjugate, a type of anticancer treatm ...
(18 February 1802 – 17 May 1856) was a British
naval officer
An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service.
Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent contex ...
.
Biography
FitzClarence was born at
Bushy House
Bushy House is a Grade II* listed former residence of King William IV and Queen Adelaide in Teddington, London, which Lord Halifax had constructed for his own enjoyment on the site of a previous house Upper Lodge, Bushy Park, between 1714 and ...
,
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...
, and was an illegitimate child of
Prince William, Duke of Clarence and St Andrews (later William IV) and his mistress,
Dorothy Jordan.
Cokayne
George Edward Cokayne, (29 April 1825 – 6 August 1911), was an English genealogist and long-serving herald at the College of Arms in London, who eventually rose to the rank of Clarenceux King of Arms. He wrote such authoritative and standar ...
et al., ''The Complete Peerage
''The Complete Peerage'' (full title: ''The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom Extant, Extinct, or Dormant''; first edition by George Edward Cokayne, Clarenceux King of Arms; 2nd edition rev ...
'', volume II, p. 2035 He attended a
boarding school in
Sunbury-on-Thames before being sent to sea at the age of eleven in 1813, aboard . He subsequently served as a
midshipman aboard based in North America and then later in the
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...
. On receiving his commission as lieutenant in April 1821, he transferred to and after being promoted to the rank of
commander in May 1823, he later served aboard and in the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...
. When promoted to
captain in December 1824, he commanded in 1826, in 1827 and in 1828.
On the accession of FitzClarence's father as king in 1830, he took command of the
Royal Yacht, . His father also granted him and his siblings the rank of a younger son/daughter of a marquess by
Royal Warrant of Precedence in 1831, enabling him to prefix ''Lord'' before his name and he was knighted the following year.
He was also appointed
Groom of the Robes Groom of the Robes is an office in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of England (later Great Britain, ultimately the United Kingdom). In 1953, the Groom of the Robes to Elizabeth II had the task of bringing forward the robes and other items of ...
in 1830 and a
Lord of the Bedchamber
Gentleman of the Bedchamber was a title in the royal household of the Kingdom of England from the 11th century, later used also in the Kingdom of Great Britain. A Lord of the Bedchamber was a courtier in the Royal Household; the term being fir ...
in 1833.
On the death of his father and the accession of his cousin
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
in 1837, FitzClarence retained command of the Royal Yacht (until he was promoted to a
rear-admiral
Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...
in 1853) and his allowance allowed to continue. The queen reported that he "burst into tears, and said it was unexpected, for they
he FitzClarencesdid not dare to hope for anything" (as illegitimate children of a former monarch). In 1848, he also became a naval
aide-de-camp to the queen and retained the office until he died, unmarried, at
Newburgh Priory
Newburgh Priory is a Grade 1 listed Tudor building near Coxwold, North Yorkshire, England.
Originally a house of Augustinian canons, it was founded in 1145 and became a family home following the dissolution of the priory in 1538. The present h ...
in 1856.
He was interred in the
chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse.
Ov ...
of
St. Michael's Church,
Coxwold
Coxwold is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England, in the North York Moors, North York Moors National Park. It is 18 miles north of York and is where the Rev. Laurence Sterne wrote ''A Sentimental Jour ...
.
Ancestry
Notes
See also
*
References
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:FitzClarence, Adolphus
1802 births
1856 deaths
Adolphus FitzClarence, Lord
Illegitimate children of William IV of the United Kingdom
Royal Navy officers
Royal Navy rear admirals
Younger sons of marquesses
Sons of kings