Charles Palmer, later Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Cleveland, 1st Duke of Southampton, KG,

Chief Butler of England The Chief Butler of England is an office of Grand Sergeanty associated with the feudal Manor of Kenninghall in Norfolk. The office requires service to be provided to the Monarch at the Coronation, in this case the service of ''Pincera Regis'', or C ...

(18 June 1662 – 9 September 1730), styled Baron Limerick before 1670 and Earl of Southampton between 1670 and 1675 and known as The Duke of Southampton from 1675 until 1709 when he succeeded his mother to the dukedom of Cleveland.

Early life

He was the third eldest of the

illegitimate 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 ''b ...

sons of King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland, his mother being Barbara Villiers, later 1st Duchess of Cleveland, then the wife of

Roger Palmer, 1st Earl of Castlemaine Roger Palmer, 1st Earl of Castlemaine, PC (1634–1705) was an English courtier, diplomat, and briefly a member of parliament, sitting in the House of Commons of England for part of 1660. He was also a noted Roman Catholic writer. His wife Barba ...

. In recognition of his legal father the

Earl of Castlemaine The Earldom of Castlemaine was a title created in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created for Roger Palmer, the husband of Barbara Palmer (née Villiers), mistress to King Charles II. The Earl was also given the title ''Baron Limerick''. The ea ...

, he was styled from birth by the courtesy title Lord Limerick, one of the Earl's lesser titles. His birth marked the separation of his legal parents; Lord Castlemaine, a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

, had him christened in the Roman Catholic faith but six days later the King had him re-christened in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

Personal life

In 1670, at the age of eight, he was betrothed to Mary Wood, only child and sole heiress of Sir Henry Wood, 1st Baronet,

Clerk of the Green Cloth The Clerk of the Green Cloth was a position in the British Royal Household. The clerk acted as secretary of the Board of Green Cloth, and was therefore responsible for organising royal journeys and assisting in the administration of the Royal ...

, but with the proviso that the marriage be delayed until Mary was aged sixteen. Following the death of her father, the Duchess of Cleveland more or less abducted Mary, with the intention of bringing her up with her own children. In 1675, he was created

Duke of Southampton Duke of Southampton was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1675 for Charles FitzRoy, an illegitimate son of King Charles II by his mistress, the 1st Duchess of Cleveland. Together with the dukedom, Charles Fitzroy also receive ...

along with the subsidiary titles of ''

Earl of Chichester Earl of Chichester is a title that has been created three times, twice in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The current title was created in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1801 for Thomas Pelham, 2nd ...

'' and '' Baron Newbury''. The marriage to Mary Wood took place in 1679, but within months the new Duchess had died of smallpox, leaving no children of the marriage.Thomas Christopher Banks, ''The Dormant and Extinct Baronage of England. Supplement'' (1826), p. 442 In 1694, the Duke married secondly Anne, a daughter of Sir William Pulteney, of Misterton,

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

, and they had six children: *Lady Grace, born 28 March 1697, married in 1725 Henry Vane, later created

Earl of Darlington Earl of Darlington is a title that has been created twice, each time in the Peerage of Great Britain. Baroness von Kielmansegg, half-sister of King George I, was made countess of Darlington in 1722. This creation was for life only, and so the ...

* William FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Cleveland and 2nd Duke of Southampton (19 February 1698 – 18 May 1774) *Lord Charles Fitzroy (13 February 1698 – 31 July 1723) *Lord Henry Fitzroy (17 August 1701 – 1709) *Lady Anne, (12 November 1702 - 13 February 1769), married John Paddey, Esq. *Lady Barbara, died unmarried On the death of his mother in 1709, the Duke became also second

Duke of Cleveland Duke of Cleveland was a title that was created twice, once in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The dukedoms were named after Cleveland in northern England. The first creation in 1670 (along with the barony ...

, by a

special remainder In property law of the United Kingdom and the United States and other common law countries, a remainder is a future interest given to a person (who is referred to as the transferee or remainderman) that is capable of becoming possessory upon the ...

in the grant of the dukedom which set aside his illegitimacy. He died on 9 September 1730 and was buried at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

. He was succeeded by his eldest son William FitzRoy (1698–1774), who died without issue, when all his titles became extinct.

References

Ancestry

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cleveland, Charles Fitzroy, 2nd Duke Of 1662 births 1730 deaths 17th-century English nobility 18th-century English people House of Stuart Dukes of Cleveland Dukes of Southampton Knights of the Garter Illegitimate children of Charles II of England Peers of England created by Charles II Earls of Chichester Burials at Westminster Abbey Sons of kings