Lord Augustus FitzClarence (1 March 1805 – 14 June 1854), was the youngest

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 '' ...

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 ...

. Like his siblings, he had little contact with his mother after his parents separated in 1811.

Career

In 1829 Augustus was appointed a Chaplain of his father (then Duke of Clarence and St Andrews)George Newenham Wright, John Watkins: ''The Life and Reign of William the Fourth'', Volume 2, appendix IV, p. 854
and later that year he was presented with the vicarage of

Mapledurham Mapledurham is a small village, civil parish and country estate beside the River Thames in southern Oxfordshire. The large parish borders Caversham, the most affluent major district of Reading, Berkshire. Historic buildings in the area include ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

, succeeding John Sumner (later Bishop of Chester and Archbishop of Canterbury).Lord Augustus FitzClarence Obituary
''

The Gentleman's Magazine ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term ''magazine'' (from the French ''magazine'' ...

'', 1854, p. 312. King William IV was a lavish benefactor of the church and the parish and, among his gifts was the clock in the tower which bears his initials, ″''W R.''″; he also made generous contributions to extend the vicarage and to enclose its adjacent grounds with substantial provisions for the foundation of a new school in the village. The marvellous collection of silver gilt communion plate presented to the church by Lord Augustus shortly after his appointment was probably in turn a gift from his father. In 1830 he was appointed Chaplain in ordinary to his father (now King William IV), and on 24 May 1831 was granted the rank of a marquess' younger son, being appointed Chaplain to

Queen Adelaide , house = Saxe-Meiningen , father = Georg I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen , mother = Princess Louise Eleonore of Hohenlohe-Langenburg , birth_date = , birth_place = Meiningen, Saxe-Meiningen, Holy Rom ...

after his father's accession to the throne in 1832. Following his studies at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

, he received the degrees of

LL.B. Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

(2 June 1832) and

LL.D. Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...

(6 July 1835).

Marriage and issue

On 2 January 1845 he married Sarah Elizabeth Catharine Gordon (1827–1901), a daughter of Maj. Lord Henry Gordon (a younger brother of

Charles Gordon, 10th Marquess of Huntly Charles Gordon, 10th Marquess of Huntly (4 January 1792 – 18 September 1863), styled Lord Strathavon from 1794 to 1836 and Earl of Aboyne from 1836 to 1853, was a Scottish peer and first a Tory (1818–1830) and then a Whig (1830 onwards) po ...

and a relative of the husband of his sister

Lady Augusta Gordon Lady Augusta Gordon (''née'' FitzClarence; 17 November 1803 – 8 December 1865) was a British noblewoman. Born the fourth illegitimate daughter of William IV of the United Kingdom (then Duke of Clarence and St Andrews) by his long-time mistres ...

) by his wife Louisa Payne. By his wife he had six children: * Dorothea FitzClarence (1845–1870), who married Thomas William Goff, MP for

Roscommon Roscommon (; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60, N61 and N63 roads. The name Roscommon is derived from Coman mac Faelchon who built ...

, and had issue.''Bradford People: Clarence Goff'' in: Bradford on Avon Museum
etrieved 5 December 2014 * Eva FitzClarence (1847–1918). * Beatrice FitzClarence (1847–1909), a twin with Eva. * Augustus FitzClarence (1849–1861), who died young. * Henry Edward FitzClarence (1853–1930), who married Mary Isabel Templer Parsons and had issue. * Mary FitzClarence (1854–1858), who was born posthumously and who died in infancy.

Death

FitzClarence died on 14 June 1854. His widow lived until 23 March 1901.

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:FitzClarence, Lord Augustus Illegitimate children of William IV of the United Kingdom 1805 births 1854 deaths

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...

Younger sons of marquesses Sons of kings