Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton, (28 September 16639 October 1690) was an

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 '' ...

son of King Charles II of England and his mistress Barbara Villiers. A military commander, Henry FitzRoy was appointed colonel of the

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

in 1681 and

Vice-Admiral of England The Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom is an honorary office generally held by a senior Royal Navy admiral. The title holder is the official deputy to the Lord High Admiral, an honorary (although once operational) office which was vested in t ...

from 1682 to 1689. He was killed in the storming of Cork during the Williamite–Jacobite War in 1690.

Early life and military career

Born to Barbara Villiers, Countess of Castlemaine in 1663, Henry FitzRoy was an illegitimate son of King Charles II of England, the second by Barbara Villiers. His mother was the daughter of

William Villiers, 2nd Viscount Grandison William Villiers, 2nd Viscount Grandison (1614 – 23 September 1643) was an Irish peer and Royalist soldier who was fatally wounded during the First English Civil War in 1643. Personal details William Villiers was born in 1614, eldest son ...

, a colonel of one of King Charles I's regiments who was killed in action during the Civil War. On 1 August 1672, at the age of nine, marriage was arranged to the five-year-old

Isabella Isabella may refer to: People and fictional characters * Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Isabella (surname), including a list of people Places United States * Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpor ...

, daughter and heiress of

Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington, KG, PC (1618 – 28 July 1685) was an English statesman. Background and early life He was the son of Sir John Bennet of Dawley, Middlesex, by Dorothy, daughter of Sir John Crofts of Little Saxham, Suf ...

. A wedding ceremony took place on 4 November 1679 witnessed and recorded by

John Evelyn John Evelyn (31 October 162027 February 1706) was an English writer, landowner, gardener, courtier and minor government official, who is now best known as a diarist. He was a founding Fellow of the Royal Society. John Evelyn's diary, or ...

in his diary of that date describing him as " exceedingly handsome, by far surpassing any of the Kings other naturall Issue". At the time of his marriage, Henry FitzRoy was created

Baron Sudbury Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knigh ...

Viscount Ipswich A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

, and

Earl of Euston Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...

. In 1675, he was created

Duke of Grafton Duke of Grafton is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1675 by Charles II of England for Henry FitzRoy, his second illegitimate son by the Duchess of Cleveland. The most notable duke of Grafton was Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke ...

, and Charles II made him a Knight of the Order of the Garter in 1680. He was appointed colonel of the

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

in 1681. FitzRoy was brought up as a sailor and saw military action at the siege of Luxembourg in 1684. In that year, he received a warrant to supersede

Sir Robert Holmes Sir Robert Holmes ( – 18 November 1692) was an English Admiral of the Restoration Navy. He participated in the second and third Anglo-Dutch Wars, both of which he is, by some, credited with having started. He was made Governor of the Is ...

Governor of the Isle of Wight Below is a list of those who have held the office of Governor of the Isle of Wight in England. Lord Mottistone was the last lord lieutenant to hold the title governor, from 1992 to 1995; since then there has been no governor appointed. Governor ...

, when the latter was charged with making false musters. However, Holmes was acquitted by court-martial and retained the governorship. In 1686 he killed John Talbot, brother of the

Earl of Shrewsbury Earl of Shrewsbury () is a hereditary title of nobility created twice in the Peerage of England. The second earldom dates to 1442. The holder of the Earldom of Shrewsbury also holds the title of Earl of Waterford (1446) in the Peerage of Ireland ...

, in a duel, Talbot having given Grafton some "unhandsome and provoking language". He was appointed Vice-Admiral of the Narrow Seas from 1685 to 1687. At

King James II James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious Re ...

's coronation, Grafton was Lord High Constable. During the rebellion of the

Duke of Monmouth Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...

he commanded the royal troops in

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

. However, he later acted with

John Churchill General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, (26 May 1650 – 16 June 1722 O.S.) was an English soldier and statesman whose career spanned the reign ...

, and joined William of Orange to overthrow the King in the Glorious Revolution of 1688.

Death

FitzRoy died in Ireland in 1690 of a wound received at the storming of Cork while leading William's forces, aged 27. His body was returned to England for burial - with some internal organs removed and buried (in

Ballintemple, Cork Ballintemple () is a suburb of Cork city, Ireland. The village is situated on the east side of the city with its limits extending to the River Lee and the village of Blackrock further to the east. Originally, Ballintemple was a separate village ...

) to preserve his remains for transport. In October 1697 his widow married Sir Thomas Hanmer, a young

Flintshire , settlement_type = County , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms of Flint ...

baronet, who became

Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...

and an authority on the works of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

. She died in 1723.

Legacy

The Duke of Grafton owned land in what was then countryside near

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

, Ireland, which later became part of the city. A country lane on this land eventually developed into

Grafton Street Grafton Street () is one of the two principal shopping streets in Dublin city centre (the other being Henry Street). It runs from St Stephen's Green in the south (at the highest point of the street) to College Green in the north (the lowes ...

, one of Dublin's main streets. Grafton Alley in

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

, close to where he was shot, also bears his name.

Ancestry

Notes and references

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Grafton, Henry Fitzroy, 1st Duke of 1663 births 1690 deaths 17th-century English nobility 17th-century Royal Navy personnel Military personnel from London English people of French descent 101 Grenadier Guards officers House of Stuart Illegitimate children of Charles II of England Knights of the Garter Lord High Constables of England Lord-Lieutenants of Suffolk H Williamite military personnel of the Williamite War in Ireland Monmouth Rebellion English military personnel killed in action Peers of England created by Charles II Younger sons of dukes Sons of kings

Early life and military career

Death

Legacy

Ancestry

See also

Notes and references