Hugh FitzRoy, 11th Duke of Grafton

His Grace
The Duke of Grafton
KG DL
The 11th Duke of Grafton, by Allan Warren
Member of the House of Lords
In office
11 November 1970 – 11 November 1999
Preceded by Charles FitzRoy, 10th Duke of Grafton
Succeeded by House of Lords Act 1999
Personal details
Born Hugh Denis Charles FitzRoy
3 April 1919
Cape Town, Union of South Africa
Died 7 April 2011(2011-04-07) (aged 92)
Euston Hall, Euston, Suffolk, England
Nationality British
Spouse(s)
Children 5
Parents Charles FitzRoy, 10th Duke of Grafton
Lady Doreen Buxton
Alma mater Magdalene College, Cambridge
Military service
Allegiance  United Kingdom
Service/branch  British Army
Unit Grenadier Guards
Coat of Arms of Hugh FitzRoy, 11th Duke of Grafton

Hugh Denis Charles FitzRoy, 11th Duke of Grafton KG DL (3 April 1919 – 7 April 2011) was the son of Charles FitzRoy, 10th Duke of Grafton, and his first wife Lady Doreen Maria Josepha Sydney Buxton, second daughter of Sydney Buxton, 1st Earl Buxton. He was known from 1936 to 1970 as the Earl of Euston.

Life and career

He was born in 1919 in Cape Town, Union of South Africa.[1][2] He is one of the hundreds of descendants of Charles II of England. He descends through Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton born to the King's mistress Barbara Villiers. Charles had many children but none legitimate and after the crown passed to his brother, a Catholic who was deposed and whose progeny were excluded on that basis, save for his two daughters raised into Protestantism, the House of Stuart gave way to distant cousins the House of Hanover.

Through an ancestor Anne Warren, a daughter of Admiral Sir Peter Warren, he is a descendant of the Schuyler family, the Van Cortlandt family, and the Delancey family, all from British North America.[3]

He was educated at Eton College and at Magdalene College, Cambridge. He was subsequently commissioned into the Grenadier Guards, and for three years from 1943 was Aide-de-camp to the Viceroy of India, Field Marshal Viscount Wavell.

The Duke of Grafton devoted much of his life to the conservation and protection of historic buildings. He was chairman and later president of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, and also chaired at various times the Historic Churches Preservation Trust, the Architectural Heritage Fund, the Church of England's Cathedral Advisory Commission and Sir John Soane's Museum.

The 11th Duke of Grafton outside Euston Hall

He was a member of the Historic Buildings Council from its foundation in 1953, and until he succeeded his father as duke in 1970, he was the National Trust's administrator for Sussex and Kent, and later East Anglia. He was also vice-chairman of the National Portrait Gallery.

The Duke of Grafton's home was Euston Hall, near Thetford. He was made a Knight of the Garter in 1976.[4] He died in 2011 at Euston Hall, Suffolk.[5]

Marriage and children

On 12 October 1946, he married Ann Fortune Smith (the current Mistress of the Robes to Queen Elizabeth II). They had five children:[1]

  • James Oliver Charles Fitzroy, Earl of Euston (13 December 1947 – 1 October 2009), married Lady Claire Amabel Margaret Kerr, daughter of The 12th Marquess of Lothian, and had issue, one son, Henry FitzRoy, 12th Duke of Grafton, and four daughters: Louise, Emily, Charlotte, and Isobel. The eldest daughter, Lady Louise FitzRoy, is now married to Charles Vaughan and has a daughter, Cristabel. Lady Emily married Conor Mullan and has a daughter, Constance.
  • Lady Henrietta Fortune Doreen FitzRoy, now Lady Henrietta St. George (born 14 September 1949), married Edward St. George (deceased) and has a son, Henry, and a daughter, Katie.
  • Lady Virginia Mary Elizabeth FitzRoy, now Lady Virginia FitzRoy (born 10 April 1954), married (and divorced) Lord Ralph Kerr, son of Peter Kerr, 12th Marquess of Lothian; remarried, but has no issue.
  • Lord Charles Patrick Hugh FitzRoy (born 7 January 1957), married Diana Miller-Stirling, and has two sons, Nico and George.
  • Lady (Olivia) Rose Mildred FitzRoy, now Lady Rose Monson (born 1 August 1963), married Guy Monson, an investment funds manager, and has two daughters, Olivia and Leonora.[6]

Ancestry

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 Charles Mosley, ed. (2004). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage. II (107 ed.). pp. 1616–19. ISBN 0-9711966-2-1.
  2. ↑ National Portrait Gallery. "Hugh Denis Charles Fitzroy, 11th Duke of Grafton". Collections subjects. Retrieved 14 June 2009.
  3. ↑ ThePeerage.com page 245 http://www.thepeerage.com/p245.htm#i2442 Accessed March 14, 2015.
  4. ↑ "No. 46885". The London Gazette. 27 April 1976. p. 6047.
  5. ↑ The Daily Telegraph (London) 10 April 2011, Death Announcements, online
  6. ↑ Dylan Lobo (19 April 2008). "Fund Manager Profile: Sarasin's Guy Monson". City Wire. According to this story, Lady Rose Monson works at Trinity Hospice, London. The Monsons' daughters are Olivia and Leonora.

Sources

Peerage of England
Preceded by
Charles Alfred Euston FitzRoy		 Duke of Grafton
1970–2011		 Succeeded by
Henry Oliver Charles FitzRoy
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