George FitzGeorge

Colonel George William Adolphus FitzGeorge was born on 24 August 1843 in London. He was the eldest son of the 2nd Duke of Cambridge and Louisa Fairbrother, making him a great-grandson of King George III of the United Kingdom. His parents' union was formed outside of those recognized by the Royal Marriages Act 1772, as his mother was pregnant with his youngest brother at the time. Consequently, FitzGeorge and his brothers: Admiral Sir Adolphus FitzGeorge and Colonel Sir Augustus FitzGeorge, did not hold royal titles and were ineligible to inherit the Dukedom of Cambridge.

Through his paternal lineage, FitzGeorge was a first cousin to Queen Mary and descended from the British monarchy. His maternal grandparents included Mary Tucker, possibly maiden name Phillips, and John Fairbrother, a Westminster servant.

FitzGeorge pursued a military career, purchasing a commission in the 20th Hussars. During the Egyptian Campaign of 1882, he served as a Major on special service and was attached to the personal staff of General Sir Garnet Wolseley. He participated in the Battle of Tel-el-Kebir, where he was present and subsequently brought home the despatches. His conduct in the campaign was acknowledged in official despatches, and he was awarded the brevet rank of lieutenant colonel, along with the medal with clasp, the Fourth Class of the Osmanieh, and the Khedive's Star. Wolseley described him as a “horrid snob and … quite useless.” FitzGeorge retired from military service in 1895.

In 1887, FitzGeorge owned the Sunday Times. At Queen Victoria's request, he sold the newspaper to Alice Ann Cornwell, an Australian gold mine owner.

On 25 November 1885, he married Rosa Frederica Baring in Paris. Rosa was a member of the Baring banking family, the second daughter of William Henry Baring J.P. of Norman Court, Hampshire. The marriage produced three children:

- Mabel Iris FitzGeorge (1886–1976), who married Robert Balfour in 1912 and was the mother of Victor FitzGeorge-Balfour. She later married Prince Vladimir Galitzine in 1945.

- George Daphné FitzGeorge (1889–1954), who married Sir George Foster Earle in 1915; the marriage ended in divorce in 1926.

- Commander George William Frederick FitzGeorge (1892–1960), who married Esther Melina Vignon in 1915, divorced in 1927, and subsequently married France Bellanger in 1934, from whom he divorced in 1957.

Colonel FitzGeorge died at the Eden-house Hotel in Lucerne on 2 September 1907 after a period of illness.

The heraldic arms of the FitzGeorge family are described as: argent, on a cross between four roses gules, a sword in pale, point upwards, proper, pommel and hilt or; with a chief arched of the second, depicting a baton fesswise.