Augustus FitzRoy, 7th Duke Of Grafton

Augustus Charles Lennox FitzRoy, 7th Duke of Grafton, was born on 22 June 1821 and passed away on 4 December 1918. He was known prior to 1882 as Lord Augustus FitzRoy. He was a British Army officer and succeeded to the dukedom in 1882.

Early Life:

He was the second son of Henry FitzRoy, 5th Duke of Grafton, and Mary Caroline Cranfield Berkeley. His paternal grandparents were George FitzRoy, 4th Duke of Grafton, and Lady Charlotte Maria Waldegrave, who was a daughter of the 2nd Earl Waldegrave and Maria Walpole, the illegitimate daughter of Sir Edward Walpole. His maternal grandparents were Admiral Hon. Sir George Cranfield Berkeley and Emilia Charlotte Lennox, daughter of Lord George Lennox. Among his siblings were Lady Mary Elizabeth Emily FitzRoy, who married the Reverend Hon. Augustus Phipps; Lady Maria Louisa FitzRoy, wife of Edward Douglas-Pennant, 1st Baron Penrhyn; William FitzRoy, 6th Duke of Grafton; and Lord Frederick FitzRoy, who married Catherine Sarah Wilhelimna Wescomb.

Career:

He joined the British Army in 1837. During his military service, he participated in the Crimean War, where he sustained wounds. In 1882, upon the death of his elder brother William, who died without issue, he inherited the titles of Duke of Grafton. The dukedom was originally created in September 1675 in the Peerage of England for his great ancestor Henry FitzRoy, who was an illegitimate son of King Charles II of England and Barbara Villiers. The succession included subsidiary titles: Earl of Euston, Viscount Ipswich, and Baron Sudbury.

Personal Life:

On 9 June 1847, he married Anna Balfour (1825–1857), daughter of James Balfour, Member of Parliament, and Lady Eleanor Maitland. They had four children:

- Lady Eleanor FitzRoy (1853–1905), who married Walter Harbord, son of Edward Harbord, 3rd Baron Suffield.

- Henry James FitzRoy, Earl of Euston (1848–1912), who married Kate Walsh; they had no children.

- Alfred FitzRoy, 8th Duke of Grafton (1850–1930), who married Margaret Rose Smith in 1875. After her death in 1913, he married Lady Borthwick (née Susanna Mary MacTaggart-Stewart), in 1916.

- Lord Charles Edward FitzRoy (1857–1911), who married Hon. Ismay FitzRoy, daughter of the 3rd Baron Southampton. His son Charles FitzRoy later became the 10th Duke of Grafton.

He died in 1918 at the age of 97 at Wakefield Lodge near Potterspury, Northamptonshire.