Lord Charles FitzRoy

General Lord Charles FitzRoy was born on 17 July 1764. He was the third son of Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton, and his first wife, Anne Liddell, who was the daughter of Henry Liddell, 1st Baron Ravensworth. FitzRoy received education at Harrow School and later attended Trinity College, Cambridge.

He entered the British Army in 1782, initially holding the rank of ensign. In 1787, FitzRoy was appointed a captain in the Scots Guards. The following year, in 1788, he became an equerry to Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany. During his service under the Duke of York, he participated in military operations in Flanders from 1793 to 1794. In 1795, FitzRoy was appointed aide-de-camp to King George III with the rank of colonel. He was promoted to major-general in 1798.

FitzRoy served in Ireland from 1798 to 1799, and afterward in England until 1809. From 1804 to 1805, he commanded a battalion of the 60th Regiment of Foot. In 1805, he was appointed colonel of the 48th (Northamptonshire) Regiment of Foot and attained the rank of lieutenant-general. He was promoted to general in 1814.

In the political arena, FitzRoy served as Member of Parliament for Bury St Edmunds during two periods: from 1787 to 1796 and from 1802 to 1818. Although he represented the constituency for extended periods, there is no record of him speaking in the House of Commons. Politically, he was a supporter of William Pitt the Younger and held views favoring abolitionism and Catholic Emancipation.

Regarding his personal life, FitzRoy married Frances Mundy on 20 June 1795. Frances was the daughter of Edward Miller Mundy, an MP. The couple had one son, Sir Charles Augustus FitzRoy, born in 1796, who later served as governor of New South Wales, Prince Edward Island, and Antigua. Frances died in 1797.

In 1799, FitzRoy married Lady Frances Stewart, the eldest daughter of Robert Stewart, 1st Marquess of Londonderry, and Frances Pratt. Before her death in 1810, they had four children: George FitzRoy, Frances FitzRoy, Robert FitzRoy, and Emily Elizabeth FitzRoy.

George FitzRoy, born in 1800, was a British Army officer and married Louisa Harris in 1830. After her death, he remarried Hon. Charlotte Frances Bona Spencer in 1873. Frances FitzRoy, born circa 1802, married George Rice-Trevor, 4th Baron Dynevor. Robert FitzRoy, born in 1805, was a hydrographer and married Mary Henrietta O'Brien in 1836. Later, he married Maria Isabella Smyth in 1854. Emily Elizabeth FitzRoy, the youngest daughter, was born in 1808 and died in 1827 at the age of 20.

Following Lady Frances Stewart's death, FitzRoy married Lady Frances Stewart on 10 March 1799. This marriage produced four children. He died at his residence in Berkeley Square, London, on 20 December 1829. He was buried at Wicken in Northamptonshire.

Through his son Robert, FitzRoy was grandfather to five grandchildren: Emily-Unah FitzRoy, Frances "Fanny" FitzRoy, Katherine FitzRoy, Robert O'Brien FitzRoy, and Laura Maria Elizabeth FitzRoy.