Category Archives: British Royals

Amelia Cary, Viscountess Falkland, born Amelia FitzClarence, Illegitimate Daughter of King William IV of the United Kingdom

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Amelia Cary, Viscountess Falkland; Credit – Wikipedia

Amelia Cary, Viscountess Falkland was born Amelia FitzClarence on March 21, 1807, at Bushy House in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. She was the tenth of the ten children and the fifth of the five daughters of the future King William IV of the United Kingdom and his mistress Dorothea Jordan. Amelia’s paternal grandparents were King George III of the United Kingdom and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Francis Bland, a stagehand, and his mistress Grace Phillips, an actress were her maternal grandparents.

From 1790 until 1811, before he became king, King William IV of the United Kingdom had a long-term relationship with actress Dorothea Jordan. Their relationship resulted in ten children who were given the surname FitzClarence. The surname comes from the Anglo-Norman word  Fitz, meaning “son of” and Clarence, from King William IV’s title before he became king, Duke of Clarence.

Dorothea Jordan was born Dorothea Bland was born in County Waterford, Ireland, the daughter of Francis Bland, a stagehand, and his mistress Grace Phillips, an actress. Her mother encouraged Dorothea to enter the theater, and within a few years, she began to draw large crowds for her performances. She left Ireland in 1782 and moved to Leeds, England. It was at this point that she took the name Jordan. She performed for three years with the York Company, before being lured away in 1785 to move to the Royal Theatre, Drury Lane in London. By then, Dorothea was becoming a very popular performer and could be counted on to bring large crowds every night. It was at Drury Lane that her life would come to the attention of The Duke of Clarence several years later.


Amelia’s parents The Duke of Clarence (later King William IV) and Dorothea Jordan

In 1790, Dorothea was first noticed by The Duke of Clarence (later King William IV) while performing at Drury Lane. They quickly began an affair that would last for the next 21 years. Dorothea moved in with the Duke at his home, Clarence Lodge in Roehampton, London, England and later they moved to Bushy House in Bushy Park in Richmond upon Thames, London, England.

Bushy House, Amelia’s birthplace; By Stephen Williams, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12574949

In 1797, King George III of the United Kingdom appointed his third son William, then Duke of Clarence, the ranger of Bushy Park. The position came with the residence Bushy House in Bushy Park. William and Dorothea lived there with their ten children until their relationship ended in 1811. William continued living there with his children and later with his wife Adelaide Saxe-Meinigen after they married in 1818.

The children of King William IV and Dorothea Jordan had an elder half-brother, William Henry Courtney, born around 1788 to an unknown mother, and named after his father whose given names were William Henry. Dorothea Jordan cared for William, and she was fond of him and he was fond of her. William served in the Royal Navy from 1803 until 1807 when his ship HMS Blenheim was lost in a gale off Madagascar. Despite an extensive search, no trace of the ship was ever found. 590 men were lost aboard HMS Blenheim, including King William IV’s eldest illegitimate son nineteen-year-old William Henry Courtney.

Nine of the ten children of King William IV and Dorothea Jordan were named after nine of William’s fourteen siblings. That one child was named Henry, William IV’s middle name.

Amelia’s nine siblings were:

William and Dorothea’s children married into the British aristocracy and their many descendants include some notable people including sisters Princess Alexandra, Duchess of Fife and Princess Maud, Countess of Southesk (granddaughters of King Edward VII and daughters of Princess Louise, Princess Royal and Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife, a descendant of Dorothea Jordan and King William IV), Duff Cooper, 1st Viscount Norwich (British diplomat, Cabinet member, author), John Crichton-Stuart, 7th Marquess of Bute (also known as Johnny Dumfries, racing driver), and David Cameron, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

By 1811, William was pressured by his family to find a suitable wife. At the time he was fourth in line for the throne following his elder brother The Prince of Wales, the future King George IV, George’s only child Princess Charlotte of Wales, and George’s next oldest brother who was childless Prince Frederick, Duke of York. William gave in to the pressure and ended his relationship with Dorothea but ensured she was well provided for. William became closer to the throne when his niece Princess Charlotte died in 1817 giving birth to a stillborn son. When King George IV died in 1830, William succeeded to the throne. Although William had ten children with Dorothea Jordan, his marriage with Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen produced no surviving children. King William IV was succeeded by his niece Queen Victoria. Queen Victoria had relationships with her first cousins, King William IV’s illegitimate children. They are mentioned in Queen Victoria’s diaries when visiting Windsor Castle.

Amelia and her siblings had little contact with their mother Dorothea Jordan after 1811 when their father ended his relationship with her. After losing much of her savings when her daughter Augusta and her husband ran up large debts in her name, Dorothea’s health quickly began to decline. Virtually penniless, Dorothea Jordan died in Saint-Cloud, France on July 5, 1816, at the age of 54. She is buried in the local cemetery in Saint-Cloud.

From 1819 – 1822, Baron Franz Ludwig von Bibra was engaged to tutor Amelia and her sister Augusta in the classics and English. In June 1830, Amelia’s father succeeded his brother King George IV as King William IV.

Lucius Cary, 10th Viscount Falkland in 1865 after Amelia’s death; Credit – Wikipedia

On December 27, 1830, at the Royal Pavillion in Brighton, England, Amelia married Lucius Cary, 10th Viscount Falkland. Lucius, the son of Charles John Cary, 9th Viscount Falkland, who was killed in a duel in 1809, was educated at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. Lucius served in the British Army from 1821 – 1830. Amelia’s father King William IV walked her down the aisle and gave her away. The ceremony was performed by Charles Richard Sumner, Bishop of Winchester and the couple spent their honeymoon at Cumberland Lodge in Windsor Great Park.

Amelia and Lucius had one son who predeceased his father and was childless:

  • William Charles Frederick Cary, Master of Falkland (1831 – 1871), married Sarah Christiana Keighly, no children

Rudby Hall, the home of Amelia and Lucius in the distance; Credit – By Gordon Hatton, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=86032358

Amelia and Lucius lived at Rudby Hall, Hutton Rudby, Skutterskelfe, North Yorkshire, England. In 1839, Lucius inherited the Rudby estate from his aunt Elizabeth Cary who married Jeffrey Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst. There was a house on the site called Leven Grove. Amelia and Lucius had a new house, Rudby Hall, built on the site of the older house.

Lucius served in the House of Lords and on the Privy Council, and had several other positions:

Amelia’s burial site in the southwest corner of the churchyard at All Saints Church in Hutton Rudby; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1853, Lucius and Amelia returned from Bombay, India, and lived in their home in Yorkshire, where Lucius served as a magistrate. Amelia, aged fifty-one, died five years later, on July 2, 1858, at her home Rudby Hall in Hutton Rudby, Skutterskelfe, North Yorkshire, England. She is buried in the southeast corner of the churchyard at All Saints Church in Hutton Rudby.

Inside All Saints Church, there is a memorial plaque for Amelia that says:

This monument is erected in memory of Amelia, the loved and honoured wife of Lucius Bentinck Cary, 10th Viscount Falkland by her husband.
“Death: Ere though shalt stike another fair and wise, and good as she, time shall throw his dart at thee.
She was a daughter of King William the Fourth and the youngest sister of George, 1st Earl of Munster. She was born March 21st 1807 and died July 2nd 1858, aged 51 years.
She is buried in a vault in the southeast corner of the churchyard.

On November 10, 1859, Amelia’s widower Lucius married Elizabeth de Vere Beauclerk, Dowager Duchess of St Albans, born Elizabeth Gubbins, the widow of William Aubrey de Vere Beauclerk, 9th Duke of St Albans. Lucius Cary died on March 12, 1884, aged 80, in Montpellier, France where he was buried. He is remembered with a plaque in All Saints Church in Hutton Rudby, where his first wife Amelia is buried.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Beauclerk-Dewar, Peter & Powell, Roger. (2006). Right Royal Bastards – The Fruits of Passion. Burke’s Peerage & Gentry LLC.
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2015). King William IV of the United Kingdom. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-william-iv-of-the-united-kingdom/
  • Lady Amelia FitzClarence Cary (1807-1858) – Find… (2015). Findagrave.com. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/141944091/amelia-cary
  • Mehl, Scott. (2020). Dorothea Jordan, Mistress of King William IV of the United Kingdom. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/dorothea-jordan-mistress-of-king-william-iv-of-the-united-kingdom/
  • Weir, Alison. (2008). Britain’s Royal Families – The Complete Genealogy. Vintage Books.
  • Wikipedia Contributors. (2024). Amelia Cary, Viscountess Falkland. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation.
  • Wikipedia Contributors. (2023). Lucius Cary, 10th Viscount Falkland. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation.
  • Wikipedia Contributors. (2024). Rudby Hall. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation.

Augustus FitzClarence, Illegitimate Son of King William IV of the United Kingdom

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Augustus FitzClarence; Credit – By https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1943-0410-637, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=133744989

Augustus FitzClarence was born on February 18, 1802, in London, England. He was the ninth of ten children and the fifth of the five sons of King William IV of the United Kingdom and his mistress Dorothea Jordan. Augustus’ paternal grandparents were King George III of the United Kingdom and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Francis Bland, a stagehand, and his mistress Grace Phillips, an actress, were his maternal grandparents.


Augustus’ parents The Duke of Clarence (later King William IV) and Dorothea Jordan; Credit – Wikipedia

From 1790 until 1811, before he became king, King William IV of the United Kingdom had a long-term relationship with actress Dorothea Jordan. Their relationship resulted in ten children who were given the surname FitzClarence. The surname comes from the Anglo-Norman word Fitz, meaning “son of” and Clarence, from King William IV’s title before he became king, Duke of Clarence.

Dorothea Jordan was born Dorothea Bland was born in County Waterford, Ireland, the daughter of Francis Bland, a stagehand, and his mistress Grace Phillips, an actress. Her mother encouraged Dorothea to enter the theater, and within a few years, she began to draw large crowds for her performances. She left Ireland in 1782 and moved to Leeds, England. It was at this point that she took the name Jordan. She performed for three years with the York Company, before being lured away in 1785 to move to the Royal Theatre, Drury Lane in London. By then, Dorothea was becoming a very popular performer and could be counted on to bring large crowds every night. It was at Drury Lane that her life would come to the attention of The Duke of Clarence several years later.

In 1790, Dorothea was first noticed by The Duke of Clarence (later King William IV) while performing at Drury Lane. They quickly began an affair that would last for the next 21 years. Dorothea moved in with the Duke at his home, Clarence Lodge in Roehampton, London, England and later they moved to Bushy House in Bushy Park in Richmond upon Thames, London, England.

Bushy House; By Stephen Williams, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12574949

In 1797, King George III of the United Kingdom appointed his third son William, then Duke of Clarence, the ranger of Bushy Park. The position came with the residence Bushy House in Bushy Park. William and Dorothea lived there with their ten children until their relationship ended in 1811. William continued living there with his children and later with his wife Adelaide Saxe-Meinigen after they married in 1818.

The children of King William IV and Dorothea Jordan had an elder half-brother, William Henry Courtney, born around 1788 to an unknown mother, and named after his father whose given names were William Henry. Dorothea Jordan cared for William Henry, and she was fond of him and he was fond of her. William Henry served in the Royal Navy from 1803 until 1807 when his ship HMS Blenheim was lost in a gale off Madagascar. Despite an extensive search, no trace of the ship was ever found. 590 men were lost aboard HMS Blenheim, including King William IV’s eldest illegitimate son nineteen-year-old William Henry Courtney.

Nine of the ten children of King William IV and Dorothea Jordan were named after nine of William’s fourteen siblings. That one child was named Henry, William IV’s middle name.

Augustus’ nine siblings:

William and Dorothea’s children married into the British aristocracy and their many descendants include some notable people including sisters Princess Alexandra, Duchess of Fife and Princess Maud, Countess of Southesk (granddaughters of King Edward VII and daughters of Princess Louise, Princess Royal and Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife, a descendant of Dorothea Jordan and King William IV), Duff Cooper, 1st Viscount Norwich (British diplomat, Cabinet member, author), John Crichton-Stuart, 7th Marquess of Bute (also known as Johnny Dumfries, racing driver), and David Cameron, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

By 1811, William was pressured by his family to find a suitable wife. At the time he was fourth in line for the throne following his elder brother The Prince of Wales, the future King George IV, George’s only child Princess Charlotte of Wales, and George’s next oldest brother who was childless Prince Frederick, Duke of York. William gave in to the pressure and ended his relationship with Dorothea but ensured she was well provided for. William became closer to the throne when his niece Princess Charlotte died in 1817 giving birth to a stillborn son. When King George IV died in 1830, William succeeded to the throne. Although William had ten children with Dorothea Jordan, his marriage with Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen produced no surviving children. King William IV was succeeded by his niece Queen Victoria. Queen Victoria had relationships with her first cousins, King William IV’s illegitimate children. They are mentioned in Queen Victoria’s diaries when visiting Windsor Castle.

Augustus and his siblings had little contact with their mother Dorothea Jordan after 1811 when their father ended his relationship with her. After losing much of her savings when her daughter Augusta and her husband ran up large debts in her name, Dorothea’s health quickly began to decline. Virtually penniless, Dorothea Jordan died in Saint-Cloud, France on July 5, 1816, at the age of 54. She is buried in the local cemetery in Saint-Cloud.

Augustus’ father was determined he serve in the Royal Navy. In 1818, when he was nearly thirteen years old, Augustus joined the crew of the frigate HMS Spartan as a volunteer first class. That same year, Augustus’ father wrote to Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Francis Fremantle, 1st Baron Fremantle requesting that he take on his son. Augustus joined the HMS Rochfort as a Midshipman in 1818. However, by 1821, Adolphus’ naval career ended.

In 1824, Augustus began his studies at Brasenose College, Oxford. Two years later, he transferred to Trinity College, Cambridge. He received an LL.B (undergraduate law degree) in 1832 and an LL.D (doctorate level law degree) in 1835.

Mapledurham Church where Augustus served as Vicar for twenty-five years; Credit – By Chris Wood, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2024448

Augustus was ordained a priest in the Church of England, although it seems he had little training as a clergyman. In 1829, 24-year-old Augustus became Vicar of St. Margaret’s Church in Mapledurham, Oxfordshire, England where he served until he died in 1854. In 1830, Augustus was appointed Chaplain in Ordinary to his father, now King William IV, and in 1831, he was appointed Chaplain to his father’s wife Queen Adelaide. He also served as Chaplain to his first cousin Queen Victoria from 1840 – 1852.

On January 2, 1845, Augustus married Sarah Elizabeth Catharine Gordon (1827 – 1901), a daughter of Major Lord Henry Gordon, a younger son of George Gordon, 9th Marquess of Huntly.

Augustus and Sarah had six children:

  • Dorothea FitzClarence (1845 – 1870), married Thomas Goff, had three children
  • Eva FitzClarence (1847 – 1918), twin of Beatrice, unmarried
  • Beatrice FitzClarence (1847 – 1909), twin of Eva, unmarried
  • Augustus FitzClarence (1849 – 1861), died in childhood
  • Henry FitzClarence (1853 – 1930), married Mary Isabel Templer Parsons, had two children
  • Mary FitzClarence (1854 – 1858), died in childhood

Churchyard at St. Margaret’s Church, Mapledurham, Oxfordshire, England where Augustus is buried; Credit – Oxford Historic Churches Trust

Augustus died in Mapledurham, Oxfordshire, England on June 14, 1854, aged 49. He is buried in the churchyard at St. Margaret’s Church, Mapledurham, Oxfordshire, England. At the time of his death, Augustus’ wife Sarah was pregnant with their last child Mary, born three months after her father’s death. Sarah survived her husband by forty-seven years, dying on March 23, 1901, aged 74.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Beauclerk-Dewar, Peter & Powell, Roger. (2006). Right Royal Bastards – The Fruits of Passion. Burke’s Peerage & Gentry LLC.
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2015). King William IV of the United Kingdom. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-william-iv-of-the-united-kingdom/
  • Mehl, Scott. (2020). Dorothea Jordan, Mistress of King William IV of the United Kingdom.
  • Rev. Lord Augustus FitzClarence. (2023). Geni_family_tree. https://www.geni.com/people/Rev-Lord-Augustus-FitzClarence/6000000003273999244
  • Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/dorothea-jordan-mistress-of-king-william-iv-of-the-united-kingdom/
  • Weir, Alison. (2008). Britain’s Royal Families – The Complete Genealogy. Vintage Books.
  • Wikipedia Contributors. (2024). Lord Augustus FitzClarence. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation.

Lady Augusta Gordon, born Augusta FitzClarence, Illegitimate Daughter of King William IV of the United Kingdom

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Lady Augusta Gordon, born Augusta FitzClarence; Credit – Wikipedia

Augusta FitzClarence was born on November 17, 1803, at Bushy House in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. She was the eighth of ten children and the fourth of the five daughters of the future King William IV of the United Kingdom and his mistress Dorothea Jordan. Augusta’s paternal grandparents were King George III of the United Kingdom and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Francis Bland, a stagehand, and his mistress Grace Phillips, an actress, were his maternal grandparents.

From 1790 until 1811, before he became king, King William IV of the United Kingdom had a long-term relationship with actress Dorothea Jordan. Their relationship resulted in ten children who were given the surname FitzClarence. The surname comes from the Anglo-Norman word  Fitz, meaning “son of” and Clarence, from King William IV’s title before he became king, Duke of Clarence.

Dorothea Jordan was born Dorothea Bland was born in County Waterford, Ireland, the daughter of Francis Bland, a stagehand, and his mistress Grace Phillips, an actress. Her mother encouraged Dorothea to enter the theater, and within a few years, she began to draw large crowds for her performances. She left Ireland in 1782 and moved to Leeds, England. It was at this point that she took the name Jordan. She performed for three years with the York Company, before being lured away in 1785 to move to the Royal Theatre, Drury Lane in London. By then, Dorothea was becoming a very popular performer and could be counted on to bring large crowds every night. It was at Drury Lane that her life would come to the attention of The Duke of Clarence several years later.


Augusta’s parents The Duke of Clarence (later King William IV) and Dorothea Jordan; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1790, Dorothea was first noticed by The Duke of Clarence (later King William IV) while performing at Drury Lane. They quickly began an affair that would last for the next 21 years. Dorothea moved in with the Duke at his home, Clarence Lodge in Roehampton, London, England and later they moved to Bushy House in Bushy Park in Richmond upon Thames, London, England.

Bushy House, Augusta’s birthplace; By Stephen Williams, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12574949

In 1797, King George III of the United Kingdom appointed his third son William, then Duke of Clarence, the ranger of Bushy Park. The position came with the residence Bushy House in Bushy Park. William and Dorothea lived there with their ten children until their relationship ended in 1811. William continued living there with his children and later with his wife Adelaide of Saxe-Meinigen after they married in 1818.

The children of King William IV and Dorothea Jordan had an elder half-brother, William Henry Courtney, born around 1788 to an unknown mother, and named after his father whose given names were William Henry. Dorothea Jordan cared for William Henry, and she was fond of him and he was fond of her. William Henry served in the Royal Navy from 1803 until 1807 when his ship HMS Blenheim was lost in a gale off Madagascar. Despite an extensive search, no trace of the ship was ever found. 590 men were lost aboard HMS Blenheim, including King William IV’s eldest illegitimate son nineteen-year-old William Henry Courtney.

Nine of the ten children of King William IV and Dorothea Jordan were named after nine of William’s fourteen siblings. That one child was named Henry, William IV’s middle name.

Augusta’s nine siblings:

William and Dorothea’s children married into the British aristocracy and their many descendants include some notable people including sisters Princess Alexandra, Duchess of Fife and Princess Maud, Countess of Southesk (granddaughters of King Edward VII and daughters of Princess Louise, Princess Royal and Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife, a descendant of Dorothea Jordan and King William IV), Duff Cooper, 1st Viscount Norwich (British diplomat, Cabinet member, author), John Crichton-Stuart, 7th Marquess of Bute (also known as Johnny Dumfries, racing driver), and David Cameron, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

By 1811, William was pressured by his family to find a suitable wife. At the time he was fourth in line for the throne following his elder brother The Prince of Wales, the future King George IV, George’s only child Princess Charlotte of Wales, and George’s next oldest brother who was childless Prince Frederick, Duke of York. William gave in to the pressure and ended his relationship with Dorothea but ensured she was well provided for. William became closer to the throne when his niece Princess Charlotte died in 1817 giving birth to a stillborn son. When King George IV died in 1830, William succeeded to the throne. Although William had ten children with Dorothea Jordan, his marriage with Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen produced no surviving children. King William IV was succeeded by his niece Queen Victoria. Queen Victoria had relationships with her first cousins, King William IV’s illegitimate children. They are mentioned in Queen Victoria’s diaries when visiting Windsor Castle.

Augusta and her siblings had little contact with their mother Dorothea Jordan after 1811 when their father ended his relationship with her. After losing much of her savings when Augusta and her husband ran up large debts in her name, Dorothea’s health quickly began to decline. Virtually penniless, Dorothea Jordan died in Saint-Cloud, France on July 5, 1816, at the age of 54. She is buried in the local cemetery in Saint-Cloud.

From 1819 – 1822, Baron Franz Ludwig von Bibra was engaged to tutor Augusta and her younger sister Amelia in the classics and English. On July 5, 1827, Augusta married The Honorable John Kennedy-Erskine, a younger son of Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa, and Margaret Erskine. John served as a captain with the 16th Lancers and was appointed an equerry to King William IV in 1830. John Kennedy-Erskine died on March 6, 1831 at the age of twenty-eight. Augusta was pregnant with her third child was born two months after her father died.

Augusta and her three children; Credit – By John Hayter – Art UK, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31416642

Augusta and John had three children:

The widowed Augusta and her children lived in a brick house on the River Thames called Railshead, next door to a house owned by her late husband’s parents. King William often visited his daughter and grandchildren there and they would often visit the king at Windsor Castle.

Five years after her husband’s death, on August 24, 1836, Augusta married Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton, the third son of George Gordon, 9th Marquess of Huntly and Catherine Cope. Frederick had a career in the Royal Navy and would become Admiral of the Navy in 1868, three years after Augusta’s death. Augusta and Frederick did not have any children.

After her second marriage, Augusta continued living at Railshead, next door to her first husband’s parents. They were angered by Augusta’s second marriage and forced Augusta and Frederick to leave Railshead. Augusta asked her father King William IV for help. He gave her apartments at Kensington Palace and the position of State Housekeeper of Kensington Palace, a position held by her recently deceased sister Sophia. Just a few months after Augusta and her family settled at Kensington Palace, her father died on June 20, 1837, and Augusta’s first cousin Queen Victoria came to the throne.

In 1841, Frederick was elected to Parliament for Forfarshire in Scotland and remained in Parliament until 1852. He also served as Deputy Lieutenant for Forfarshire. In 1847, Augusta and Frederick embarked on a three-year trip to Europe, visiting Germany, France, and Italy. When they returned in 1850, they resumed residence at Kensington Palace. On April 17, 1855, Augusta’s daughters married in a double wedding.

On December 8, 1865, at Hallyburton House in Kettins, Angusshire, Scotland, Augusta died at the age of sixty-two. She was buried at Duns Cemetery in Duns, Scotland. Her husband Frederick survived her by nearly thirteen years, dying on September 29, 1878, aged seventy-nine.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Augusta FitzClarence. (2016). Genealogics.org. https://www.genealogics.org/getperson.php?personID=I00024489&tree=LEO
  • Augusta FitzClarence Kennedy-Erskine… (2020). Findagrave.com. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/218710689/augusta_kennedy-erskine_gordon-hallyburton
  • Beauclerk-Dewar, Peter & Powell, Roger. (2006). Right Royal Bastards – The Fruits of Passion. Burke’s Peerage & Gentry LLC.
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2015). King William IV of the United Kingdom. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-william-iv-of-the-united-kingdom/
  • Mehl, Scott. (2020). Dorothea Jordan, Mistress of King William IV of the United Kingdom. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/dorothea-jordan-mistress-of-king-william-iv-of-the-united-kingdom/
  • Weir, Alison. (2008). Britain’s Royal Families – The Complete Genealogy. Vintage Books.
  • Wikipedia Contributors. (2024). Lady Augusta Gordon. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation.
  • Wikipedia Contributors. (2024). Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation.

Adolphus FitzClarence, Illegitimate Son of King William IV of the United Kingdom

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Adolphus FitzClarence as a young Royal Navy officer; Credit – Wikipedia

Adolphus FitzClarence was born on February 18, 1802, at Bushy House in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. He was the fifth of the ten children and the third of the five sons of the future King William IV of the United Kingdom and his mistress Dorothea Jordan. Adolphus’ paternal grandparents were King George III of the United Kingdom and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Francis Bland, a stagehand, and his mistress Grace Phillips, an actress, were his maternal grandparents.

From 1790 until 1811, before he became king, King William IV of the United Kingdom had a long-term relationship with actress Dorothea Jordan. Their relationship resulted in ten children who were given the surname FitzClarence. The surname comes from the Anglo-Norman word  Fitz, meaning “son of” and Clarence, from King William IV’s title before he became king, Duke of Clarence.

Dorothea Jordan was born Dorothea Bland was born in County Waterford, Ireland, the daughter of Francis Bland, a stagehand, and his mistress Grace Phillips, an actress. Her mother encouraged Dorothea to enter the theater, and within a few years, she began to draw large crowds for her performances. She left Ireland in 1782 and moved to Leeds, England. It was at this point that she took the name Jordan. She performed for three years with the York Company, before being lured away in 1785 to move to the Royal Theatre, Drury Lane in London. By then, Dorothea was becoming a very popular performer and could be counted on to bring large crowds every night. It was at Drury Lane that her life would come to the attention of The Duke of Clarence several years later.


Adolphus’ parents The Duke of Clarence (later King William IV) and Dorothea Jordan; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1790, Dorothea was first noticed by The Duke of Clarence (later King William IV) while performing at Drury Lane. They quickly began an affair that would last for the next 21 years. Dorothea moved in with the Duke at his home, Clarence Lodge in Roehampton, London, England and later they moved to Bushy House in Bushy Park in Richmond upon Thames, London, England.

Bushy House, Adolphus’ birthplace; By Stephen Williams, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12574949

In 1797, King George III of the United Kingdom appointed his third son William, then Duke of Clarence, the ranger of Bushy Park. The position came with the residence Bushy House in Bushy Park. William and Dorothea lived there with their ten children until their relationship ended in 1811. William continued living there with his children and later with his wife Adelaide Saxe-Meinigen after they married in 1818.

The children of King William IV and Dorothea Jordan had an elder half-brother, William Henry Courtney, born around 1788 to an unknown mother, and named after his father whose given names were William Henry. Dorothea Jordan cared for William Henry, and she was fond of him and he was fond of her. William Henry served in the Royal Navy from 1803 until 1807 when his ship HMS Blenheim was lost in a gale off Madagascar. Despite an extensive search, no trace of the ship was ever found. 590 men were lost aboard HMS Blenheim, including King William IV’s eldest illegitimate son nineteen-year-old William Henry Courtney.

Nine of the ten children of King William IV and Dorothea Jordan were named after nine of William’s fourteen siblings. That one child was named Henry, William IV’s middle name.

Adolphus’ nine siblings:

William and Dorothea’s children married into the British aristocracy and their many descendants include some notable people including sisters Princess Alexandra, Duchess of Fife and Princess Maud, Countess of Southesk (granddaughters of King Edward VII and daughters of Princess Louise, Princess Royal and Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife, a descendant of Dorothea Jordan and King William IV), Duff Cooper, 1st Viscount Norwich (British diplomat, Cabinet member, author), John Crichton-Stuart, 7th Marquess of Bute (also known as Johnny Dumfries, racing driver), and David Cameron, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

By 1811, William was pressured by his family to find a suitable wife. At the time he was fourth in line for the throne following his elder brother The Prince of Wales, the future King George IV, George’s only child Princess Charlotte of Wales, and George’s next oldest brother who was childless Prince Frederick, Duke of York. William gave in to the pressure and ended his relationship with Dorothea but ensured she was well provided for. William became closer to the throne when his niece Princess Charlotte died in 1817 giving birth to a stillborn son. When King George IV died in 1830, William succeeded to the throne. Although William had ten children with Dorothea Jordan, his marriage with Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen produced no surviving children. King William IV was succeeded by his niece Queen Victoria. Queen Victoria had relationships with her first cousins, King William IV’s illegitimate children. They are mentioned in Queen Victoria’s diaries when visiting Windsor Castle.

Adolphus and his siblings had little contact with their mother Dorothea Jordan after 1811 when their father ended his relationship with her. After losing much of her savings when her daughter Augusta and her husband ran up large debts in her name, Dorothea’s health quickly began to decline. Virtually penniless, Dorothea Jordan died in Saint-Cloud, France on July 5, 1816, at the age of 54. She is buried in the local cemetery in Saint-Cloud.

After attending a boarding school in Sunbury-on-Thames, England, in 1812, twelve-year-old Adolphus joined the Royal Navy, where he had a career and attained the rank of Rear Admiral. He first served on the HMS Impregnable, the flagship of his father, then The Duke of Clarence, who also had a naval career. The HMS Impregnable was involved in the Napoleonic Wars (1803 – 1815). Adolphus then served as a Midshipman aboard the HMS Newcastle which participated in the War of 1812. The HMS Newcastle captured an American privateer en route to the United States and participated in the blockade of the 44-gun frigate USS Constitution in Boston harbor. In April 1821, Adolphus was commissioned as a Lieutenant and transferred to the HMS Euryalus. After being promoted to Commander in 1823, Adolphus served aboard the HMS Brisk and HMS Redwing in the North Sea. In December 1824, Adolphus was promoted to Captain. He received his first command in 1826, becoming Captain of HMS Ariadne. In 1827, he commanded HMS Challenger, and in 1828, HMS Pallas.

When his father King William IV acceded to the throne in 1830, Adolphus was given command of the Royal Yacht HMY Royal George. The same year, his father appointed him Groom of the Robes and in 1833, he was appointed Lord of the Bedchamber. In 1837, his father died and his Adolphus’ first cousin Queen Victoria came to the throne. Victoria allowed Adolphus to keep the command of the Royal Yacht. In her diary, Queen Victoria recorded that upon hearing he would keep the command, Adolphus burst into tears and said that this was unexpected and that he had not hoped for it. He held the command of the Royal Yacht until his promotion to Rear-Admiral of the Blue in 1853. In 1848, Adolphus became Naval Aide-de-camp to Queen Victoria.

Posthumous portrait of Adolphus wearing an admiral’s hat by Rosa Koberwein; Credit – Wikipedia

Fifty-four-year-old Adolphus FitzClarence suffered a paralytic seizure on or a few days before May 17, 1856, and died unmarried on May 18, 1856, at Newburgh Priory in Coxwold, North Yorkshire, England, the home of Sir George Orby Wombwell, 4th Baronet. He was buried in a vault under the chancel of St. Michael’s Church in Coxwold, North Yorkshire, England. Adolphus’ assets were not enough to pay his debts and funeral expenses. Queen Victoria wrote in her diary on May 19, 1856, “Poor Ld Adolphus FitzClarence of whose paralytic seizure we heard on the 17th, died yesterday evening. We are truly sorry as he was very good natured & kind hearted, but he positively killed himself by living too well. He was only 54, although he looked quite 10 or 12 years older.”

Memorial to Adolphus erected by “a few sincere friends and relatives at St. Michael’s Church in Coxwold, North Yorkshire, England; Credit – www.findagrave.com

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Autoren der Wikimedia-Projekte. (2007). Britischer Offizier der Royal Navy. Wikipedia.org; Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolphus_FitzClarence
  • Beauclerk-Dewar, Peter & Powell, Roger. (2006). Right Royal Bastards – The Fruits of Passion. Burke’s Peerage & Gentry LLC.
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2015). King William IV of the United Kingdom. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-william-iv-of-the-united-kingdom/
  • Mehl, Scott. (2020). Dorothea Jordan, Mistress of King William IV of the United Kingdom. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/dorothea-jordan-mistress-of-king-william-iv-of-the-united-kingdom/
  • Rear Admiral Lord Adolphus FitzClarence … (2017). Findagrave.com. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/186168309/adolphus-fitzclarence
  • Weir, Alison. (2008). Britain’s Royal Families – The Complete Genealogy. Vintage Books.
  • Wikipedia Contributors. (2024). Lord Adolphus FitzClarence. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Adolphus_FitzClarence
  • Wikipedia Contributors. (2023). St. Michael’s Church. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Michael%27s_Church

Elizabeth Hay, Countess of Erroll, born Elizabeth FitzClarence, Illegitimate Daughter of King William IV of the United Kingdom

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Elizabeth Hay, Countess of Erroll; Credit – Wikipedia

Elizabeth Hay, Countess of Erroll was born Elizabeth FitzClarence, the sixth of the ten children and the third of the five daughters of the future King William IV of the United Kingdom and his mistress Dorothea Jordan, on January 17, 1801, at Bushy House in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Elizabeth’s paternal grandparents were King George III of the United Kingdom and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Francis Bland, a stagehand, and his mistress Grace Phillips, an actress were her maternal grandparents.

From 1790 until 1811, before he became king, King William IV of the United Kingdom had a long-term relationship with actress Dorothea Jordan. Their relationship resulted in ten children who were given the surname FitzClarence. The surname comes from the Anglo-Norman word  Fitz, meaning “son of” and Clarence, from King William IV’s title before he became king, Duke of Clarence.

Dorothea Jordan was born Dorothea Bland was born in County Waterford, Ireland, the daughter of Francis Bland, a stagehand, and his mistress Grace Phillips, an actress. Her mother encouraged Dorothea to enter the theater, and within a few years, she began to draw large crowds for her performances. She left Ireland in 1782 and moved to Leeds, England. It was at this point that she took the name Jordan. She performed for three years with the York Company, before being lured away in 1785 to move to the Royal Theatre, Drury Lane in London. By then, Dorothea was becoming a very popular performer and could be counted on to bring large crowds every night. It was at Drury Lane that her life would come to the attention of The Duke of Clarence several years later.


Elizabeth’s parents The Duke of Clarence (later King William IV) and Dorothea Jordan

In 1790, Dorothea was first noticed by The Duke of Clarence (later King William IV) while performing at Drury Lane. They quickly began an affair that would last for the next 21 years. Dorothea moved in with the Duke at his home, Clarence Lodge in Roehampton, London, England and later they moved to Bushy House in Bushy Park in Richmond upon Thames, London, England.

Bushy House, Elizabeth’s birthplace; By Stephen Williams, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12574949

In 1797, King George III of the United Kingdom appointed his third son William, then Duke of Clarence, the ranger of Bushy Park. The position came with the residence Bushy House in Bushy Park. William and Dorothea lived there with their ten children until their relationship ended in 1811. William continued living there with his children and later with his wife Adelaide Saxe-Meinigen after they married in 1818.

The children of King William IV and Dorothea Jordan had an elder half-brother, William Henry Courtney, born around 1788 to an unknown mother, and named after his father whose given names were William Henry. Dorothea Jordan cared for William, and she was fond of him and he was fond of her. William served in the Royal Navy from 1803 until 1807 when his ship HMS Blenheim was lost in a gale off Madagascar. Despite an extensive search, no trace of the ship was ever found. 590 men were lost aboard HMS Blenheim, including King William IV’s eldest illegitimate son nineteen-year-old William Henry Courtney.

Nine of the ten children of King William IV and Dorothea Jordan were named after nine of William’s fourteen siblings. The tenth child was given William’s middle name Henry.

Elizabeth’s nine siblings:

William and Dorothea’s children married into the British aristocracy and their many descendants include some notable people including sisters Princess Alexandra, Duchess of Fife and Princess Maud, Countess of Southesk (granddaughters of King Edward VII and daughters of Princess Louise, Princess Royal and Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife, a descendant of Dorothea Jordan and King William IV), Duff Cooper, 1st Viscount Norwich (British diplomat, Cabinet member, author), John Crichton-Stuart, 7th Marquess of Bute (also known as Johnny Dumfries, racing driver), and David Cameron, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

By 1811, William was pressured by his family to find a suitable wife. At the time he was fourth in line for the throne following his elder brother The Prince of Wales, the future King George IV, George’s only child Princess Charlotte of Wales, and George’s next oldest brother who was childless Prince Frederick, Duke of York. William gave in to the pressure and ended his relationship with Dorothea but ensured she was well provided for. William became closer to the throne when his niece Princess Charlotte died in 1817 giving birth to a stillborn son. When King George IV died in 1830, William succeeded to the throne. Although William had ten children with Dorothea Jordan, his marriage with Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen produced no surviving children. King William IV was succeeded by his niece Queen Victoria. Queen Victoria had relationships with her first cousins, King William IV’s illegitimate children. They are mentioned in Queen Victoria’s diaries when visiting Windsor Castle.

Elizabeth and her siblings had little contact with their mother Dorothea Jordan after 1811 when their father ended his relationship with her. After losing much of her savings when her daughter Augusta and her husband ran up large debts in her name, Dorothea’s health quickly began to decline. Virtually penniless, Dorothea Jordan died in Saint-Cloud, France on July 5, 1816, at the age of 54. She is buried in the local cemetery in Saint-Cloud.

Elizabeth’s husband William Hay, 18th Earl of Erroll; Credit – Wikipedia

On December 4, 1820, nineteen-year-old Elizabeth married another nineteen-year-old, William George Hay, 18th Earl of Erroll, the son of William Hay, 17th Earl of Erroll and Alice Eliot. William became the 18th Earl of Erroll when his father died on January 26, 1819. The Earls of Erroll held and still hold the hereditary office of Lord High Constable of Scotland and the hereditary title of Chief of Clan Hay.

Elizabeth and William had four children:

Elizabeth’s husband William had several appointed and political positions. In 1823 he was elected a Scottish representative peer and took his seat in the House of Lords. He was Master of the Horse to Queen Adelaide from 1830 to 1834. In 1831 he became a member of the Privy Council. He served as Master of the Buckhounds, a political position, from 1835 to 1839. From 1839 to 1841, William was Lord Steward of the Household. William was also Knight Marischal of Scotland from 1832 to 1846 and Lord-Lieutenant of Aberdeenshire from 1836 to 1846.

St. Mary’s Church, Wimbledon by John Salmon, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=128451986

William Hay, 18th Earl of Erroll, aged forty-five, died of diabetes complications, on April 19, 1846, in London, England. He was buried in the churchyard of St. Mary’s Church in Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton, Greater London. Elizabeth survived her husband by a little less than ten years, dying on January 16, 1856, aged 54, in Edinburgh, Scotland. She was buried with her husband at St. Mary’s Church in Wimbledon.

Elizabeth’s entry at www.findagrave.com gives an account of her death from the London Evening Standard, 17 Jan 1856, page 2. Several relatives are mentioned in the article:

  • Mr. J Duff was James Duff, Elizabeth’s son-in-law, in 1857, he became the 5th Earl Fife after his childless uncle James Duff, 4th Earl Fife died
  • Lady Agnes Duff was Elizabeth’s daughter, the wife of James above
  • Lady Mary Fox was Elizabeth’s sister, born Mary FitzClarence
  • The Earl of Erroll was Elizabeth’s son William Hay, 19th Earl of Erroll
  • Lady Augustus FitzClarence was Elizabeth’s sister-in-law, born Sarah Gordon, the wife of Elizabeth’s brother Lord Augustus FitzClarence
  • Viscount Campden was Elizabeth’s son-in-law, later Charles Noel, 2nd Earl of Gainsborough. Viscount Campden was the courtesy title of the heir of the Earl of Gainsborough
  • Viscountess Campden was Elizabeth’s daughter Ida, later Countess of Gainsborough,  wife of Charles Noel above

DEATH OF THE COUNTESS DOWAGER OF ERROLL

We regret to announce the death of the Countess Dowager of Erroll, daughter of the late King William IV and Ms Jordan. The melancholy event took place at five minutes to eleven o’clock yesterday forenoon at Edinburgh, being at the time her ladyship was on her way south to hasten to the sick bed of her brother, Lord Adolphus Fitzclarence.

The deceased countess had left Mr J. Duff, M.P., and Lady Agnes Duff’s seat in the north of Scotland, and on Saturday last stayed at Wemyss Castle, Dysart, and reached Edinburgh on Tuesday, where her ladyship was taken very unwell. The symptoms became alarming, and Lady Mary Fox, and the other relatives, received a telegraphic message early on Monday morning, conveying the intelligence that the countess was lying in a very dangerous state. Lady Mary Fox left town by the express train on Tuesday evening, and had the consolation of being with her sister at her dissolution, which happened at the hour before named without any apparent paint. We believe the countess died from congestion of the brain. Lady Augustus Fitzclarence, her sister-in-law, and Lady Agnes Duff were, among the other members of the family, present at her death, and the Earl of Erroll and Viscount and Viscountess Campden were also sent for when her ladyship was considered in imminent danger.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Beauclerk-Dewar, Peter & Powell, Roger. (2006). Right Royal Bastards – The Fruits of Passion. Burke’s Peerage & Gentry LLC.
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2015). King William IV of the United Kingdom. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-william-iv-of-the-united-kingdom/
  • Lady Elizabeth Fitzclarence Hay (1801-1856) -… (2015). Findagrave.com. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/153734491/elizabeth-hay
  • Mehl, Scott. (2020). Dorothea Jordan, Mistress of King William IV of the United Kingdom. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/dorothea-jordan-mistress-of-king-william-iv-of-the-united-kingdom/
  • Weir, Alison. (2008). Britain’s Royal Families – The Complete Genealogy. Vintage Books.
  • Wikipedia Contributors. (2018). Elizabeth Hay. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Hay
  • Wikipedia Contributors. (2022). William Hay. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Hay

Frederick FitzClarence, Illegitimate Son of King William IV of the United Kingdom

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Frederick FitzClarence; Credit – Wikipedia

Frederick FitzClarence was born on December 9, 1799, at Bushy House in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. He was the fifth of the ten children and the fourth of the five sons of the future King William IV of the United Kingdom and his mistress Dorothea Jordan. Frederick’s paternal grandparents were  King George III of the United Kingdom and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Francis Bland, a stagehand, and his mistress Grace Phillips, an actress were his maternal grandparents.

From 1790 until 1811, before he became king, King William IV of the United Kingdom had a long-term relationship with actress Dorothea Jordan. Their relationship resulted in ten children who were given the surname FitzClarence. The surname comes from the Anglo-Norman word  Fitz, meaning “son of” and Clarence, from King William IV’s title before he became king, Duke of Clarence.

Dorothea Jordan was born Dorothea Bland was born in County Waterford, Ireland, the daughter of Francis Bland, a stagehand, and his mistress Grace Phillips, an actress. Her mother encouraged Dorothea to enter the theater, and within a few years, she began to draw large crowds for her performances. She left Ireland in 1782 and moved to Leeds, England. It was at this point that she took the name Jordan. She performed for three years with the York Company, before being lured away in 1785 to move to the Royal Theatre, Drury Lane in London. By then, Dorothea was becoming a very popular performer and could be counted on to bring large crowds every night. It was at Drury Lane that her life would come to the attention of The Duke of Clarence several years later.


Frederick’s parents The Duke of Clarence (later King William IV) and Dorothea Jordan

In 1790, Dorothea was first noticed by The Duke of Clarence (later King William IV) while performing at Drury Lane. They quickly began an affair that would last for the next 21 years. Dorothea moved in with the Duke at his home, Clarence Lodge in Roehampton, London, England and later they moved to Bushy House in Bushy Park in Richmond upon Thames, London, England.

Bushy House, Frederick’s birthplace; By Stephen Williams, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12574949

In 1797, King George III of the United Kingdom appointed his third son William, then Duke of Clarence, the ranger of Bushy Park. The position came with the residence Bushy House in Bushy Park. William and Dorothea lived there with their ten children until their relationship ended in 1811. William continued living there with his children and later with his wife Adelaide Saxe-Meinigen after they married in 1818.

The children of King William IV and Dorothea Jordan had an elder half-brother, William Henry Courtney, born around 1788 to an unknown mother, and named after his father whose given names were William Henry. Dorothea Jordan cared for William, and she was fond of him and he was fond of her. William served in the Royal Navy from 1803 until 1807 when his ship HMS Blenheim was lost in a gale off Madagascar. Despite an extensive search, no trace of the ship was ever found. 590 men were lost aboard HMS Blenheim, including King William IV’s eldest illegitimate son nineteen-year-old William Henry Courtney.

Nine of the ten children of King William IV and Dorothea Jordan were named after nine of William’s fourteen siblings. The tenth child was given William’s middle name Henry.

Frederick had nine full siblings:

William and Dorothea’s children married into the British aristocracy and their many descendants include some notable people including sisters Princess Alexandra, Duchess of Fife and Princess Maud, Countess of Southesk (granddaughters of King Edward VII and daughters of Princess Louise, Princess Royal and Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife, a descendant of Dorothea Jordan and King William IV), Duff Cooper, 1st Viscount Norwich (British diplomat, Cabinet member, author), John Crichton-Stuart, 7th Marquess of Bute (also known as Johnny Dumfries, racing driver), and David Cameron, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

By 1811, William was pressured by his family to find a suitable wife. At the time he was fourth in line for the throne following his elder brother The Prince of Wales, the future King George IV, George’s only child Princess Charlotte of Wales, and George’s next oldest brother who was childless Prince Frederick, Duke of York. William gave in to the pressure and ended his relationship with Dorothea but ensured she was well provided for. William became closer to the throne when his niece Princess Charlotte died in 1817 giving birth to a stillborn son. When King George IV died in 1830, William succeeded to the throne. Although William had ten children with Dorothea Jordan, his marriage with Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen produced no surviving children. King William IV was succeeded by his niece Queen Victoria. Queen Victoria had relationships with her first cousins, King William IV’s illegitimate children. They are mentioned in Queen Victoria’s diaries when visiting Windsor Castle.

Frederick and his siblings had little contact with their mother Dorothea Jordan after 1811 when their father ended his relationship with her. After losing much of her savings when her daughter Augusta and her husband ran up large debts in her name, Dorothea’s health quickly began to decline. Virtually penniless, Dorothea Jordan died in Saint-Cloud, France on July 5, 1816, at the age of 54. She is buried in the local cemetery in Saint-Cloud.

Etal Manor, the home of Frederick and his wife Augusta; Credit – Wikipedia

On May 19, 1821, Frederick married Lady Augusta Boyle (1801 – 1876), the daughter of George Boyle, 4th Earl of Glasgow and Lady Augusta Hay. The couple made their home at Etal Manor in Etal, a village in Northumberland, England.

Frederick and Augusta had two children:

  • Augusta FitzClarence (1823 – 1855), unmarried
  • William FitzClarence (born and died 1827)

Frederick had a military career. In 1814, when he was nearly fifteen, Frederick was commissioned an officer in the British Army. He served in the Waterloo Campaign (June 15 – July 8, 1815) which ended the Napoleonic Wars. In 1820, while a Captain in the Coldstream Guards, Frederick commanded a small detachment in support of the police with the arrest of the Cato Street Conspirators, who plotted to murder the British cabinet ministers and Prime Minister Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool. For his leadership during the arrest, which resulted in a violent street fight, Frederick was promoted to Colonel of the 36th Regiment of Foot. Frederick was Lieutenant-Governor of Portsmouth from 1846 – 1851, South-West District Commander commanding an army military district from 1847 – 1851, and Commander-in-Chief of the Bombay Army from 1852 until he died in 1854. His highest military rank was Lieutenant-General.

Lord Frederick FitzClarence, aged fifty-four, died on October 30, 1854, in Pune, Maharashtra, India in active service as Commander-in-Chief of the Bombay Army. When his remains arrived in Bombay, India on November 13, 1854, they were received with honors by his nephew Lucius Cary, Master of Falkland, the son of his sister Lady Amelia FitzClarence and Lucius Cary, 10th Viscount Falkland. A ship carrying Frederick’s remains embarked for England on November 24, 1854, with his widow, daughter, and nephew Lucius Cary, Master of Falkland aboard. The ship arrived in Southampton, England on January 22, 1855. The remains were received by Frederick’s brother Lord Adolphus FitzClarence and his brothers-in-law Lucius Cary, 10th Viscount Falkland and The Honorable George Boyle (later 6th Earl of Glasgow).

Chapel of St Mary the Virgin in Etal; Credit – www.findagrave.com

Frederick’s widow Augusta built a mortuary chapel for her husband and their daughter Augusta who died in 1855, just a year after her father died. Their burial site, the Chapel of St Mary the Virgin, stands beside the drive leading to Etal Manor, which was the home of Frederick and Augusta. William Butterfield, a successful architect of many Victorian Gothic Revival churches, built the chapel. Originally a private chapel, the Chapel of St. Mary the Virgin is now a parish church of the Church of England. Augusta survived her husband by twenty-two years, dying, aged seventy-five, on July 28, 1876, at her home, Etal Manor. She is buried with her husband and their daughter in the Chapel of St. Mary the Virgin.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Beauclerk-Dewar, Peter & Powell, Roger. (2006). Right Royal Bastards – The Fruits of Passion. Burke’s Peerage & Gentry LLC.
  • Britain Express. (2024). Etal, St Mary’s Chapel, Northumberland | History & Photos. Britain Express. https://www.britainexpress.com/counties/northumbria/churches/etal.htm
  • Etal, Northumberland, History, Tourism, and Accommodation information. (2024). Britain Express. https://www.britainexpress.com/attractions.htm?attraction=3017#google_vignette
  • Find a Grave. Lieutenant-General Lord Frederick FitzClarence. (2017).  https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/186155457/frederick-fitzclarence
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2015). King William IV of the United Kingdom. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-william-iv-of-the-united-kingdom/
  • Mehl, Scott. (2020). Dorothea Jordan, Mistress of King William IV of the United Kingdom. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/dorothea-jordan-mistress-of-king-william-iv-of-the-united-kingdom/
  • Ufficiale Inglese. (2023). Figlio illegittimo di Guglielmo IV. Wikipedia.org; Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_FitzClarence
  • Weir, Alison. (2008). Britain’s Royal Families – The Complete Genealogy. Vintage Books.
  • Wikipedia Contributors. (2023). Etal. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etal
  • Wikipedia Contributors. (2024). Lord Frederick FitzClarence. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Frederick_FitzClarence

Lady Mary Fox, born Mary FitzClarence, Illegitimate Daughter of King William IV of the United Kingdom

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Mary FitzClarence; Credit – Wikipedia

Lady Mary Fox was born Mary FitzClarence, the fourth of the ten children and the second of the five daughters of the future King William IV of the United Kingdom and his mistress Dorothea Jordan, on December 19, 1798, at Bushy House in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Mary’s paternal grandparents were King George III of the United Kingdom and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Francis Bland, a stagehand, and his mistress Grace Phillips, an actress were her maternal grandparents.

From 1790 until 1811, before he became king, King William IV of the United Kingdom had a long-term relationship with actress Dorothea Jordan. Their relationship resulted in ten children who were given the surname FitzClarence. The surname comes from the Anglo-Norman Fitz, meaning “son of” and Clarence, from King William IV’s title before he became king, Duke of Clarence.

Dorothea Jordan was born Dorothea Bland was born in County Waterford, Ireland, the daughter of Francis Bland, a stagehand, and his mistress Grace Phillips, an actress. Her mother encouraged Dorothea to enter the theater, and within a few years, she began to draw large crowds for her performances. She left Ireland in 1782 and moved to Leeds, England. It was at this point that she took the name Jordan. She performed for three years with the York Company, before being lured away in 1785 to move to the Royal Theatre, Drury Lane in London. By then, Dorothea was becoming a very popular performer and could be counted on to bring large crowds every night. It was at Drury Lane that her life would come to the attention of The Duke of Clarence several years later.


Mary’s parents The Duke of Clarence (later King William IV) and Dorothea Jordan; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1790, Dorothea was first noticed by The Duke of Clarence (later King William IV) while performing at Drury Lane. They quickly began an affair that would last for the next 21 years. Dorothea moved in with the Duke at his home, Clarence Lodge in Roehampton, London, England and later they moved to Bushy House in Bushy Park in Richmond upon Thames, London, England.

In 1797, King George III of the United Kingdom appointed his third son William, then Duke of Clarence, the ranger of Bushy Park. The position came with the residence Bushy House in Bushy Park. William and Dorothea lived there with their ten children until their relationship ended in 1811. William continued living there with his children and later with his wife Adelaide Saxe-Meinigen after they married in 1818.

The children of King William IV and Dorothea Jordan had an elder half-brother, William Henry Courtney, born around 1788 to an unknown mother, and named after his father whose given names were William Henry. Dorothea Jordan cared for William, and she was fond of him and he was fond of her. William served in the Royal Navy from 1803 until 1807 when his ship HMS Blenheim was lost in a gale off Madagascar. Despite an extensive search, no trace of the ship was ever found. 590 men were lost aboard HMS Blenheim, including King William IV’s eldest illegitimate son nineteen-year-old William Henry Courtney.

Nine of the ten children of King William IV and Dorothea Jordan were named after nine of William’s fourteen siblings. The tenth child was given William’s middle name Henry.

William and Dorothea’s children married into the British aristocracy and their many descendants include a number of notable people including sisters Princess Alexandra, Duchess of Fife and Princess Maud, Countess of Southesk (granddaughters of King Edward VII and daughters of Princess Louise, Princess Royal and Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife, a descendant of Dorothea Jordan and King William IV), Duff Cooper, 1st Viscount Norwich (British diplomat, Cabinet member, author), John Crichton-Stuart, 7th Marquess of Bute (also known as Johnny Dumfries, racing driver), and David Cameron, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

By 1811, William was pressured by his family to find a suitable wife. At the time he was fourth in line for the throne following his elder brother The Prince of Wales, the future King George IV, George’s only child Princess Charlotte of Wales, and George’s next oldest brother who was childless Prince Frederick, Duke of York. William gave in to the pressure and ended his relationship with Dorothea but ensured she was well provided for. William became closer to the throne when his niece Princess Charlotte died in 1817 giving birth to a stillborn son. When King George IV died in 1830, William succeeded to the throne. Although William had ten children with Dorothea Jordan, his marriage with Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen produced no surviving children. King William IV was succeeded by his niece Queen Victoria. Queen Victoria had relationships with her first cousins, King William IV’s illegitimate children. They are mentioned in Queen Victoria’s diaries when visiting Windsor Castle.

Mary and her siblings had little contact with their mother Dorothea Jordan after 1811 when their father ended his relationship with her. After losing much of her savings when her daughter Augusta and her husband ran up large debts in her name, Dorothea’s health quickly began to decline. Virtually penniless, Dorothea Jordan died in Saint-Cloud, France on July 5, 1816, at the age of 54. She is buried in the local cemetery in Saint-Cloud.

Charles Fox, Mary’s husband; Credit – www.findagrave.com

Like her eldest brother George, Mary also married another illegitimate child. Charles Fox was the illegitimate son of Henry Fox, 3rd Baron Holland, through an affair with Elizabeth Vassall, the wife of Sir Godfrey Webster, 4th Baronet. Charles’ mother Elizabeth was divorced by her husband on the grounds of adultery and two days later, she married Charles’ father. After their marriage, they had four more children, Charles’ siblings. On June 19, 1824, at the Parish Church of St. George in Hanover Square, Mayfair, London, England, Mary married Charles Fox but their marriage was childless. Mary and Charles established their household in Little Holland House, a Fox family property in Kensington, London, England.

Mary and Charles’ home Little Holland House; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1835, Mary was appointed State Housekeeper at Windsor Castle. Two years later, Mary’s father King William IV died and Mary’s first cousin Victoria ascended the throne. Like her siblings and their spouses, Mary and Charles occasionally dined at Windsor Castle with Queen Victoria. In 1837, Mary published a utopian feminist gothic novel entitled “An Account of an Expedition to the Interior of New Holland”. New Holland was a contemporary European name for Australia. In her novel, Mary portrayed New Holland as “a mysterious and unreal” place.

Mary’s husband Charles Fox had a brief career in the Royal Navy and a long career in the British Army. In 1809, when he was thirteen, Charles joined the Royal Navy and served as a midshipman until 1813, participating in the Napoleonic Wars. Dissatisfied with his prospects, in 1815 he joined the British Army and served in the 85th Regiment of Foot. Charles was rapidly promoted to Lieutenant in 1818, Captain in 1824, Major in 1825, and Lieutenant Colonel in 1827. Charles was Surveyor-General of the Ordnance from 1832 to 1834, in 1841, and again from 1846 to 1852, with the responsibility of ensuring the ordnance (weapons and ammunition) the British Army received was of good quality. He was promoted to Major-General in 1846, Lieutenant-General in 1854, and General in 1863. From 1865 to until he died in 1873, Richard served as the commander of the 57th (West Middlesex) Regiment of Foot, a line infantry regiment in the British Army.

Charles was also active in working for the Whig Party on a local level. In 1831, he was elected to Parliament and served for a total of ten years over several periods. Mary and Charles’ home Little Holland House Holland became a famous meeting place for prominent Whig politicians.

Grave of Lady Mary Fox and her husband Charles Fox; Credit – www.findagrave.com

Lady Mary Fox, aged 65, died on July 13, 1864, in London, England. Her husband Charles survived her by nearly nine years, dying at the age of 76, on April 13, 1873, in London. They are both buried at Kensal Green Cemetery in London, England.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Beauclerk-Dewar, Peter & Powell, Roger. (2006). Right Royal Bastards – The Fruits of Passion. Burke’s Peerage & Gentry LLC.
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2015). King William IV of the United Kingdom. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-william-iv-of-the-united-kingdom/
  • Gen Charles Richard Fox (1796-1873) – Find a… (2023). Findagrave.com. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/35773021/charles_richard_fox
  • Lady Mary FitzClarence Fox (1798-1864) – Find a… (2016). Findagrave.com. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/35773801/mary_fox
  • Mehl, Scott. (2020). Dorothea Jordan, Mistress of King William IV of the United Kingdom. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/dorothea-jordan-mistress-of-king-william-iv-of-the-united-kingdom/
  • Weir, Alison. (2008). Britain’s Royal Families – The Complete Genealogy. Vintage Books.
  • Wikipedia Contributors. (2024). Charles Richard Fox. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Richard_Fox
  • Wikipedia Contributors. (2024). Lady Mary Fox. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Mary_Fox

Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L’Isle and Dudley, born Sophia FitzClarence, Illegitimate Daughter of King William IV of the United Kingdom

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Sophia FitzClarence; Credit – Wikipedia

Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L’Isle and Dudley was born Sophia FitzClarence on August 25, 1796, in London, England. She was the third of the ten children and the eldest of the five daughters of King William IV of the United Kingdom and his mistress Dorothea Jordan. Sophia’s paternal grandparents were King George III of the United Kingdom and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Francis Bland, a stagehand, and his mistress Grace Phillips, an actress were her maternal grandparents.

From 1790 until 1811, before he became king, King William IV of the United Kingdom had a long-term relationship with actress Dorothea Jordan. Their relationship resulted in ten children who were given the surname FitzClarence. The surname comes from the Anglo-Norman Fitz, meaning “son of” and Clarence, from King William IV’s title before he became king, Duke of Clarence.

Dorothea Jordan was born Dorothea Bland was born in County Waterford, Ireland, the daughter of Francis Bland, a stagehand, and his mistress Grace Phillips, an actress. Her mother encouraged Dorothea to enter the theater, and within a few years, she began to draw large crowds for her performances. She left Ireland in 1782 and moved to Leeds, England. It was at this point that she took the name Jordan. She performed for three years with the York Company, before being lured away in 1785 to move to the Royal Theatre, Drury Lane in London. By then, Dorothea was becoming a very popular performer and could be counted on to bring large crowds every night. It was at Drury Lane that her life would come to the attention of The Duke of Clarence several years later.


Sophia’s parents The Duke of Clarence (later King William IV) and Dorothea Jordan; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1790, Dorothea was first noticed by The Duke of Clarence (later King William IV) while performing at Drury Lane. They quickly began an affair that would last for the next 21 years. Dorothea moved in with the Duke at his home, Clarence Lodge in Roehampton, London, England and later they moved to Bushy House in Bushy Park in Richmond upon Thames, London, England.

In 1797, King George III of the United Kingdom appointed his third son William, then Duke of Clarence, the ranger of Bushy Park. The position came with the residence Bushy House in Bushy Park. William and Dorothea lived there with their ten children until their relationship ended in 1811. William continued living there with his children and later with his wife Adelaide Saxe-Meinigen after they married in 1818.

The children of King William IV and Dorothea Jordan had an elder half-brother, William Henry Courtney, born around 1788 to an unknown mother, and named after his father whose given names were William Henry. Dorothea Jordan cared for William, and she was fond of him and he was fond of her. William served in the Royal Navy from 1803 until 1807 when his ship HMS Blenheim was lost in a gale off Madagascar. Despite an extensive search, no trace of the ship was ever found. 590 men were lost aboard HMS Blenheim, including King William IV’s eldest illegitimate son nineteen-year-old William Henry Courtney.

Nine of the ten children of King William IV and Dorothea Jordan were named after nine of William’s fourteen siblings. The tenth child was given William’s middle name Henry.

William and Dorothea’s children married into the British aristocracy and their many descendants include a number of notable people including sisters Princess Alexandra, Duchess of Fife and Princess Maud, Countess of Southesk (granddaughters of King Edward VII and daughters of Princess Louise, Princess Royal and Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife, a descendant of Dorothea Jordan and King William IV), Duff Cooper, 1st Viscount Norwich (British diplomat, Cabinet member, author), John Crichton-Stuart, 7th Marquess of Bute (also known as Johnny Dumfries, racing driver), and David Cameron, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

By 1811, William was pressured by his family to find a suitable wife. At the time he was fourth in line for the throne following his elder brother The Prince of Wales, the future King George IV, George’s only child Princess Charlotte of Wales, and George’s next oldest brother who was childless Prince Frederick, Duke of York. William gave in to the pressure and ended his relationship with Dorothea but ensured she was well provided for. William became closer to the throne when his niece Princess Charlotte died in 1817 giving birth to a stillborn son. When King George IV died in 1830, William succeeded to the throne. Although William had ten children with Dorothea Jordan, his marriage with Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen produced no surviving children. King William IV was succeeded by his niece Queen Victoria. Queen Victoria had relationships with her first cousins, King William IV’s illegitimate children. They are mentioned in Queen Victoria’s diaries when visiting Windsor Castle.

Sophia and her siblings had little contact with their mother Dorothea Jordan after 1811 when their father ended his relationship with her. After losing much of her savings when her daughter Augusta and her husband ran up large debts in her name, Dorothea’s health quickly began to decline. Virtually penniless, Dorothea Jordan died in Saint-Cloud, France on July 5, 1816, at the age of 54. She is buried in the local cemetery in Saint-Cloud.

On August 13, 1825, Sophia married Philip Charles Shelley Sidney, the only son of Sir John Shelley-Sidney, 1st Baronet, and Henrietta Hunloke, and the first cousin of poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. Sophia’s husband opted to drop “Shelley” from his surname.

Sophia and Philip had six children:

  • Adelaide Augusta Wilhelmina Sidney (1826 – 1904), married her first cousin Frederick FitzClarence, son of George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster (an illegitimate son of King William IV and Dorothea Jordan), no children
  • Philip Sidney, 2nd Lord De L’Isle and Dudley (1828 – 1898), married (1) Mary Foulis, had five children (2) Emily Frances Ramsay, no children
  • Robert Dudley Sidney (1829 – 1830), died in infancy
  • Elizabeth Frederica Sidney (born and died 1831), died in infancy
  • Ernestine Wellington Sidney (1834 – 1910), married Philip Perceval, had four children
  • Sophia Philippa Sidney (1837 – 1907), married Alexander, Graf von Kielmannsegg, no children

Sophia’s husband Philip Sidney served in the House of Commons from 1829 – 1831, was an equerry to his father-in-law King William IV from 1830 – 1835, and served as Surveyor-General of the Duchy of Cornwall from 1833 – 1849. In 1835, Philip was created Baron De L’Isle and Dudley. When his father died In 1849, twelve years after Sophia’s death, Philip became 2nd Baronet of Penshurst Place. Philip Sidney, 1st Baron De L’Isle and Dudley died on March 4, 1851, aged 50, and was succeeded in his titles by his son Philip Sidney, 2nd Baron De L’Isle and Dudley.

Watercolor painting of King William IV, painted in 1837 by Sophia shortly before her death; Credit – Wikipedia

In January 1837, Sophia was appointed by her father King William IV as State Housekeeper at Kensington Palace in London. Three months later, on April 10, 1837, 40-year-old Sophia died after delivering a premature stillborn baby at Kensington Palace. She had recently completed a charming watercolor painting of her father. Sophia’s death had a severe impact on her father King William IV, who died two months later on June 20, 1837.

St. John the Baptist in Penshurst, Kent, England; Credit – By John Myers, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11767169

Sophia was interred in the Sidney Chapel at St. John the Baptist Church in Penshurst, Kent, England near Penshurst Place, the home of the Sidney family for over 450 years. There is a memorial to Sophia at St. John the Baptist Church, a life-size figure of her on a pedestal with Grecian drapery, holding a Bible, with her eyes looking upward.

Memorial to Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L’Isle and Dudley at St. John the Baptist Church; Credit – https://www.tumbarumba.co.uk

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Beauclerk-Dewar, Peter & Powell, Roger. (2006). Right Royal Bastards – The Fruits of Passion. Burke’s Peerage & Gentry LLC.
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2015). King William IV of the United Kingdom. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-william-iv-of-the-united-kingdom/
  • Mehl, Scott. (2020). Dorothea Jordan, Mistress of King William IV of the United Kingdom. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/dorothea-jordan-mistress-of-king-william-iv-of-the-united-kingdom/
  • Weir, Alison. (2008). Britain’s Royal Families – The Complete Genealogy. Vintage Books.
  • Wikipedia. Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L’Isle and Dudley (2024). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophia_Sidney,_Baroness_De_L%27Isle_and_Dudley

Breaking News: Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi expecting second child

Photo Credit – https://www.instagram.com/p/CC05fTMH_HJ/ Photograph by Benjamin Wheeler

It was announced today that Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi are expecting their second child early in the new year. His Majesty The King has been informed and both families are delighted with the news.

On September 26, 2019, Buckingham Palace announced the engagement of  Princess Beatrice to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi. Beatrice and Edoardo’s wedding, scheduled for May 29, 2020, was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Beatrice and Edoardo were married in a private ceremony at the Royal Chapel of All Saints, on the grounds of Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park, on July 17, 2020. They have one daughter Sienna Elizabeth Mapelli Mozzi, born 2021. Edoardo has one son from a prior relationship, Christopher Woolf, known as Wolfie, born in 2016.

George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster, Illegitimate Son of King William IV of the United Kingdom

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster; Credit – https://artuk.org/

The first of ten children of King William IV of the United Kingdom and his mistress Dorothea Jordan, George Augustus Frederick FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster, was born on January 29, 1794, on Somerset Street, Portman Square in London, England. His paternal grandparents were King George III of the United Kingdom and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Francis Bland and his mistress Grace Phillips were his maternal grandparents.

From 1790 until 1811, before he became king, King William IV of the United Kingdom had a long-term relationship with actress Dorothea Jordan. Their relationship resulted in ten children who were given the surname FitzClarence. The surname comes from the Anglo-Norman Fitz, meaning “son of” and Clarence, from King William IV’s title before he became king, Duke of Clarence.

Dorothea Jordan was born Dorothea Bland in County Waterford, Ireland, the daughter of Francis Bland, a stagehand, and his mistress Grace Phillips, an actress. Her mother encouraged Dorothea to enter the theater, and within a few years, she began to draw large crowds for her performances. She left Ireland in 1782 and moved to Leeds, England. It was at this point that she took the name Jordan. She performed for three years with the York Company, before being lured away in 1785 to move to the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London. By then, Dorothea was becoming a very popular performer and could be counted on to bring large crowds every night. It was at Drury Lane that her life would come to the attention of The Duke of Clarence several years later.


George’s parents The Duke of Clarence (later King William IV) and Dorothea Jordan

In 1790, Dorothea was first noticed by The Duke of Clarence (later King William IV) while she was performing at Drury Lane. They quickly began an affair that would last for the next 21 years. Dorothea moved in with the Duke at his home, Clarence Lodge in Roehampton, London, England and later they moved to Bushy House in Bushy Park, Richmond upon Thames, London, England. In 1797, King George III of the United Kingdom appointed his third son William, then Duke of Clarence, the ranger of Bushy Park. The position came with the residence Bushy House in Bushy Park. William and Dorothea lived there with their ten children until their relationship ended in 1811. William continued living there with his children and later with his wife Adelaide Saxe-Meinigen after they married in 1818.

The children of King William IV and Dorothea Jordan had an elder half-brother, William Henry Courtney, born around 1788 to an unknown mother, and named after his father whose given names were William Henry. Dorothea Jordan cared for William, and she was fond of him and he was fond of her. William served in the Royal Navy from 1803 until 1807 when his ship HMS Blenheim was lost in a gale off Madagascar. Despite an extensive search, no trace of the ship was ever found. 590 men were lost aboard HMS Blenheim, including King William IV’s eldest illegitimate son nineteen-year-old William Henry Courtney.

George’s siblings:

William and Dorothea’s children married into the British aristocracy and their many descendants include a number of notable people including sisters Princess Alexandra, Duchess of Fife and Princess Maud, Countess of Southesk (granddaughters of King Edward VII and daughters of Princess Louise, Princess Royal and Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife, a descendant of Dorothea Jordan and King William IV), Duff Cooper, 1st Viscount Norwich (British diplomat, Cabinet member, author), John Crichton-Stuart, 7th Marquess of Bute (also known as Johnny Dumfries, racing driver), and David Cameron, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

By 1811, William was pressured by his family to find a suitable wife. At the time he was fourth in line for the throne following his elder brother The Prince of Wales, the future King George IV, George’s only child Princess Charlotte of Wales, and George’s next oldest brother who was childless Prince Frederick, Duke of York. William gave in to the pressure and ended his relationship with Dorothea but ensured she was well provided for. William became closer to the throne when his niece Princess Charlotte died in 1817 giving birth to a stillborn son. When King George IV died in 1830, William succeeded to the throne. Although William had ten children with Dorothea Jordan, his marriage with Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen produced no surviving children. King William IV was succeeded by his niece Queen Victoria. Queen Victoria had relationships with her first cousins, King William IV’s illegitimate children. They are mentioned in Queen Victoria’s diaries when visiting Windsor Castle.

As the Duke of Clarence’s son, George received a comprehensive education and attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in Sandhurst, Berkshire, England. On October 18, 1819. George married Mary Wyndham (1792 – 1842), the daughter of George Wyndham, 3rd Earl of Egremont and his mistress Elizabeth Fox.

George and Mary had seven children:

  • Lady Adelaide Georgiana FitzClarence (1820 – 1883), unmarried.
  • Lady Augusta Margaret FitzClarence (1822 – 1846), married Baron Knut Philip Bonde, died in childbirth delivering a daughter
  • William George FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster (1824 – 1901), married his first cousin Wilhelmina Kennedy-Erskine, had nine children
  • The Honorable Frederick Charles George FitzClarence (1826 – 1878); married his first cousin Adelaide Augusta Wilhelmine Sidney, no children
  • Lady Mary Gertrude FitzClarence (1832 – 1834), died in early childhood
  • Captain The Honorable George FitzClarence (1836 – 1894); married Maria Henrietta Scott, had five children
  • Lieutenant The Honorable Edward FitzClarence (1837 – 1855); unmarried, died in battle at the Siege of Sevastopol during the Crimean War

George and his siblings had little contact with their mother Dorothea Jordan after 1811 when their father ended his relationship with her. After losing much of her savings when her daughter Augusta and her husband ran up large debts in her name, Dorothea’s health quickly began to decline. Virtually penniless, Dorothea Jordan died in Saint-Cloud, France on July 5, 1816, at the age of 54. She is buried in the local cemetery in Saint-Cloud.

George served as an army officer during the Peninsular War (1807–1814) and then served in India. He attained the rank of Major-General in the British Army. His father was proud of George’s military record but was very concerned with his drinking and gambling, issues which also affected some of William’s brothers.

In 1831, the year after his father became king, 37-year-old George was created Earl of Munster, Viscount FitzClarence, and Baron Tewkesbury.

He also held several other positions:

However, George was disappointed that he had not received a dukedom. Despite already receiving several important positions, George spent his later life pursuing fame, fortune, and honors. He constantly asked his father King William IV and later his first cousin Queen Victoria for financial help and lucrative appointments for himself and his children. A series of quarrels with his father and George’s increasing mental instability caused a complete breach in relations between King William IV and his son George. In 1839, George wrote to William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, Queen Victoria’s first Prime Minister about the possibility of becoming the Governor of Malta and to Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington about money or the lack of it on December 15, 1841.

St. Mary’s Church where George is buried; By Dnwinterburn – Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10454062

Three months after writing to the Duke of Wellington, on March 20, 1842, at his home in Belgravia, London, 48-year-old George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster killed himself with a pistol given to him by his uncle King George IV when he was Prince of Wales. His suicide came as no surprise to his family, who had long been concerned about his mental condition. George was buried at St. Mary’s Church in Hampton in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, where he regularly worshipped.

Below are some suicide prevention resources.

In the United States, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 988. Anyone in the United States can text or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline to reach trained counselors who can help them cope with a mental health emergency. National Institute of Mental Health: Suicide Prevention is also a United States resource.

Other countries also have similar resources. Please check the resources below.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Beauclerk-Dewar, Peter & Powell, Roger. (2006). Right Royal Bastards – The Fruits of Passion. Burke’s Peerage & Gentry LLC.
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2015). King William IV of the United Kingdom. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-william-iv-of-the-united-kingdom/
  • George Augustus Frederick FitzClarence 1st Earl… (2019). Findagrave.com. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/198712444/george-augustus_frederick-fitzclarence_1st_earl_of_munster
  • Mehl, Scott. (2020). Dorothea Jordan, Mistress of King William IV of the United Kingdom. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/dorothea-jordan-mistress-of-king-william-iv-of-the-united-kingdom/
  • Weir, Alison. (2008). Britain’s Royal Families – The Complete Genealogy. Vintage Books.
  • Wikipedia Contributors. (2024, June 16). George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_FitzClarence