Duke of Grafton

Duke of Grafton is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1675 by Charles II of England for Henry FitzRoy, his second illegitimate son by the Duchess of Cleveland. The most famous duke was probably Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton, who served as prime minister in the 1760s.

Dukedom of Grafton

Quarterly: 1st and 4th, France and England quarterly (Royal Arms of Charles II); 2nd, Scotland; 3rd, Ireland; the whole debruised by a baton sinister compony of six pieces argent and azure.
Creation date11 September 1675[1]
MonarchCharles II
PeeragePeerage of England
First holderHenry FitzRoy
Present holderHenry FitzRoy, 12th Duke
Heir apparentAlfred FitzRoy, Earl of Euston
Remainder tothe 1st Duke's heirs male of the body lawfully begotten
Subsidiary titlesEarl of Euston
Viscount Ipswich
Baron Sudbury
Seat(s)Euston Hall

The duke of Grafton holds three subsidiary titles, all created in 1675 in the peerage of England: Earl of Euston, Viscount Ipswich, and Baron Sudbury.[1] Between 1723 and 1936 the dukes, being descended from the 1st Duke's wife Isabella FitzRoy, 2nd Countess of Arlington, also held the titles Earl of Arlington, Viscount Thetford and Baron Arlington. Those titles fell into abeyance between the 9th Duke's sisters, with the abeyance of the barony of Arlington being ended in 1999.

The title of the dukedom refers to the Honour of Grafton in the southeast of Northamptonshire, the titular village now being called Grafton Regis. The family seat is Euston Hall in Suffolk, an 11,000-acre estate straddling the Norfolk-Suffolk border.[2] The duke of Grafton is fourth in the order of precedence after the dukes of Norfolk, Somerset, and Richmond.

Dukes of Grafton (1675)

Arms of the Dukes of Grafton
Other titles (all): Earl of Euston, Viscount Ipswich and Baron Sudbury (1675)
Other titles (2nd–9th Dukes): Earl of Arlington and Viscount Thetford (1672), Baron Arlington (1664), Baron Arlington (1672)

The heir apparent is the present holder's son, Alfred James Charles FitzRoy, Earl of Euston (b. 2012).[5]

Arms

Coat of arms of Duke of Grafton
Coronet
The coronet of a Duke
Crest
On a Chapeau Gules turned up Ermine a Lion statant guardant Or ducally crowned Azure and gorged with a Collar counter-compony Argent and of the fourth.
Escutcheon
The Royal Arms of Charles II, viz Quarterly: 1st and 4th, France and England quarterly; 2nd, Scotland; 3rd, Ireland; the whole debruised by a Baton sinister compony of six pieces Argent and Azure
Supporters
Dexter: a Lion guardant Or ducally crowned Azure; Sinister: a Greyhound Argent, each gorged with a Collar counter-compony Argent and Azure.
Motto
Et Decus Et Pretium Recti (The ornament and recompense of virtue)

Family tree

FitzRoy family tree: Dukes of Grafton
King Charles II
(1630–r.1660–1685)
Barbara Palmer,
1st Duchess of Cleveland

(1640–1709)
Duke of Monmouth
Dukes of Buccleuch
Dukes of Cleveland
& Southampton
Duke of NorthumberlandDukes of Richmond
& Lennox
Earl of PlymouthDukes of St Albans
EARL OF EUSTON, 1672
DUKE OF GRAFTON, 1675
Henry FitzRoy,
1st Earl of Euston,
1st Duke of Grafton

illegitimate
(1663–1690)
Charles FitzRoy,
2nd Duke of Grafton

(1683–1757)
Charles Henry FitzRoy,
Earl of Euston
(1714–1715)
George FitzRoy,
Earl of Euston
(1715–1747)
Lord Augustus FitzRoy
(1716–1741)
Baron Southampton
Augustus Henry FitzRoy,
3rd Duke of Grafton

(1735–1811)
P.M. 1768–70
Charles FitzRoy,
1st Baron Southampton

(1737–1797)
George Henry FitzRoy,
4th Duke of Grafton

(1760–1844)
George Ferdinand FitzRoy,
2nd Baron Southampton
(1761–1810)
Henry FitzRoy,
5th Duke of Grafton

(1790–1863)
Charles FitzRoy,
3rd Baron Southampton

(1804–1872)
Viscounts Daventry
William Henry FitzRoy,
6th Duke of Grafton

(1819–1882)
Augustus Charles Lennox FitzRoy,
7th Duke of Grafton

(1821–1918)
Henry James FitzRoy,
Earl of Euston

(1848–1912)
Alfred William Maitland FitzRoy,
8th Duke of Grafton

(1850–1930)
Lord Charles Edward FitzRoy
(1857–1911)
Hon. Ismay FitzRoy
(1863–1952)
William Henry Alfred FitzRoy,
Viscount Ipswich
(1884–1918)
Charles Alfred Euston FitzRoy,
10th Duke of Grafton

(1892–1970)
John Charles William FitzRoy,
9th Duke of Grafton

(1914–1936)
Hugh Denis Charles FitzRoy,
11th Duke of Grafton

(1919–2011)
James Oliver Charles FitzRoy,
Earl of Euston
(1947–2009)
Henry Oliver Charles FitzRoy,
12th Duke of Grafton

(b. 1978)

See also

References

Further reading

  • Falk, Bernard. The Royal Fitz Roys; Dukes of Grafton through Four Centuries. Hutchinson, 1950.
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