House of FitzJames

The House of FitzJames (or House of Fitz-James Stuart) is a noble house founded by James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick. He was the illegitimate son of James II & VII, King of England, Scotland and Ireland, a monarch from the House of Stuart.[1] After the Revolution of 1688, the 1st Duke of Berwick followed his father into exile and much of the family's history since then has been in Spain and France, with several members of the family serving in a military capacity.

House of FitzJames

Arms of the House of FitzJames
Parent houseHouse of Stuart
CountryKingdom of England, Kingdom of France, Kingdom of Spain
Founded1670
FounderJames FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick
Current headJacobo Fitz-James Stuart y Gómez, 12th Duke of Berwick
Titles
Connected familiesHouse of Alba
House of Silva

The house has two main branches. The senior branch, carrying the title of Duke of Berwick and residing in Spain, derived from the 1st Duke's first marriage to Honora Burke, Countess of Lucan. This branch has collected many titles throughout its history, including a few grandeeships of Spain, with some members acting as ambassadors or military officers.

The junior branch was associated with France and derived from the 1st Duke's second marriage to an Englishwoman, Anne Bulkeley. Perhaps the best-known member of this branch was Édouard de Fitz-James, 6th Duke of Fitz-James (1776–1838), an ultraroyalist who escaped to Italy after the French Revolution and returned to France around the time of the Bourbon Restoration, after which he became a prominent politician. This branch became extinct in the male line upon the death of the 10th Duke of Fitz-James in 1967.

Senior branch

Dukes of Berwick and of Liria

This branch gained the Spanish title of Duke of Alba after the death in 1802 of the childless María Cayetana de Silva, 13th Duchess of Alba. The branch's ancestral link to the dukedom of Alba was through the 4th Duke of Berwick, whose mother was the granddaughter of the 11th Duchess of Alba.

Upon the death of the 10th Duke of Berwick in 1953, his Spanish titles (including the dukedoms of Alba and of Liria) went to his daughter while the Jacobite dukedom of Berwick went to his nephew (who was already the 19th Duke of Peñaranda de Duero), due to differences between the Spanish and Jacobite succession laws (male-preference primogeniture and agnatic primogeniture respectively).

Dukes of Berwick and of Peñaranda
  • Fernando Fitz-James Stuart, 11th Duke of Berwick and 19th Duke of Peñaranda
  • Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart, 12th Duke of Berwick and 20th Duke of Peñaranda

Dukes of Liria and of Alba

Duchess of Galisteo
  • María de la Asunción Fitz-James Stuart, 1st Duchess of Galisteo

Junior branch
Édouard, 6th Duke of Fitz-James

Dukes of FitzJames
  • James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick
  • Henry James Fitz-James, 2nd Duke of Fitz-James
  • François de Fitz-James, 3rd Duke of Fitz-James
  • Charles de Fitz-James, 4th Duke of Fitz-James
  • Jacques Charles de Fitz-James, 5th Duke of Fitz-James
  • Édouard de Fitz-James, 6th Duke of Fitz-James
  • Jacques Marie Emmanuel de Fitz-James, 7th Duke of Fitz-James
  • Édouard Antoine Sidoine de Fitz-James, 8th Duke of Fitz-James
  • Jacques Gustave Sidoine de Fitz-James, 9th Duke of Fitz-James
  • Jacques de Fitz-James, 10th Duke of Fitz-James

The title became extinct in 1967 upon the death of the 10th Duke of Fitz-James.

Sources

Footnotes
  1. Ruvigny, The Nobilities of Europe, 303.

References
  • Ruvigny, Melville H. (2000). The Nobilities of Europe. Adamant Media Corporation. ISBN 1-4021-8561-8.
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