Lord Augustus FitzClarence (1 March 1805 – 14 June 1854), was the youngest illegitimate son of

William IV of the United Kingdom William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded h ...

and his long-time mistress

Dorothea Jordan Dorothea Jordan (née Bland; 22 November 17615 July 1816) was an Anglo-Irish actress, as well as a courtesan. She was the long-time partner of Prince William, Duke of Clarence (later King William IV), and the mother of 10 illegitimate children ...

. Like his siblings, he had little contact with his mother after his parents separated in 1811.

Career

In 1829 Augustus was appointed a Chaplain of his father (then Duke of Clarence and St Andrews) and later that year he was presented with the vicarage of

Mapledurham Mapledurham is a small village, civil parish and country estate beside the River Thames in southern Oxfordshire, England. The parish borders Caversham, the most northerly district of Reading, Berkshire. Historic buildings in the area include t ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

, succeeding John Sumner (later Bishop of Chester and Archbishop of Canterbury). King William IV was a lavish benefactor of the church and the parish and, among his gifts was the clock in the tower which bears his initials, ″''W R.''″; he also made generous contributions to extend the vicarage and to enclose its adjacent grounds with substantial provisions for the foundation of a new school in the village. The marvellous collection of silver gilt communion plate presented to the church by Lord Augustus shortly after his appointment was probably in turn a gift from his father. In 1830 he was appointed Chaplain in ordinary to his father (now King William IV), and on 24 May 1831 was granted the rank of a marquess' younger son, being appointed Chaplain to

Queen Adelaide Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen (Adelaide Amelia Louise Theresa Caroline; 13 August 1792 – 2 December 1849) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Queen of Hanover from 26 June 1830 to 20 June 1837 as the wife of King W ...

after his father's accession to the throne in 1832. Following his studies at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, he received the degrees of

LL.B. A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

(2 June 1832) and

LL.D. A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

(6 July 1835).

Marriage and issue

On 2 January 1845 he married Sarah Elizabeth Catharine Gordon, a daughter of Maj. Lord Henry Gordon (a younger brother of

Charles Gordon, 10th Marquess of Huntly Charles Gordon, 10th Marquess of Huntly (4 January 1792 – 18 September 1863), styled Lord Strathavon from 1794 to 1836 and Earl of Aboyne from 1836 to 1853, was a Scottish peer, politician, courtier, and cricketer. He was a Member of Parlia ...

and a relative of the husband of his sister

Lady Augusta Gordon Lady Augusta Gordon (''née'' FitzClarence; 17 November 1803 – 8 December 1865) was a British noblewoman. Born the fourth illegitimate daughter of William IV of the United Kingdom (then Duke of Clarence and St Andrews) and Dorothea Jordan, sh ...

) by his wife Louisa Payne. By his wife he had six children: * Dorothea FitzClarence (1845–1870), who married Thomas William Goff, MP for

Roscommon Roscommon (; ; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60 road (Ireland), N60, N61 road (Ireland), N61 and N63 road (Irelan ...

, and had issue. * Eva FitzClarence (1847–1918). * Beatrice FitzClarence (1847–1909), a twin with Eva. * Augustus FitzClarence (1849–1861), who died young. * Henry Edward FitzClarence (1853–1930), who married Mary Isabel Templer Parsons and had issue. * Mary FitzClarence (1854–1858), who was born posthumously and who died in infancy.

Death

FitzClarence died on 14 June 1854. He was buried at St Margaret's Church, Mapledurham. His widow lived until 23 March 1901.

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:FitzClarence, Lord Augustus Illegitimate children of William IV 1805 births 1854 deaths

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

Younger sons of marquesses Sons of kings