Nationality British | Name Hugh 11th | |
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Full Name Hugh Denis Charles FitzRoy Spouse Fortune FitzRoy, Duchess of Grafton (m. 1946) Parents Charles FitzRoy, 10th Duke of Grafton Children James FitzRoy, Earl of Euston Grandchildren | ||
Hugh Denis Charles FitzRoy, 11th Duke of Grafton (3 April 1919 – 7 April 2011) was the son of Charles FitzRoy, 10th Duke of Grafton, and his first wife Lady Doreen Maria Josepha Sydney Buxton, second daughter of Sydney Buxton, 1st Earl Buxton. He was known from 1936 to 1970 as the Earl of Euston.
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Biography
He was born in 1919 in Cape Town, Union of South Africa.
He was a descendant of Charles II of England, through Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton, the illegitimate son of King Charles II by his mistress Barbara Villiers. The FitzRoys are thus a direct but illegitimate line of the House of Stuart.
Through an ancestor Anne Warren, a daughter of Adml. Sir Peter Warren, he is a descendant of the Schuyler family, the Van Cortlandt family, and the Delancey family, all from British North America.
He was educated at Eton College and at Magdalene College, Cambridge. He was subsequently commissioned into the Grenadier Guards, and for three years from 1943 was Aide-de-camp to the Viceroy of India, Field Marshal Viscount Wavell.
Grafton devoted much of his life to the conservation and protection of historic buildings. He was chairman and later president of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, and also chaired at various times the Historic Churches Preservation Trust, the Architectural Heritage Fund, the Church of England's Cathedral Advisory Commission and Sir John Soane's Museum.
He was a member of the Historic Buildings Council from its foundation in 1953, and until he succeeded his father in 1970 he was the National Trust's administrator for Sussex and Kent, and later East Anglia. He was also vice-chairman of the National Portrait Gallery.
The Duke of Grafton's home was Euston Hall, near Thetford. He was made a Knight of the Garter in 1976.
Death
He died in 2011 at Euston Hall, Suffolk.
Marriage and children
On 12 October 1946, he married Ann Fortune Smith, (the current Mistress of the Robes to Queen Elizabeth II). The Duke and Duchess had five children: