Family FitzClarence family Mother Mary Wyndham | Name William 2nd Died April 30, 1901 | |
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Born 19 May 1824Dun House, Montrose, Scotland ( 1824-05-19 ) Spouse Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster Parents George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster Children Aubrey FitzClarence, 4th Earl of Munster, Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster Grandparents William IV of the United Kingdom, Dorothea Jordan Similar People George FitzClarence - 1st Earl of, Dorothea Jordan, William IV of the United Ki | ||
William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster, (19 May 1824 – 30 April 1901), styled Viscount FitzClarence from 1831 to 1842, was a British peer, and the grandson of King William IV, whom he was named after, and who died in 1837, aged almost 72, when the younger William was just 13.
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Family
FitzClarence's father, George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster, was an illegitimate son of King William IV by his long-time mistress Dorothea Jordan. Therefore, the second Earl of Munster was the great-grandson of King George III. His mother was Mary Wyndham (d. 3 December 1842), the illegitimate daughter of George O'Brien Wyndham, 3rd Earl of Egremont.
Marriage and issue
FitzClarence was married to his first cousin Wilhelmina Kennedy-Erskine (27 June 1830 – 9 October 1906) on 17 April 1855. In later life, she became a novelist. They had nine children;
Life
He succeeded the Earldom of Munster on the suicide of his father, 20 March 1842. For the most part, FitzClarence led a typical Victorian upper-class life of hunting parties and balls.
He purchased a commission as ensign and lieutenant in the Scots Fusilier Guards on 1 July 1842. On 7 April 1843, he purchased a cornetcy and sub-lieutenancy in the Grenadier Guards. He purchased a lieutenancy on 1 May 1846 and a captaincy on 16 March 1849. Munster retired from the Army in April 1851.
He died, at 23 Palmeira Square, Hove, at the age of 77, when his cousin Edward VII was on the throne of the United Kingdom. He was buried at Cuckfield, Sussex.
He was succeeded as Earl by his third son, Geoffrey George Gordon.