Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton
Prime Minister of Great Britain | |
---|---|
In office 14 October 1768 – 28 January 1770 | |
Monarch | George III |
Preceded by | The Earl of Chatham |
Succeeded by | Lord North |
Northern Secretary | |
In office 12 July 1765 – 14 May 1766 | |
Prime Minister | The Marquess of Rockingham |
Preceded by | The Earl of Halifax |
Succeeded by | Henry Seymour Conway |
Personal details | |
Born | Augustus Henry FitzRoy 28 September 1735 |
Died | 14 March 1811 Euston, Suffolk, England | (aged 75)
Resting place | St Genevieve Churchyard, Euston, Suffolk, England |
Political party | Whig |
Spouses | |
Children | 12; including George, William and John |
Parent |
|
Alma mater | Peterhouse, Cambridge |
Signature | |
Augustus Henry FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton,
He became prime minister in 1768 at the age of 33, leading the supporters of
Background and education
He was a son of Lord Augustus FitzRoy, a captain in the Royal Navy,[citation needed] and Elizabeth Cosby, the daughter of Colonel William Cosby, who served as a colonial Governor of New York. His father was the third son of the 2nd Duke of Grafton and Lady Henrietta Somerset, which made FitzRoy a great-grandson of both the 1st Duke of Grafton and the Marquess of Worcester. He was notably a fourth-generation descendant of King Charles II and the 1st Duchess of Cleveland; the surname FitzRoy stems from this illegitimacy. His younger brother was the 1st Baron Southampton. Since the death of his uncle in 1747, he was styled Earl of Euston as his grandfather's heir apparent.
Lord Euston was educated at Newcome's School in Hackney and at Westminster School, made the Grand Tour, and obtained a degree at Peterhouse, University of Cambridge.[1]
Political career
In 1756, he entered
He first became known in politics as an opponent of
In 1765, Grafton was appointed a
On September 20, 1769, he was appointed a Knight of the Order of the Garter.
Prime minister
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Chatham's illness, at the end of 1767, resulted in Grafton becoming the government's effective leader (he is credited with entering the office of prime minister in 1768), but political differences, the impact of the Corsican Crisis and the attacks of "Junius" led to his resignation in January 1770. Also, in 1768, Grafton became Chancellor of Cambridge University.[4] He became Lord Privy Seal in Lord North's ministry (1771) but resigned in 1775, being in favour of conciliatory action towards the American colonists. In the second Rockingham ministry of 1782, he was again Lord Privy Seal and continued in the post in the following Shelburne ministry until March 1783.[3]
Militia career
Grafton was a strong supporter of moves to reform the
Religious interests
In later years, he was a prominent Unitarian, being one of the early members of the inaugural Essex Street Chapel under Rev. Theophilus Lindsey when it was founded in 1774. Grafton had associated with a number of liberal Anglican theologians when at Cambridge, and devoted much time to theological study and writing after leaving office as prime minister. In 1773, in the House of Lords, he supported a bill to release Anglican clergy from subscribing to all the Thirty-nine Articles. He became a supporter of moral reform among the wealthy and of changes to the church. He was the author of:
- Hints Submitted to the Serious Attention of the Clergy, Nobility and Gentry, by a Layman (1789).
- Serious Reflections of a Rational Christian from 1788–1797.
He was a sponsor of Richard Watson's Consideration of the Expediency of Revising the Liturgy and Articles of the Church of England (published in 1790), and he funded the printing of 700 copies of Griesbach's edition of the Greek New Testament in 1796.[8]
Horseracing
The Duke also had horse racing interests. His racing colours were sky blue, with a black cap.[9]
Legacy
Grafton County, New Hampshire,[10] in the United States, is named in his honour, as is the city of Grafton, New South Wales, Australia, the town of Grafton, New York, the unincorporated community of Grafton, Virginia, and possibly the township (since 1856 a city) of Grafton, West Virginia. The Grafton Centre Shopping Mall in Cambridge is also named after him and indeed lies on Fitzroy Street. Cape Grafton in Far North Queensland was named after him by Lieutenant James Cook during his first voyage of discovery.
Grafton had the longest post-premiership of any prime minister in British history, totalling 41 years and 45 days.[11]
Family
On 29 January 1756, he married
Augustus and Anne had three children:
- Lady Georgiana FitzRoy[13] (8 May 1757 – 18 January 1799),[14] who married John Smyth (12 February 1748 – 12 February 1811) on 4 June 1778.
- George Henry FitzRoy, 4th Duke of Grafton (1760–1844)
- General Lord Charles FitzRoy (14 July 1764 – 20 December 1829), who married, firstly, Frances Mundy (1773 – 9 August 1797) on 20 June 1795, and had one son. He married, secondly, Lady Frances Stewart (24 June 1777 – 9 February 1810) on 10 March 1799 and had three children. His sons Sir Charles FitzRoy (1796–1858), governor of New South Wales, and Robert FitzRoy, the hydrographer, were notable for their achievements.[15]
In 1764, the Duke had a very public affair with the courtesan
- Lord Henry FitzRoy (9 April 1770 – 7 June 1828), clergyman; he married Caroline Pigot (died 1 January 1835) on 10 September 1800 and had five children. Ancestor of Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick.
- Lord Frederick FitzRoy (born 16 September 1774; died young).
- Lady Augusta FitzRoy (1779 – 29 June 1839), who married Rev. George F. Tavel (died 1829) on 19 November 1811.
- Lady Frances FitzRoy (1 June 1780 – 7 January 1866), who married the 1st Baron Churchill on 25 November 1800.
- Admiral Lord William FitzRoy (1 June 1782 – 13 May 1857), who married Georgiana Raikes (died 2 December 1861) in 1816 and had two children.
- Lord John Edward FitzRoy (24 September 1785 – 28 December 1856), MP, died unmarried.
- Lady Charlotte FitzRoy (died 23 June 1857).
- Lady Elizabeth FitzRoy (died 13 March 1839), who married her cousin Lt. Gen. The Hon. William FitzRoy (1773–1837), son of the 1st Baron Southampton, on 4 July 1811.
- Lady Isabella FitzRoy (died 10 December 1866), who married Barrington Pope Blachford (3 December 1783 – 14 May 1816) on 11 August 1812.
Grafton is thus the first British prime minister before Anthony Eden[19] (and one of only three) to have been divorced, and the second, after Robert Walpole, to marry while in office.[citation needed] Grafton would be the only prime minister to divorce and remarry while in office until Boris Johnson in 2021.[20] FitzRoy died on 14 March 1811.
Arms
|
Cabinet of the Duke of Grafton
Portfolio | Minister | Took office | Left office | Party | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
First Lord of the Treasury | * | 14 October 1768 | 28 January 1770 | Whig | |
Lord Chancellor | 30 July 1766 | 17 January 1770 | Whig | ||
17 January 1770 | 20 January 1770 | Independent | |||
Lord President of the Council | 22 December 1767 | 24 November 1779 | Tory | ||
Lord Privy Seal | 1768 | 1770 | Independent | ||
11 September 1767 | 27 March 1782 | Tory | |||
Secretary of State for the Northern Department | 20 January 1768 | 21 October 1768 | Tory | ||
21 October 1768 | 19 December 1770 | Independent | |||
Secretary of State for the Southern Department | 30 July 1766 | 20 October 1768 | Whig | ||
The Viscount Weymouth | 21 October 1768 | 12 December 1770 | Tory | ||
Secretary of State for the Colonies | 27 February 1768 | 27 August 1772 | Independent | ||
First Lord of the Admiralty | 1766 | 1771 | Independent | ||
Master-General of the Ordnance | 14 May 1763 | 18 October 1770 | Independent | ||
Minister without Portfolio | 1768 | 1770 | Whig |
Notes
- ^ "Fitzory, Augustus Henry (FTSY751AH)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- ^ Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900. .
- ^ a b public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Grafton, Dukes of s.v. Augustus Henry Fitzroy". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 12 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 317. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
- ^ Institute of Historical Research. "The University of Cambridge: Chancellors". British History Online. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
- ^ Webb, pp. 424–9.
- ^ Western, p. 124; Appendix A.
- ^ Brig Charles Herbert, 'Coxheath Camp, 1778–1779', Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research, Vol 45, No 183 (Autumn 1967), pp. 129–48.
- ^ Durrant 2004, p. 928.
- ^ Weatherby, Edward and James (1801). "COLOURS WORN BY THE RIDERS OF THE FOLLOWING NOBLEMEN, GENTLEMEN, &c". Racing Calendar. 28: 52.
- ^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 140.
- ^ Shipman, Tim (10 December 2022). "Liz still thinks Trussonomics was right and she's selling her message in America". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
The Duke of Grafton, who retired in 1770 aged 34 and lived for another 41 years, was both the youngest prime ministerial retiree and had the longest post-premiership.
- ^ The Register of Marriages solemnized in the Parish Church of St James within the Liberty of Westminster & County of Middlesex. 1754-1765. No. 406. 29 January 1756.
- ^ "Portrait of Lady Georgina Smyth and her son 1780c". Historical Portraits Image Library. Philip Mould Fine Paintings. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
- ^ The Register of Births & Baptisms in the Parish of St James within the Liberty of Westminster Vol. IV. 1741-1760. 5 June 1757.
- ^ Chisholm 1911.
- doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/88658. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ Durrant 2004.
- ^ Hellicar 1978, p. 28
- ^ Eden's divorce was in 1950 and he remarried in 1952, prior to reaching office as prime minister.
- ^ Shearing, Hazel & Kathryn Snowdon (30 May 2021). "Boris Johnson marries Carrie Symonds at Westminster Cathedral". BBC News. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
Bibliography
- Durrant, Peter (2004). ISBN 978-0-19-861369-5.
- Lt-Col E.A.H. Webb, History of the 12th (The Suffolk) Regiment 1685–1913, London: Spottiswoode, 1914/Uckfield: Naval & Military, 2001, ISBN 978-1-84342-116-0.
- J.R. Western, The English Militia in the Eighteenth Century: The Story of a Political Issue 1660–1802, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1965.
Further reading
- Hellicar, Eileen (1 January 1978). "Duke of Grafton (Augustus Henry Fitzroy)". Prime Ministers of Britain. David & Charles. ISBN 978-0-7153-7486-3.
External links
- The Third Duke of Grafton
- More about Augustus Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Grafton on the 10 Downing Street website.
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Duke of Grafton