Geoffrey FitzClarence, 5th Earl of Munster

PC
PC
Lord Lieutenant of Surrey
	In office; 1957–1973
Preceded by	Sir Robert Haining
Succeeded by	The Lord Hamilton of Dalzell
Prime Minister	In office; 1944–1945
Ministerial offices 1938-57
Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department
	In office; 1944–1945
Prime Minister	Winston Churchill
Preceded by	Osbert Peake
Succeeded by	George Oliver
Parliamentary Secretary for India and Burma
	In office; 1943–1944
Prime Minister	Winston Churchill
Preceded by	The Duke of Devonshire
Succeeded by	The Earl of Listowel
Under-Secretary of State for War
	In office; January 1939 – September 1939
Prime Minister	Neville Chamberlain
Preceded by	The Lord Strathcona and Mount Royal
Succeeded by	The Viscount Cobham
Paymaster General
	In office; 1938–1939
Prime Minister	Neville Chamberlain
Preceded by	The Lord Hutchison of Montrose
Succeeded by	The Earl Winterton
Member of the House of Lords; Lord Temporal
	In office; 1928 – 1975; Hereditary Peerage
Preceded by	Aubrey FitzClarence, 4th Earl of Munster
Succeeded by	Edward FitzClarence, 6th Earl of Munster
Personal details
Born	Geoffrey William Richard Hugh FitzClarence; 17 February 1906
Died	26 August 1975 (aged 69)
Political party	Conservative
Spouse	Hilary Wilson (m. 1928)
Parent(s)	The Hon. Harold FitzClarence; Frances Keppel
Education	Charterhouse School

Geoffrey William Richard Hugh FitzClarence, 5th Earl of Munster,

PC (17 February 1906 – 26 August 1975) was a British peer and Conservative

Background

Munster was the son of Major the Honourable Harold Edward FitzClarence (seventh son of William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster and Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster) and his wife, Frances Isabel Eleanor (née Keppel) (1874–1951). Through the line of his paternal grandfather, he was a great-great-grandson of William IV, King of the United Kingdom and Hanover. His mother's paternal grandfather, Rev. William Arnold Walpole Keppel, was a male-line great-grandson of Willem van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle.^[1]

Geoffrey Munster was educated at Charterhouse School.^[2]

Munster succeeded his uncle as fifth Earl of Munster in 1928 and took his seat on the Conservative benches in the

National Government of Ramsay MacDonald, a post he held until 1938, the last three years under the premiership firstly of Stanley Baldwin and secondly of Neville Chamberlain. In June 1938, Chamberlain appointed Munster Paymaster General, an office he held until February 1939, when he was made Under-Secretary of State for War. He remained in this position until September 1939.^[2]

Munster returned to the government in January 1943 when

Lord Munster married

Hilary Wilson in 1928. Lord Munster died in August 1975, aged 69, and was succeeded in his titles by his second cousin, Edward Charles FitzClarence, 6th Earl of Munster.^[2]

Hilary FitzClarence, Countess of Munster, was an accomplished musician who founded the Countess of Munster Musical Trust in 1958. She died in 1979^[4] at Sandhills, Bletchingley. Her estate was sworn for probate as £799,392 (equivalent to £4,300,000 in 2021). The house which had at the time more than 10 acres was built in 1893 by Mervyn Macartney in free Tudor style and is protected under UK law with Grade II listing.^[5]^[6]^[7]

^ Frances Isabel Eleanor Keppel thepeerage.com
^ ^a ^b ^c "The Earl of Munster". The Times. No. 59487. London. 29 August 1975. p. 14.
^ London Gazette, 13 June 1957, page 3377
^ "About the Trust". The Countess of Munster Musical Trust. 20 December 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
^ "History of the Trust". Countess of Munster Musical Trust. Archived from the original on 12 August 2013.
^ England and Wales Probate Calendar for 1980 page 6170 http://probatesearch.service.gov.uk
^ Historic England. "Sandhills, including entrance walls to front (Grade II) (1204642)". National Heritage List for England.

Kidd, Charles; Williamson, David, eds. (2003). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage. London: Macmillan. p. P1167.
ISBN 978-0-3336-6093-5
.

Political offices
Preceded by The Lord Templemore	Lord-in-waiting 1934–1938	Succeeded by The Earl of Birkenhead
Preceded by The Lord Hutchison of Montrose	Paymaster General 1938–1939	Succeeded by The Earl Winterton
Preceded by The Lord Strathcona and Mount Royal	Under-Secretary of State for War 1939	Succeeded by The Viscount Cobham
Preceded by The Duke of Devonshire	Parliamentary Secretary for India and Burma 1943–1944	Succeeded by The Earl of Listowel
Preceded by Osbert Peake	Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department 1944–1945	Succeeded by George Oliver
Preceded by Thomas Fotheringham-Cook	Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies 1951–1954	Succeeded by The Lord Lloyd
Honorary titles
Preceded by Sir Robert Haining	Lord Lieutenant of Surrey 1957–1973	Succeeded by The Lord Hamilton of Dalzell
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Aubrey FitzClarence	Earl of Munster 1928–1975	Succeeded by Edward FitzClarence