William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster

William FitzClarence
Earl of Munster
The Earl of Munster as caricatured by Spy (Leslie Ward) in Vanity Fair, February 1882
Wife	Wilhelmina Kennedy-Erskine
Issue Edward, Viscount FitzClarence Hon. Lionel Frederick Archibald Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster Hon. Arthur Falkland Manners Aubrey FitzClarence, 4th Earl of Munster Hon. William George Hon. Harold Edward Lady Lillian Boyd Lady Dorothea Lee-Warner
Family	FitzClarence family
Father	George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster
Mother	Mary Wyndham
Born	19 May 1824 Dun House, Montrose, Scotland
Died	30 April 1901 (aged 76)

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.

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^[1] (27 June 1830 – 9 October 1906) on 17 April 1855. In later life, she became a novelist. They had nine children;

• Edward, Viscount Fitz-Clarence (29 March 1856 – 1870)
• Hon. Lionel Frederick Archibald (24 July 1857 – 24 March 1863)
• Maj. Geoffrey George Gordon, 3rd Earl of Munster (18 July 1859 – 2 February 1902); died without issue
• Hon. Arthur Falkland Manners (1860–1861)
• Aubrey, 4th Earl of Munster (7 June 1862 – 1 January 1928); died without issue
• Hon. William George (17 September 1864 – 4 October 1899)
• Hon. Harold Edward (15 November 1870 – 28 August 1926); his son was the 5th Earl of Munster
• Lady Lillian Adelaide Katherine Mary (10 December 1873 – 15 July 1948)
• Lady Dorothea Augusta (5 May 1876 – 28 January 1942)

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.^[2] On 7 April 1843, he purchased a cornetcy and sub-lieutenancy in the Grenadier Guards.^[3] He purchased a lieutenancy on 1 May 1846^[4] and a captaincy on 16 March 1849.^[5] Munster retired from the Army in April 1851.^[6]

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.

Notes

1. Her mother, Augusta Fitzclarence, was the sister of his father, George Augustus Fitzclarence.
2. The London Gazette: no. 20116. p. 1804. 1 July 1842.
3. The London Gazette: no. 20211. p. 1154. 7 April 1843.
4. The London Gazette: no. 20600. p. 1568. 1 May 1846.
5. The London Gazette: no. 20957. p. 894. 16 March 1849.
6. The London Gazette: no. 21309. p. 1057. 13 April 1852.

References

• Cokayne, George Edward, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, A. Sutton, Gloucester, 1982, volume IX, pp. 430–1.