The House of FitzJames is a noble house

Nobility

Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...

 of British-origin founded by James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick

James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick

James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick, 1st Duke of Fitz-James, 1st Duke of Liria and Jérica was an Anglo-French military leader, illegitimate son of King James II of England by Arabella Churchill, sister of the 1st Duke of Marlborough...

 who was the illegitimate son of James II & VII

James II of England

James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...

, King of England, Scotland and Ireland

King of Ireland

A monarchical polity has existed in Ireland during three periods of its history, finally ending in 1801. The designation King of Ireland and Queen of Ireland was used during these periods...

, a Catholic

Catholic

The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

 monarch from the House of Stuart

House of Stuart

The House of Stuart is a European royal house. Founded by Robert II of Scotland, the Stewarts first became monarchs of the Kingdom of Scotland during the late 14th century, and subsequently held the position of the Kings of Great Britain and Ireland...

. After the Revolution of 1688

Glorious Revolution

The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...

, the Duke of Berwick followed his father into exile and much of their history since then has been in Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 and France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, with several members of the house serving in a military capacity.

There became two lines of the house; the most senior carrying the title Duke of Berwick and residing in Spain, is the result of the 1st Duke of Berwick's marriage to Irishwoman, Honora Burke. This line has collected many titles throughout their history and has had some activity as ambassador

Ambassador

An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....

s, military general

General

A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....

s and has produced a few Grandees of Spain

Grandee

Grandee is the word used to render in English the Iberic high aristocratic title Grande , used by the Spanish nobility; Portuguese nobility, and Brazilian nobility....

. The line associated with France, derived from the 1st Duke of Berwick's second marriage to Englishwoman, Anne Bulkeley carried the title Duke of Fitz-James

Duke of Fitz-James

Duke of Fitz-James is a title of nobility in the peerage of France that was created by Louis XIV of France in 1710 for James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick.-List of Dukes of Fitz-James, 1710—1967:...

.

Perhaps the best known of the France associated line was Edward FitzJames, 5th Duke of FitzJames. An émigré

Émigré

Émigré is a French term that literally refers to a person who has "migrated out", but often carries a connotation of politico-social self-exile....

who escaped to Italy after the French Revolution

French Revolution

The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...

, he was later to return around the time of the Bourbon Restoration

Bourbon Restoration

The Bourbon Restoration is the name given to the period following the successive events of the French Revolution , the end of the First Republic , and then the forcible end of the First French Empire under Napoleon  – when a coalition of European powers restored by arms the monarchy to the...

 and was involved in ultraroyalist politics. This line died out in 1967 with the death of James FitzJames, 9th Duke of FitzJames. The senior line in Spain continues on to the present day where the head is currently Jacobo FitzJames-Stuart y Gomez, 12th Duke of Berwick.