Lt.-Gen. Lord Frederick FitzClarence, GCH

Royal Guelphic Order

The Royal Guelphic Order, sometimes also referred to as the Hanoverian Guelphic Order, is a Hanoverian order of chivalry instituted on 28 April 1815 by the Prince Regent . It has not been conferred by the British Crown since the death of King William IV in 1837, when the personal union of the...

 (9 December 1799 – 30 October 1854) was an illegitimate son of King William IV

William IV of the United Kingdom

William IV was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death...

 and his mistress, Dorothea Jordan

Frederick FitzClarence gained the rank of Colonel in the service of the 36th (Herefordshire) Regiment of Foot

36th (Herefordshire) Regiment of Foot

The 36th Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1701 and amalgamated into The Worcestershire Regiment in 1881...

. On 24 May 1831 he was granted the rank of a marquess' younger son. He was also invested as a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Guelphic Order

Royal Guelphic Order

The Royal Guelphic Order, sometimes also referred to as the Hanoverian Guelphic Order, is a Hanoverian order of chivalry instituted on 28 April 1815 by the Prince Regent . It has not been conferred by the British Crown since the death of King William IV in 1837, when the personal union of the...

 (G.C.H.).

On 19 May 1821, he married Lady Augusta Boyle (d. 28 July 1876), the eldest daughter of the 4th Earl of Glasgow

George Boyle, 4th Earl of Glasgow

George Boyle, 4th Earl of Glasgow, GCH FRS , styled Lord Boyle until 1775, was a British peer.He was the son of John Boyle, 3rd Earl of Glasgow and his wife, Elizabeth, the daughter of George Ross, 13th Lord Ross...

. They had two children:

• Augusta FitzClarence (December 1824 – 18 October 1865)
• William FitzClarence (b. & d. 1827)

Military career

While a lieutenant

Lieutenant

A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

 in the Coldstream Guards

Coldstream Guards

Her Majesty's Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards, also known officially as the Coldstream Guards , is a regiment of the British Army, part of the Guards Division or Household Division....

, FitzClarence commanded a small detachment of Guards to act in support of the police with the arrest of the Cato Street conspirators

Cato Street Conspiracy

The Cato Street Conspiracy was an attempt to murder all the British cabinet ministers and Prime Minister Lord Liverpool in 1820. The name comes from the meeting place near Edgware Road in London. The Cato Street Conspiracy is notable due to dissenting public opinions regarding the punishment of the...

 in 1820. The arrest was not straightforward, and a scuffle ensued. The Naval and Military Gazette (May 1845) identified Sgt James Graham

James Graham (soldier)

James Graham was an Irish non-commissioned officer in the British Army during the Napoleonic wars, recognised as the "bravest man in the army". Serving in the Coldstream Guards, he was commended for his gallantry during the defence of Hougoumont, at Waterloo...

 as the man who saved FitzClarence's life.

Ancestry