Lord Adolphus FitzClarence

British naval officer
The basics

Quick Facts

IntroBritish naval officer
PlacesUnited Kingdom Great Britain
wasOfficer
Work fieldMilitary
Gender
Male
Birth18 February 1802, Bushy House
Death17 May 1856Newburgh Priory (aged 54 years)
Family
Mother:Dorothea Bland
Father:William IV of the United Kingdom
Siblings:George FitzClarence 1st Earl of Munster Lord Augustus FitzClarence Henry FitzClarence Lord Frederick FitzClarence Augusta FitzClarence Kennedy-Erskine Princess Elizabeth of Clarence Elizabeth Hay Countess of Erroll Amelia Cary Viscountess Falkland Lady Mary Fox Sophia Sidney Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley Princess Charlotte of Clarence
The details

Biography

Lord Adolphus FitzClarence, GCH, ADC (18 February 1802 – 17 May 1856) was a British naval officer.

Biography

FitzClarence was born at Bushy House, Middlesex, and was an illegitimate child of Prince William, Duke of Clarence (later William IV) and his mistress, Dorothy Jordan. He attended a boarding school in Sunbury-on-Thames before being sent to sea at the age of eleven in 1813, aboard Impregnable. He subsequently served as a midshipman aboard Newcastle based in North America and then later in the Mediterranean Sea. On receiving his commission as lieutenant in April 1821, he transferred to Euryalus and after being promoted to the rank of commander in May 1823, he later served aboard Brisk and Redwing in the North Sea. When promoted to captain in December 1824, he commanded Ariadne in 1826, Challenger in 1827 and Pallas in 1828.

On the accession of FitzClarence's father as king in 1830, he took command of the Royal Yacht, Royal George. His father also granted him and his siblings the rank of a younger son/daughter of a marquess by Royal Warrant of Precedence in 1831, enabling him to prefix Lord before his name and he was knighted the following year. He was also appointed Groom of the Robes in 1830 and a Lord of the Bedchamber in 1833.

On the death of his father and the accession of his cousin Victoria in 1837, FitzClarence retained command of the Royal Yacht (until he was promoted to a rear-admiral in 1853) and his allowance allowed to continue. The queen reported that he "burst into tears, and said it was unexpected, for they [the FitzClarences] did not dare to hope for anything" (as illegitimate children of a former monarch). In 1848, he also became a naval aide-de-camp to the queen and retained the office until he died, unmarried, at Newburgh Priory in 1856.

He was interred in the chancel of St. Michael's Church, Coxwold.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Lord Adolphus FitzClarence
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
16. George II of Great Britain
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
8. Frederick, Prince of Wales
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
17. Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4. George III of the United Kingdom
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
18. Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
9. Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
19. Magdalena Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2. William IV of the United Kingdom
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
20. Adolf Frederick II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
10. Charles Louis Frederick, Duke of Mecklenburg-Mirow
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
21. Princess Christiane Emilie of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
5. Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
22. Ernest Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
11. Princess Elizabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
23. Sophia Albertine of Erbach-Erbach
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1. Lord Adolphus FitzClarence
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
24. James Bland
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
12. Nathaniel Bland
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
25. Lucy Brewster
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
6. Francis Bland
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
13. Elizabeth Heaton
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3. Dorothy Jordan
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
7. Grace Phillips
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The contents of this page are sourced from Wikipedia article. The contents are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license.