George Fitzroy (1665 - 1716)

Born 28 Dec 1665 in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England

Ancestors

Husband of Catherine Wheatley — married Mar 1686 in England

Died 28 Jun 1716 at age 50 in Epsom, Surrey, England

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Also Baron Pontefract 1674, Viscount Falmouth 1674

Biography

George Fitzroy, was the third and youngest son of Barbara Villiers Palmer, Countess of Castlemaine, later Duchess of Cleveland, and Charles II, King of England and Scotland. He was born at Merton College, Oxford on 28 December 1665. He was baptised privately on 1 January 1666 at Merton College, with the name George. (The baptism was recorded in the register of the parish of St John the Baptist, the parish church of which was used as Merton College Chapel.) ^[1]

Also as George Palmer, he was second in remainder to his mother's titles, of Duchess of Cleveland, Countess of Southampton, and Baroness Nonsuch, created 3 August 1670. However there never seemed any doubt that he was the King's son.

He was created Earl of Northumberland, Viscount Falmouth, of county Cornwall, and Baron Pontefract, of county York, at the age of 8 years, on 1 October 1674, and Duke of Northumberland on 6 April 1683. He was granted the title of Northumberland, in the possible expectation of his marrying Lady Elizabeth (Betty) Percy, the heir to the Percy estates, but both she and her paternal grandmother objected to him as a bastard.

Sources

1. ↑ The baptism record also provides the birth date and his parentage: note that since the surviving record was compiled by Anthony Wood, it is not a completely pure contemporaneous document: St John the Baptist, Oxford, parish register: Oxfordshire History Centre: reference MCR_2_11: Ancestry Record 61056 #545030

• J. M. Rigg and Matthew Kilburn. "FitzRoy [formerly Palmer], George, duke of Northumberland (1665–1716), courtier and army officer" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford University Press, published in print and online 23 September 2004, revised 3 January 2008) https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/9633 (subscription or UK public library membership required)

See also:

• Memorial: Find a Grave (has image)
  Find A Grave: Memorial #203535403 (accessed 6 May 2023)
  Memorial page for George “1st Duke of Northumberland” FitzRoy (28 Dec 1665-28 Jun 1716), citing Westminster Abbey, Westminster, City of Westminster, Greater London, England; Maintained by Mizzizzippy (contributor 48842038).