Duke of Grafton
| Dukedom of Grafton | |
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| Creation date | 11 September 1675 |
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| Created by | Charles II of England |
| Peerage | Peerage of England |
| First holder | Henry FitzRoy |
| Present holder | Henry FitzRoy, 12th Duke |
| Heir presumptive | Lord Charles FitzRoy |
| Remainder to | heirs male of the body of the grantee |
| Subsidiary titles | Earl of Euston Viscount Ipswich Baron Sudbury |
Duke of Grafton is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1675 by Charles II of England for his second illegitimate son by the Duchess of Cleveland, Henry FitzRoy. The most famous duke was probably Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton, who served as Prime Minister in the 1760s.
The Duke of Grafton holds three subsidiary titles, all created in 1672 in the Peerage of England: Earl of Euston, Viscount Ipswich, and Baron Sudbury. Between 1723 and 1936 the Dukes, being descended from the 1st Duke's wife Isabella FitzRoy, 2nd Countess of Arlington, also held the titles Earl of Arlington, Viscount Thetford and Baron Arlington. Those titles fell into abeyance between the 9th Duke's sisters, with the abeyance of barony Arlington being ended in 1999.
The title of the Dukedom refers to the Honour of Grafton in the south east of Northamptonshire, the titular village now being called Grafton Regis. The family seat is Euston Hall in Suffolk.
The Duke's eldest son is styled with the courtesy title Earl of Euston, and the eldest son of the Earl with the title Viscount Ipswich.
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Dukes of Grafton (1675)
- Other titles (all): Earl of Euston, Viscount Ipswich and Baron Sudbury (1672)
- Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton (1663–1690), second illegitimate son of Charles II and the Duchess of Cleveland
- Other titles (2nd–9th Dukes): Earl of Arlington and Viscount Thetford (1672), Baron Arlington (1664), Baron Arlington (1672)
- Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton (1683–1757), only son of the 1st Duke
- Charles FitzRoy, Earl of Euston (1714–1715), eldest son of the 2nd Duke, died young
- George FitzRoy, Earl of Euston (1715–1747), second son of the 2nd Duke, predeceased his father without issue
- Augustus Henry FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton (1735–1811), eldest son of Lord Augustus FitzRoy, third son of the 2nd Duke
- George Henry FitzRoy, 4th Duke of Grafton (1760–1844), eldest son of the 3rd Duke
- Henry FitzRoy, 5th Duke of Grafton (1790–1863), eldest son of the 4th Duke
- William Henry FitzRoy, 6th Duke of Grafton (1819–1882), eldest son of the 5th Duke, died without issue
- Augustus Charles Lennox FitzRoy, 7th Duke of Grafton (1821–1918), second son of the 5th Duke
- Henry James FitzRoy, Earl of Euston (1848–1912), eldest son of the 7th Duke, predeceased his father without issue
- Alfred William Maitland Fitzroy, 8th Duke of Grafton (1850–1930), second son of the 7th Duke
- William Henry Alfred Fitzroy, Viscount Ipswich (1884–1918), only son of the 8th Duke, predeceased both his father and grandfather
- John Charles William FitzRoy, 9th Duke of Grafton (1914–1936), only son of William FitzRoy, Viscount Ipswich, died unmarried
- Charles Alfred Euston FitzRoy, 10th Duke of Grafton (1892–1970), eldest son of the Rev. Lord Charles Edward FitzRoy, third and youngest son of the 7th Duke
- Hugh Denis Charles FitzRoy, 11th Duke of Grafton (1919–2011), eldest son of the 10th Duke
- James Oliver Charles FitzRoy, Earl of Euston (1947–2009), eldest son of the 11th Duke, predeceased his father in 2009[1]
- Henry Oliver Charles FitzRoy, 12th Duke of Grafton[2] (b. 1978), only son of Lord Euston
The heir apparent is the present holder's son, Alfred James Charles FitzRoy, Earl of Euston (b. 2012).[3]
Further reading
- Falk, Bernard. The Royal Fitz Roys; Dukes of Grafton through Four Centuries. Hutchinson, 1950.
References
- ^ Obituary Earl of Euston – Telegraph.co.uk, 25 Oct 2009
- ^ Google Groups — Peerage News
- ^ http://announcements.telegraph.co.uk/births/158305/grafton