A close connection to the new King's name sake

 It's been a tumultuous week and from the passing of Queen Elizabeth II it seemed only fitting to honour the life of a man calling Rookwood "home" who has astonishing connections to the British Royal Family.

WRIOTHESLEY AUGUSTUS FITZROY 

Wriothesley (perhaps it was shortened to Roy?) was born in Dublin Ireland on 11 July 1837 to Henry Fitzroy and his wife Jane Elisabeth nee Beauclerk. He was the second son in a family consisting of five siblings and rose to the rank of Captain in the 23rd Royal Welsh Fusiliers. It is very likely he took part in the Lucknow uprising during the Indian Mutiny in 1857-1859. 

Royal Welsh Fusiliers Cap Badge - Wikipedia

Before I continue, I want to advise you of his family connections.

Wriothesley's father Henry, was the son of the Reverend Henry Fitzroy. This Henry was the son of Augustus Henry Fitzroy the 3rd Duke of Grafton and his second wife, Elizabeth Wrottesley - no doubt where Wriothesley's name, albeit altered over the years, came from. 

Augustus Henry Fitzroy was the British Prime Minister from 1768-1770 and prominent in the time of the American Revolutionary War. He was the first British Prime Minister to divorce whilst in office, (the second was Boris Johnson). He sired three children with his first wife, the youngest, General Lord Charles Fitzroy was the father of Sir Charles Fitzroy the former Governor of NSW from 1846-1855. In 1847 his wife died tragically in a carriage accident at Government House in Parramatta but that story is for another time. He named the rural city of Grafton after his grandfather.

Augustus Henry Fitzroy's father was Charles Fitzroy, the 2nd Duke of Grafton, whose father in turn was Henry FitzRoy, the 1st Duke of Grafton and the illegitimate son of King Charles II and his mistress Barbara Villiers.

This means that Wriothesley can name King Charles II as his five times grandfather!

King Charles II - Wikipedia

Barbara Villiers - Wikipedia

There's more.

 Wriothesley's grandmother Caroline, was the daughter of Frances Wrottesley, the sister of Elizabeth, the Duchess of Grafton. Caroline married Admiral Hugh Pigot who was the Commander in Chief of the West Indies. His mother was Frances Goode, Queen Caroline's House Lady and the daughter of Peter Goode, a Hughenot, who arrived in England from France in the early 1700s.

Elizabeth Wrottesley - Wikipedia

There are many more regal connections relating to Wriothesley's ancestors on his paternal side with just as many on his maternal half.

His mother Jane Beauclerk, was the granddaughter of Topham Beauclerk, who was the second husband of Diana Beauclerk Spencer, an artist who counted Joshua Reynolds as a family friend. Her cousin, Georgina Cavendish was the Duchess of Devonshire. Lady Diana Beauclerk, as she came to be known, escaped an unhappy first marriage and lived openly with Topham. In 1768 her first husband, Viscount Bolingbroke petitioned for divorce on the grounds of adultery, a practice he undertook himself quite often. This action required an act of Parliament which was passed the following month.

Diana Beauclerk Spencer by Joshua Reynolds - Wikipedia

Diana's father was Charles Spencer, the Duke of Marlborough, who resided at Blenheim Palace and was an ancestor of Winston Churchill.

Jane Beauclerk's great grandmother was Sarah Cadogan who was brought up in a convent and at the age of 14 was married to Charles Lennox the Earl of March in 1719. The marriage was arranged by both fathers in order to cancel a gambling debt incurred by Lord Cadogan! After the marriage the Earl of March, embarked on a Grand Tour of Europe and upon returning three years later did not recognize his wife.

Wriothesley's siblings were also well connected. His sister Cecilia married George Frederick Sitwell with connections to Edith Sitwell. His other sister, Blanche Adeliza's second husband was Francis Robert St Clair Eskine and she became, through that marriage, the Countess of Rosslyn.

His elder brother Algernon appears to have sailed to Australia, like many others, in the mid 1850's, the lure of gold perhaps? We do know he married Edith McDougall in 1862 and lived on the land in Patricks Plains near Singleton NSW. He took up grazing land in an area known as Glendonbrook and at the age of 90 moved closer to town and died at home in 1927 at the age of 92, outliving his wife by some 15 years. 

Returning to Wriothesley, it appears he came to Sydney in 1866 after resigning from the Army. He joined his brother in the Singleton area and he, like Algernon, entered bankruptcy at one stage. I expect that he made his living again, like his brother, in grazing land investments. Apparently, he took ill in 1891 and was transferred for treatment in the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Camperdown and as he died in Sydney it was decided to bury him in the old Anglican area at Rookwood.

Headstone of Captain Wriothesley Augustus Fitzroy - author's own

What a life the man with the unusual name led, from battlefields to pastures green. A man with an incredible family history. 

I wanted to keep this "gem" of a life to relate at a later time but with the events of the past week it seems only fitting to speak of Royalty.

Rest well Your Majesty, the likes of a woman I doubt we will ever see again.

I have used many references in this blog but the most extensive was the following:-

http://thepeerage.com/p10613.htm#i106130

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