Background
The eldest illegitimate son of William IV of the United Kingdom and his long-time mistress Dorothea Jordan, he was well-educated, although his written English was atrocious (as was that of several of his royal uncles). Like his siblings, he had little contact with his mother after his parents separated in 1811, preferring to rely on his expectations from his father. His father, though proud of his military record, was deeply concerned about his drinking and gambling, vices to which many of William"s brothers were prone.
"Earl of Munster" had been a title held by his father before his accession to the British throne.
Career
He served as an army officer during the Peninsular War and subsequently in India. He was created 1st Earl of Munster, 1st Viscount FitzClarence and 1st Baron Tewkesbury on 4 June 1831, and made a Privy Councillor in 1833. The estrangement caused the King great distress, but those close to him thought it better that there be as little contact as possible, since Munster"s visits invariably upset his father.
Even the death of Munster"s sister Sophia de L"Isle, the King"s favourite child, in April 1837, did not bring about a reconciliation.
He gained the rank of Major-General in the British Army and held the office of aide-de-Camp to King William IV between 1830 and 1837. He held the office of Lieutenant of the Tower of London between 1831 and 1833 and was invested as a Privy Counsellor in 1833.
He held the office of Constable and Governor of Windsor Castle between 1833 and 1842 and aide-de-Camp to Queen Victoria between 1837 and 1841. He was elected president of the Royal Asiatic Society in 1841.
He wed Mary Wyndham (29 August 1792 – 3 December 1842), daughter of George Wyndham, 3rd Earl of Egremont, and his mistress Elizabeth Fox, on 18 October 1819.
They were the parents to seven children:
Lady Adelaide Georgiana FitzClarence (28 August 1820 – 11 October 1883). Died unmarried. Lady Augusta Margaret FitzClarence (29 July 1822 – 5 September 1846). Married Baron Knut Philip Bonde in Paris in 1844, died of childbed fever in Katrineholm, Sweden, one daughter (Ingeborg Augusta Sofia Bonde, 1846–1872).
William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster (19 May 1824 – 30 April 1901).
Honorary Lady Mary Gertrude FitzClarence (ca 1832 – 1834). Died in infancy. Captain
George FitzClarence (15 April 1836 – 24 March 1894). Married Maria Henrietta Scott (d 1912), had issue.
Lieutenant Edward FitzClarence (8 July 1837 – 23 July 1855).
Died of wounds during the Siege of Sevastopol in the Crimean War. FitzClarence committed suicide at the age of 48 in London. He shot himself with a pistol presented to him by King George IV when Prince of Wales.
