Henry Fitzjames

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Henry FitzJames, “1. Duke of Albemarle " , called" the Grand Prior "(* August 6, 1673 , † December 16, 1702 in Bagnols , Languedoc ) was an illegitimate son of King Jacob II of England and Jacobite .

Henry FitzJames was born in 1673 to James, Duke of York and his mistress Arabella Churchill . His brother was the future French Marshal Berwick . In 1689 the father was deposed as part of the Glorious Revolution ; his children accompanied him into exile in France.

In the same year Henry was appointed Grand Prior of the Great Priory England of the Order of Malta (which in fact no longer existed since the Reformation) ; after visiting the island of Malta two years earlier . From now on he was mostly just called " the Grand Prior ". He held the office until 1701.

In 1690 he fought as a colonel in an infantry regiment on the side of the Jacobites in the Battle of the Boyne and was consequently ostracized as a traitor in England in 1695 in absentia ( Bill of Attainder ).

In 1696 his father appointed him Duke of Albemarle with the subordinate titles Earl of Rochford and Baron Romney . None of the titles were recognized in England.

Shortly afterwards he was appointed commander of the fleet stationed in Toulon , the aim of which was to invade Great Britain, but the project was not pursued due to the end of the war between England and France .

In 1700 he married the French noblewoman Marie Gabrielle d'Audibert (1675–1741), heir to Count Jean von Lussan . With his wife he had a ( posthumous ) daughter, Cristine Marie Jacqueline Henriette FitzJames (* 1703), who became a nun and died young.

In 1702 Henry FitzJames was appointed French lieutenant-général and admiral ; but he died in the same year at the age of 29. His widow later married the son of the Duke of Melfort . His titles expired; the Albermarle Duke title was later awarded to George Granville .

literature

  • Marquis of Ruviqny & Raineval: The Jacobite Peerage , 1904, entry Albemarle , pp. 1f
  • Antti Matikkala: The Orders of Knighthood and the Formation of the British Honors System , Boydell & Brewer, 2008 p. 234

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Fitzjames, Henry
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Albemarle, Henry FitzJames 1st Duke of
BRIEF DESCRIPTION illegitimate son of King Jacob II of England and Jacobite
DATE OF BIRTH August 6, 1673
DATE OF DEATH December 16, 1702
Place of death Bagnols , Languedoc