Charles FitzRoy, 1st Baron Southampton

General Charles FitzRoy, 1st Baron Southampton (25 June 1737 – 21 March 1797) was a British Army officer, politician and courtier who served in the Seven Years' War and sat in the House of Commons from 1759 to 1780. The second son of Lord Augustus FitzRoy, FitzRoy joined the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards as an ensign in 1752 and was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1758. In the following year he fought at the Battle of Minden as an aide-de-camp, where he was a part of the controversy surrounding Lord George Sackville's slow reaction to orders sent to him. FitzRoy was also present at the Battle of Vellinghausen in 1761. Having been quickly promoted through the ranks with the support of his powerful family, he was promoted to major general in 1772 and became a full general in 1793.

With the patronage of his elder brother Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton, FitzRoy also had a long political career. He was a Groom of the Bedchamber from 1760 to 1762 and Whig Member of Parliament for Orford from 1759 to 1761, for Bury St Edmunds from 1761 to 1774 and for Thetford from 1774 to 1780. He was created Baron Southampton on 17 October 1780 for his support of Lord North's ministry and became Groom of the Stole to the Prince of Wales later in the year, a position he would hold for the rest of his life. He was succeeded by his eldest son, George, upon his death in 1797.

Life Early military service

Charles FitzRoy was born on 25 June 1737, the second son of Lord Augustus FitzRoy and Elizabeth Cosby, who was the daughter of Colonel William Cosby. Descended from the aristocratic FitzRoy family, FitzRoy's older brother Augustus would go on to become the third Duke of Grafton. When FitzRoy's father died of a fever while serving at the Battle of Cartagena de Indias in 1741, the brothers were given over to the care of their grandfather, Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton. In 1752 FitzRoy joined the British Army as an ensign in the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards. With the backing of his powerful family, FitzRoy was promoted quickly. He became lieutenant (regimental rank) and captain (army rank) in 1756, and captain and lieutenant colonel in 1758.

In December 1780 FitzRoy was appointed Groom of the Stole to the Prince of Wales. In this role he was a special advisor and head of household to Wales. FitzRoy acted as an intermediary between the prince and his father George III during the disagreements surrounding the prince's secret marriage to Maria Fitzherbert. He was also heavily involved in the troubles, and attempted solutions, surrounding the prince's very large debts, much of which came from the construction of Carlton House. One contemporary said of FitzRoy that he "had only one fault, to be dislik'd by [the Prince of Wales] and a blind attachment to the king".

Now serving in the House of Lords, FitzRoy created the motion for the loyal address to the king at the opening of parliament in 1781, and in 1782 returned to his military roots when Sackville, now known as Germain, was created Viscount Sackville. This was not a popular decision, and on 18 February Lord Carmarthen moved to protest against it, arguing that Germain's court martialling should disqualify him from becoming a peer. In the subsequent debate Germain argued that his court martial had been politically motivated, but FitzRoy intervened to disagree, saying that it had not been "animated by a factious spirit". Carmarthen made two attempts to stop Sackville being accepted into the Lords but failed in both.

In the same year FitzRoy's role in the court of Queen Charlotte came to an end. Continuing on in the Lords after this, FitzRoy stayed neutral in the debates over the 1789 Regency Bill, speaking on it on 16 February of that year. He was promoted to general on 25 October 1793 and died at his home in Stanhope Street, London, on 21 March 1797. He was buried in St James's burial ground, Hampstead Road, on 30 March.

Family FitzRoy married Anne Warren (died 13 July 1807), the daughter and co-heir of Vice-Admiral Sir Peter Warren, on 27 July 1758. Together the couple and their family lived at FitzRoy Farm near Highgate, which was part of the FitzRoy-owned Tottenham Court. FitzRoy's children included: Anne Caroline FitzRoy (born 9 May 1759), died an infant. Susannah Maria FitzRoy (7 September 1760 – 27 January 1795) George FitzRoy, 2nd Baron Southampton (7 August 1761 – 24 June 1810) General Charles FitzRoy (5 September 1762 – 18 October 1831), incorrectly assumed to be an illegitimate child of George III. Maybe his son-in-law (in an illegal marriage, for Royal Marriages Act 1772, with the King's daughter, Princess Amelia) William FitzRoy (21 July 1764 – 28 August 1786) Henry FitzRoy (13 September 1765 – 19 March 1794), married Lady Anne Wesley. Charlotte FitzRoy (born 13 July 1767), married Arthur Hill-Trevor, 2nd Viscount Dungannon. Warren FitzRoy (1 September 1768 – 24 May 1806) Frederic FitzRoy (born 10 October 1769) Emily FitzRoy (26 December 1770 – 1800), married William Bagot, 2nd Baron Bagot. Louisa FitzRoy (born 12 December 1771), married James Allen of Bromsgrove. Lieutenant-general William FitzRoy (12 December 1773 – 19 June 1837), married daughter of Sir Simon Clarke, 7th Baronet. Robert FitzRoy (27 May 1775 – before 1812) Edward Somerset FitzRoy (25 October 1776 – before 1812) Unnamed son (born July 1778), died an infant. Unnamed son (born November 1779), died an infant. Georgiana FitzRoy (13 October 1782 – 6 February 1835), married William Ponsonby.

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