Lady Mary Fox

Lady Mary Fox (née FitzClarence; 19 December 1798 – 13 July 1864) was an illegitimate daughter of King William IV of the United Kingdom by his mistress Dorothea Jordan. In later life she became a writer.

Marriage

Mary FitzClarence was born at Bushy House as the fourth child and second daughter of the then Prince William, Duke of Clarence and St Andrews, and actor Dorothea Jordan. She was "a fine looking, brown girl with a pleasant countenance and manners". In 1820, her younger sister Elizabeth was courted by Charles Richard Fox, the eldest but illegitimate son of Lord Holland and Lady Webster, later Lady Holland. His parents did not consent to the match, but four years later approved of his relationship with Mary.

Father's accession

The death of her uncle, King George IV, in 1830 led to her father's accession to the thrones of the United Kingdom and Hanover as William IV. The new king was anxious to see his daughter return home from Canada and consequently had her husband transferred.

Anthony Roll

Mary Fox received from her father the second part of the Anthony Roll, which had been in the possession of the royal family since the reign of King Henry VIII, though she was probably not interested in the history of the Royal Navy.

In January 1857, Sir Frederic Madden, custodian of the manuscripts at the British Museum, learned that Lady Mary wished to sell the roll she had been given by her father in order to raise funds for building a church "or something of that kind". Lady Mary's treatise is the most representative example of the portrayal of New Holland as a mysterious and "unreal" place.

For a large part of her later life, Lady Mary served as housekeeper at Windsor Castle. She died childless on 13 July 1864. She is buried with her husband at Kensal Green Cemetery.