Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Cleveland


Charles Palmer, later Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Cleveland, 1st Duke of Southampton, Chief Butler of England was an English nobleman and illegitimate son of Charles II. He was styled Baron Limerick before 1670; Earl of Southampton between 1670 and 1675; and known as the Duke of Southampton from 1675 until 1709, when he succeeded his mother as Duke of Cleveland.

Early life

Charles Palmer, later "FitzRoy", was born on 18 June 1662, and was initially claimed by Roger Palmer, 1st Earl of Castlemaine, his mother's husband, as his son and heir before being publicly acknowledged and invested by King Charles II of England as his son.
He was the third eldest of the illegitimate sons of Charles II, with his mother being Barbara Villiers, Countess of Castlemaine and later 1st Duchess of Cleveland, then the wife of Roger Palmer, 1st Earl of Castlemaine. In recognition of his legal father the Earl of Castlemaine, he was styled from birth by the courtesy title "Lord Limerick", one of the Earl's lesser titles. His birth marked the separation of his legal parents; Lord Castlemaine, a Roman Catholic, had him christened in the Roman Catholic faith, but six days later, the King had him re-christened in the Church of England as an Anglican and Protestant.

Personal life

In 1670, at the age of 8, he was betrothed to Mary Wood, only child and sole heiress of Sir Henry Wood, 1st Baronet, Clerk of the Green Cloth, but with the proviso that the marriage be delayed until Mary was 16 years old. Following the death of her father, the Duchess of Cleveland more or less abducted Mary, with the intention of bringing her up with her own children. In 1675, he was created Duke of Southampton by King Charles II, along with the subsidiary titles of Earl of Chichester and Baron Newbury. The marriage to Mary Wood took place in 1679, but within months the new Duchess had died of smallpox, leaving no children of the marriage.
In 1694, the Duke remarried Anne Pulteney, a daughter of Sir William Pulteney, of Misterton, Leicestershire, and had issue:
On the death of his mother in 1709, the Duke became also second Duke of Cleveland, by a special remainder in the grant of the dukedom which set aside his illegitimacy.
He died on 9 September 1730 and was buried at Westminster Abbey. He was succeeded by his eldest son William FitzRoy, who died without issue, when all his titles became extinct.