(3 April 1919 – 7 April 2011)
He was born in 1919 in Cape Town, South Africa.[1][2] He was educated at Eton College and at Magdalene College in Cambridge. He was subsequently commissioned into the Grenadier Guards, and for three years from 1943 was Aide-de-camp to the Viceroy of India, Field Marshal Viscount Wavell. On 12 October 1946, he married Ann Fortune Smith, (the current Mistress of the Robes to Queen Elizabeth II). He was a descendant of Charles II of England, through the 1st Duke of Grafton, the illegitimate son of King Charles II by his mistress Barbara Villiers. The FitzRoys are thus a direct but illegitimate line of the House of Stuart.
Grafton devoted much of his life to the conservation and protection of historic buildings. He was chairman and later president of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, and also chaired at various times the Historic Churches Preservation Trust, the Architectural Heritage Fund, the Church of England’s Cathedral Advisory Commission and Sir John Soane's Museum.
He was a member of the Historic Buildings Council from its foundation in 1953, and until he succeeded his father in 1970 he was the National Trust’s administrator for Sussex and Kent, and later East Anglia. He was also vice-chairman of the National Portrait Gallery.
The Duke and Duchess had five children:[1]
- James Oliver Charles Fitzroy, Earl of Euston (13 December 1947 – 1 October 2009), married Lady Clare Amabel Margaret Kerr, daughter of the 12th Marquess of Lothian and had issue, one son (Henry FitzRoy, 12th Duke of Grafton), and four daughters Louise, Emily, Charlotte and Isobel. The eldest daughter Lady Louise FitzRoy is now married to Charles Vaughan and has a daughter, Cristabel. Lady Emily married Conor Mullan and has a daughter, Constance.
- Lady Henrietta Fortune Doreen FitzRoy, now Lady Henrietta St. George (born 14 September 1949), married Edward St. George (deceased) and has a son, Henry, and a daughter, Katie.
- Lady Virginia Mary Elizabeth FitzRoy, now Lady Virginia FitzRoy (born 10 April 1954), married (and divorced) Lord Ralph Kerr, son of Peter Kerr, 12th Marquess of Lothian; remarried, but has no issue.
- Lord Charles Patrick Hugh FitzRoy (born 7 January 1957), married Diana Miller-Stirling, and has two sons, Nico and George.
- Lady (Olivia) Rose Mildred FitzRoy, now Lady Rose Monson (born 1 August 1963), married Guy Monson, an investment funds manager, and has two daughters, Olivia and Leonora.[3]
He was also President of International Students House, London. He died in 2011 in Euston Hall, Suffolk.[5]