Wikipedia - Benutzerbeiträge [de]

Helicopter 66

2018-07-10T13:01:21Z

Ruby2010:

{{featured article}}
{{italic title}}
{| {{Infobox aircraft begin
| name = ''Helicopter 66''
| image = SH-3D Sea King of HS-4 recovers Apollo 11 astronaut on 24 July 1969.jpg
| caption = Helicopter 66 pictured in 1969
| alt = Helicopter 66 pictured in 1969
}}
{{Infobox aircraft career
| other names = "Old 66"<ref name="nambp">{{cite web|title=Sikorsky UH-3H Sea King|url=http://nambp.org/sikorsky-uh-3h-sea-king|website=nambp.org|publisher=[[Naval Air Museum Barbers Point]]|accessdate=February 9, 2018}}</ref>, Helicopter 740
| type = Helicopter
| manufacturer = [[Sikorsky Aircraft]]
| construction number =
| construction date = 
| civil registration = 
| military serial = BuNo 152711<ref name="nambp"/>
| radio code = 
| first flight = 
| owners = [[U.S. Navy]]
| in service = 1968–1975
| last flight = June 4, 1975
| flights = 
| total hours = 3,245.2
| total distance = 
| status = 
| aircraft carried = 
| fate = Crashed and submerged
| preservation = 
}}
|}

'''''Helicopter 66''''' is the common name of a [[United States Navy]] [[Sikorsky Sea King]] [[helicopter]] used during the late 1960s for the water recovery of astronauts during the [[Apollo program]]. It has been called "one of the most famous, or at least most iconic, helicopters in history", was the subject of a 1969 song by [[Manuela (singer)|Manuela]] and was made into a [[Die-cast toy|die-cast model]] by [[Dinky Toys]]. In addition to its work in support of [[NASA]], Helicopter 66 also transported the [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi|Shah of Iran]] during his 1973 visit to the aircraft carrier [[USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63)|USS ''Kitty Hawk'']].

Helicopter 66 was delivered to the U.S. Navy in 1967 and formed part of the inventory of [[HSC-4|U.S. Navy Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Four]] for the duration of its active life. Among its pilots during this period was [[Donald S. Jones]], who would go on to command the [[United States Third Fleet]]. Later re-numbered Helicopter 740, the aircraft crashed in the [[Pacific Ocean]] in 1975 during a training exercise. At the time of its crash, it had logged more than 3,200 hours of service.

==Design==
[[File:Apollo 10 Helicopter Recovery - GPN-2000-001143.jpg|thumb|alt=Helicopter 66 pictured during the Apollo 10 recovery|left|Helicopter 66 pictured during the [[Apollo 10]] recovery in 1969.]]
Helicopter 66 is a [[Sikorsky Sea King]] SH-3D.<ref name="snews"/> The SH-3D model Sea Kings were designed for [[anti-submarine warfare]] (ASW) and were typically configured to carry a crew of four and up to three passengers.<ref name="Fas">{{cite web|title=H-3 Sea King|url=https://fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/h-3.htm|website=fas.org|publisher=[[Federation of American Scientists]]|archive-date=February 7, 2018|archive-url=https://perma.cc/3K4E-DWHH|accessdate=February 7, 2018}}</ref> Powered by two [[General Electric]] T58-GE-10 turboshaft engines producing 1400 maximum [[horsepower]] each, SH-3Ds had a maximum airspeed of {{convert|120|knots|adj=off}} and a mission endurance averaging 4.5 hours.<ref name="Fas"/><ref>{{cite web |title=S-61 |archive-date=June 15, 2018|archive-url=https://perma.cc/J5J5-J8RS|url=https://www.sikorskyarchives.com/S-61%20(HSS-2)%20Flupd.php |website=sikorskyarchives.com |publisher=Igor I. Sikorsky Historical Archives |accessdate=June 15, 2018}}</ref> They had a maximum allowable weight of {{convert|20,500|lbs|adj=off}} with the ability to carry an external payload of up to {{convert|6,000|lbs|adj=off}}.<ref name="Fas"/>

During ASW missions, the Sea King SH-3D was typically armed with [[Mark 46 torpedo|MK-46/44]] torpedoes.<ref name="Fas"/>

==History==
===Early history and Apollo missions===
Helicopter 66 was delivered to the U.S. Navy on March 4, 1967 and, in 1968, was added to the inventory of U.S. Navy Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Four (HS-4).<ref name="snews"/> Its original tail number was NT-66/2711.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sikorsky UH-3H Sea King (S-61B) – USA – Navy|url=http://www.airliners.net/photo/USA-Navy/Sikorsky-UH-3H-Sea-King-S-61B/2276627|website=[[airliners.net]]|archive-date=February 7, 2017|archive-url=https://perma.cc/VM25-8ZXW|publisher=[[Leaf Group]]|accessdate=February 7, 2018}}</ref>

Activated on June 30, 1952, Squadron Four – "the Black Knights" – was the first anti-submarine warfare helicopter squadron of the U.S. Navy to deploy aboard an aircraft carrier when, in 1953, it operated from ''[[USS Rendova]]''.<ref name="navymil"/> It began using the Sea King SH-3D in 1968, transitioning from the SH-3A model.<ref name="navymil"/> That year, the squadron was assigned to Carrier Anti-Submarine Air Group 59 and deployed aboard ''[[USS Yorktown (CV-10)|USS Yorktown]]'' to the [[Sea of Japan]] (''East Sea'') in response to the capture of the ''[[USS Pueblo (AGER-2)|USS Pueblo]]'' by the [[Korean People's Navy]].<ref name="navymil"/> Later that year, ''Yorktown'' – and Squadron Four – was tasked to support the [[National Aeronautics and Space Administration]] (NASA) in the oceanic recovery of returning astronauts.<ref name="snews"/><ref name="navymil">{{cite web|title=HSC-4 Command History|url=http://www.public.navy.mil/AIRFOR/HSC4/Pages/COMMAND%20HISTORY.aspx|website=HELSEACOMBATRON FOUR|archive-date=February 7, 2018|archive-url=https://perma.cc/XMJ3-J6SY|publisher=[[U.S. Navy]]|accessdate=February 7, 2018}}</ref>{{efn|Early U.S. manned spaceflights used water landings during return to Earth due to the minimum additional technology needed to outfit the spacecraft.<ref name="discover">{{cite news|archive-date=May 12, 2018|archive-url=https://perma.cc/8ZZ7-ZA6Q|last1=Teitel|first1=Amy|title=Why Cosmonauts Have Never Splashed Down|url=http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/vintagespace/2018/02/10/why-cosmonauts-dont-splash-down/#.WvclwYAvyUk|accessdate=May 12, 2018|work=[[Discover Magazine]]|date=February 10, 2018}}</ref> The command capsule required only parachutes to slow its descent sufficiently for a survivable landing on a "soft" surface like water, instead of the retrorockets that would be required for a landing on a "hard" surface like land.<ref name="discover"/>}}
[[File:Helicopter_66_Apollo_8.jpg|thumb|right|alt=The Apollo 8 crew shown disembarking Helicopter 66 aboard USS Yorktown following their return to Earth|The [[Apollo 8]] crew disembarks Helicopter 66 aboard USS ''Yorktown'' following their return to Earth in 1968]]
During the [[Apollo 8]], [[Apollo 10]], and [[Apollo 11]] missions, Helicopter 66 was the primary recovery vehicle which hoisted returning astronauts from the spacecraft command modules.<ref name="snews"/><ref>{{cite web|last1=Putnam|first1=Milt|title=Navy Photographer Tells the Story of Apollo 11 Recovery|url=http://www.navyhistory.org/2012/02/navy-photographer-apollo-11-recovery/|website=navyhistory.org|publisher=Naval Historical Foundation|archive-date=February 7, 2018|archive-url=https://perma.cc/PP89-FE4H|accessdate=November 3, 2017}}</ref> As a result, it was featured prominently in television news coverage and still photography, achieving – in the words of space historian [[Dwayne A. Day]] – the status of "one of the most famous, or at least most iconic, helicopters in history".<ref name="snews"/><ref>{{cite book|last1=Blair|first1=Don|title=Splashdown!: NASA and the Navy|date=2004|publisher=Turner Publishing Company|isbn=978-1-56311-985-9|page=43}}</ref> [[Commander (United States)|Commander]] [[Donald S. Jones]], who would later command the [[United States Third Fleet]], piloted Helicopter 66 during its inaugural astronaut recovery mission following Apollo 8, and again during the Apollo 11 recovery.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Carmichael|first1=Scott|title=Moon Men Return: USS Hornet and the Recovery of the Apollo 11 Astronauts|date=2012|publisher=[[Naval Institute Press]]|isbn=978-1-61251-252-5|pages=121–122}}</ref>

Following the Apollo 11 mission, the Navy switched to a three-digit designation system and Helicopter 66 was retagged Helicopter 740.<ref name="snews"/> Recognizing the fame Helicopter 66 had achieved, the Navy began the practice of repainting Helicopter 740 as Helicopter 66 for the later recovery missions in which it participated, [[Apollo 12]] and [[Apollo 13]], painting it back as Helicopter 740 at the conclusion of each mission.<ref name="snews"/><ref>{{cite news|title=From One to Another|url=https://www.verticalmag.com/features/20256-from-one-to-another-html/|accessdate=November 3, 2017|archive-url=https://perma.cc/DAW3-YQVK|archive-date=February 7, 2018|work=Vertical Magazine|date=April 12, 2012}}</ref> During the period of its use for astronaut recovery, Helicopter 66 bore [[kill marks]] on its fuselage showing a space capsule silhouette, with one being added for each recovery in which it participated.<ref>{{cite news|title=Helicopter Unit Changes Command|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/122502453/|accessdate=February 7, 2018|page=20|work=Chula Vista Star-News|publisher=[[newspapers.com]]|date=September 26, 1971}}{{paywall}}</ref> For the recovery of the Apollo 11 astronauts, the underside of the fuselage was emblazoned with the words "Hail, Columbia".<ref>{{cite AV media
| people = [[Ron Nessen]]
| date = July 24, 1969
| title = [[NBC News]]
| trans-title =
| medium = [[television]]
| language = English
| url =
| access-date =
| format =
| time =
| location =
| publisher = [[National Broadcasting Company]]
| id =
| isbn =
| oclc =
| quote = The President's applauding as they play "Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean." Columbia, of course, is the module out there ... We understand that President Nixon requested the band play "Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean". Written on the bottom of the helicopter is another welcome aboard for the astronauts, it says "Hail, Columbia".| ref =}}</ref>{{efn|The name of the Apollo 11 command capsule was "Columbia" and [[President of the United States]] [[Richard Nixon]], who was personally embarked aboard USS ''Hornet'' for the recovery, had ordered the Band of the [[COMNAVAIRPAC]] to perform "[[Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean]]" during the recovery.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Nixon|first1=Richard|title=RN: The Memoirs of Richard Nixon|date=2013|page=172|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=978-1-4767-3183-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Astronauts Aboard Carrier|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/140157017/|accessdate=September 27, 2017|work=[[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]]|page=1|date=July 24, 1969}}{{paywall}}</ref>}}

====List of Helicopter 66 Apollo recovery flights====
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Mission !! Flight date !! Base ship !! Pilot !! Reference
|-
| [[Apollo 8]] || December 27, 1968 || ''[[USS Yorktown (CV-10)|USS Yorktown]]'' || [[Donald S. Jones]] || <ref name="snews"/>
|-
| [[Apollo 10]] || May 29, 1969 || ''[[USS Princeton (LPH-5)|USS Princeton]]'' || Chuck B. Smiley ||<ref name="snews"/>
|-
| [[Apollo 11]]|| July 24, 1969 || ''[[USS Hornet (CVS-12)|USS Hornet]]'' || Donald S. Jones ||<ref name="snews"/>
|-
| [[Apollo 12]]|| November 24, 1969|| ''[[USS Hornet (CVS-12)|USS Hornet]]''|| Warren E. Aut ||<ref name="snews"/>
|-
| [[Apollo 13]]|| April 17, 1970|| ''[[USS Iwo Jima (LPH-2)|USS Iwo Jima]]'' || Chuck B. Smiley ||<ref name="snews"/>
|}

===Later history and crash===
By 1973 Helicopter Squadron Four, and Helicopter 66 with it, were embarked aboard ''[[USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63)|USS Kitty Hawk]]''.<ref name="navymil"/> That year, Helicopter 66 transported the [[Shah of Iran]], [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]], to ''Kitty Hawk'' for a shipboard visit while it transited the [[Indian Ocean]].<ref name="navymil"/><ref>{{cite web|title=Kitty Hawk II (CVA-63)|url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/k/kitty-hawk-cva-63-ii.html|website=Naval History and Heritage Command|archive-date=February 7, 2018|archive-url=https://perma.cc/8UHS-UUZ3|publisher=[[U.S. Navy]]|accessdate=February 7, 2018}}</ref>

At 7:00 p.m. on June 4, 1975, Helicopter 66 departed [[Naval Outlying Landing Field Imperial Beach]] near [[San Diego, California]] en route to the U.S. Navy's Helo Offshore Training Area to conduct a regularly scheduled, three-hour nighttime anti-submarine training exercise.<ref name="snews"/><ref name="report"/> During the operation, in which it was carrying a full complement of four crew, the helicopter crashed.<ref name="snews"/><ref name="report"/> Though the crew was subsequently rescued by the [[U.S. Coast Guard]], pilot Leo Rolek was critically injured and later died of the wounds he sustained in the crash.<ref name="snews"/><ref name="report"/> The exact cause of the downing of Helicopter 66 is unknown; as of 2017 the U.S. Navy incident report remains largely classified.<ref name="srd">{{cite news|last1=Day|first1=Dwayne|title=It’s time to recover Helo 66|archive-url=https://perma.cc/E7RS-6RDN|archive-date=February 7, 2018|url=http://www.thespacereview.com/article/3326/1|accessdate=November 3, 2017|work=[[The Space Review]]|date=September 17, 2017}}</ref> The broken fuselage of the helicopter later sank in {{convert|800|fathom|m}} of water.<ref name="report">{{cite web|title=Aircraft Accident Report|accessdate=February 7, 2018|url=http://www.thespacereview.com/archive/895.pdf|website=[[The Space Review]]|pages=1–4|date=|publisher=[[United States Navy aircraft mishap board]]|via=[[The Space Review]]|type=Original U.S. Navy accident report scanned and uploaded by ''The Space Review''.|archive-date=February 7, 2018|archive-url=https://perma.cc/L5XN-Y6WM}}</ref> At the time of its crash, Helicopter 66 had clocked 3,245.2 flight hours since being brought into service, and 183.6 hours since its last overhaul.<ref name="srd"/>

The submerged helicopter remains property of the U.S. Navy, and an abortive effort by private interests to surface it for preservation was not realized.<ref name="snews"/><ref name="srd"/>
[[File:Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King (6586631957).jpg|thumb|right|alt=A Sikorksy Sea King painted in Helicopter 66 livery shown at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in 2011|A Sikorksy Sea King painted in Helicopter 66 livery and owned by the [[National Museum of Naval Aviation]], on display at the [[Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum]] in 2011]]

==Legacy==
[[File:Helicopter 66, portion of a painting by Tom O'Hara.png|thumb|right|Portion of the painting ''Recovery Helicopter 66'' by Tom O'Hara]]
A painting of Helicopter 66 was commissioned in 1969 from artist Tom O'Hara as part of a NASA art initiative.<ref name="si">{{cite web|title=Recovery Helicopter #66|url=https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/recovery-helicopter-66|website=airandspace.si.edu|publisher=[[Smithsonian Institution]]|accessdate=November 3, 2017}}</ref> It was subsequently placed in the custody of the [[National Air and Space Museum]].<ref name="si"/>

In September 1969 German singer [[Manuela (singer)|Manuela]] released a [[Single (music)|single]] titled "Helicopter U.S. Navy 66" which features the sound of helicopter rotors.<ref>{{cite web|language=[[German (language)|German]]|title=Manuela – Helicopter U.S. Navy 66 (song) |url=http://germancharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Manuela&titel=Helicopter+U%2ES%2E+Navy+66&cat=s|website=germancharts.com|publisher=[[Bundesverband Musikindustrie]]|accessdate=February 8, 2018}}</ref> The song was covered the next year by the Belgian pop singer [[Christiane Bervoets|Samantha]], and was credited with helping launch her career.<ref>{{cite news|title=Hoe zou het zijn met Samantha?|url=https://radio2.be/antwerpen/hoe-zou-het-zijn-met-samantha|accessdate=February 11, 2018|work=[[Radio 2 (Belgium)]]|date=June 24, 2016|language=[[Dutch (language)|Dutch]]}}</ref> In a 2007 interview, the popularity of "Helicopter U.S. Navy 66" as a closing song at dance clubs in 1970s Belgium was cited by the Belgian [[Schlager music|Schlager]] vocalist [[Laura Lynn (Belgian singer)|Laura Lynn]] as the inspiration for her hit "Goud".<ref>{{cite news|language=[[Dutch (language)|Dutch]]|title=Home Muziek Radio & Televisie Musical & Theater Film Fotoalbums Kalender Wedstrijden "Goud" nieuwe album van Laura Lynn!|url=http://www.frontview-magazine.be/nl/nieuws/goud-nieuwe-album-van-laura-lynn|accessdate=February 11, 2018|work=Front View Magazine|date=June 7, 2007}}</ref>

During the early 1970s [[Dinky Toys]] released a [[Die-cast toy|die-cast model]] of a Sea King helicopter in Helicopter 66 livery.<ref name="mm"/> The model included a working winch which could lift a plastic space capsule toy.<ref name="mm">{{cite news|title=Dinky Toys News Space Recovery Special|last1=Lomax|first1=Frank|url=https://archive.org/details/meccano-magazine-1971-06|accessdate=February 7, 2018|work=[[Meccano Magazine]]|page=274|date=June 1971}}</ref>

Replicas of Helicopter 66 are on display at the [[USS Hornet Museum]] and the [[USS Midway Museum]].<ref name="snews">{{cite news|last1=Day|first1=Dwayne|title=The last flight of Helo 66|url=http://www.thespacereview.com/article/895/1|accessdate=November 3, 2017|archive-date=February 7, 2018|archive-url=https://perma.cc/8LUX-UMHK|work=[[The Space Review]]|date=June 25, 2007}}</ref> In the case of the helicopter at the USS Hornet Museum, it is a retired Navy Sikorsky Sea King painted in Helicopter 66 markings, used to represent Helicopter 66 in the motion picture ''[[Apollo 13 (movie)|Apollo 13]]''.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Day|first1=Dwayne|title=Helo 66 revisited|archive-date=February 7, 2018|archive-url=https://perma.cc/8T8A-8XU8|url=http://www.thespacereview.com/article/903/1|accessdate=November 3, 2017|work=[[The Space Review]]|date=July 9, 2007}}</ref> A Sikorsky Sea King painted in Helicopter 66 livery is also held by the [[National Museum of Naval Aviation]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Artifact Pick of the Week|url=https://www.evergreenmuseum.org/artifact-pick-of-the-week-sikorsky-uh-3h-sea-king-2|website=evergreenmuseum.org|publisher=[[Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum]]|archive-date=February 7, 2018|archive-url=https://perma.cc/7G9G-7QZL|accessdate=February 7, 2018}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of individual aircraft]]
* [[Splashdown]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpFZDW0DdnY "Helicopter U.S. Navy 66" by Manuela]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-pPkQpll_k "Helicopter U.S. Navy 66" by Samantha]

[[Category:Individual aircraft]]
[[Category:Apollo 11]]
[[Category:Sikorsky aircraft]]
[[Category:United States military helicopters]]
[[Category:Search and rescue helicopters]]

Augusta Gordon

2018-06-05T02:50:09Z

Ruby2010: /* Family and early life */ fix

{{EngvarB|date=June 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2014}}
{{Infobox noble|type
| name = Lady Augusta FitzClarence
| title =
| image = [[File:Lady Augusta FitzClarence and children.jpg|230px]]
| caption = Lady Augusta with her three children
| alt =
| CoA =
| more = no
| succession =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| suc-type =
| spouse = Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton]]
| issue = William Henry Kennedy-Erskine [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster]] Millicent Wemyss
| full name =
| styles =
| titles =
| noble family = [[:Category:FitzClarence family|FitzClarence]]
| father = [[William IV of the United Kingdom|William IV]]
| mother = [[Dorothea Jordan]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1803|11|17|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]]
| christening_date =
| christening_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1865|12|08|1803|11|17|df=y}}
| death_place =
| burial_date =
| burial_place =
| religion =
| occupation =
}}
'''Lady Augusta Gordon''' (''née'' '''FitzClarence'''; 17 November 1803 – 8 December 1865) was a British noblewoman. Born the fourth illegitimate daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom]] (then Duke of Clarence) by his long-time mistress [[Dorothea Jordan]], she grew up at their [[Bushy House]] residence in [[Teddington]]. Augusta had four sisters and five brothers all surnamed FitzClarence. Soon after their father became monarch, the FitzClarence children were raised to the ranks of younger children of a [[marquess]].

In 1827, Augusta married the Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine, a younger son of the [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa|13th Earl of Cassilis]]. They had three children before he died in 1831. Five years later, she married [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton|Lord Frederick Gordon]], the third son of the [[George Gordon, 9th Marquess of Huntly|9th Marquess of Huntly]]. After the death of her sister [[Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley|Sophia]] in 1837, Augusta was appointed State Housekeeper of [[Kensington Palace]] by her father. She was the mother of the novelist [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster]].

==Family and early life==
Augusta FitzClarence was born at [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]] on 17 November 1803 as the fourth daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom|Prince William, Duke of Clarence]] by his long-time mistress, the famous comic actress [[Dorothea Jordan]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|pp=851–54}}{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} Dorothea was the most successful actress of her day and continued to act on the stage during their relationship.{{sfn|Brock|2004}} Augusta had nine siblings from the relationship, four sisters and five brothers all surnamed FitzClarence.{{sfn|Wright|1837|pp=429, 851–54}} While circumstances prevented the couple from ever marrying, for twenty years William and Dorothea enjoyed domestic stability and were devoted to their children.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Campbell Denlinger|2005|p=81}} In 1797, they moved from Clarence Lodge to Bushy House, residing at the Teddington residence until 1807.{{sfn|Brock|2004}} Augusta was born there.

Augusta's daughter [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster|Wilhelmina]] would later write that Bushy was "a happy and beloved home" until it "came to end" upon her father's marriage to [[Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen|Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen]] in 1818.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=4}} He and Dorothea had parted ways in December 1811 under a deed of separation, the debt-ridden duke desiring to secure a rich wife.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} Dorothea was granted £4,400 and the task of caring for their daughters; William was permitted to visit them until they turned thirteen.{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} She left Bushy in January 1812. The money was not enough to cover her debts, however. Dorothea continued to act on the stage after his leaving. In 1815, she moved from London to [[Boulogne]], France to evade her creditors.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} On 5 July 1816, she died there alone. She had suffered from ill health and possessed little money, having squandered the bulk of it on her eldest daughter Frances (fathered by another man).{{sfn|Ranger|2004}}

Augusta's stepmother, Adelaide, was gentle and loving to the FitzClarence children.{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=146}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=4–5}} In 1818, Augusta and her siblings were granted a pension of £500, and Augusta was given her own version of the [[English heraldry|Royal Arms]] featuring a "baton sinister azure charged with an anchor between two roses or".{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} In 1819, [[Franz Ludwig von Bibra|Baron Franz Ludwig von Bibra]], a German man with knowledge of the classics and English, was engaged to tutor the two youngest FitzClarence daughters. He left in 1822 upon the completion of their education.{{sfn|Nyman|1996|p=26}} In June 1830, the Duke of Clarence succeeded his brother [[George IV of the United Kingdom|George IV]] as King William IV.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=861}} The following year, he made his eldest son [[George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster|George]] Earl of Munster, and had his issue by Jordan raised to the ranks of younger children of a [[marquess]].{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}{{sfn|Fraser|2004|p=352}} With their father now monarch, the FitzClarences frequently attended court{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=218}} but their presence angered the [[Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld|Duchess of Kent]], who felt that the FitzClarences would be a corrupting influence on her daughter [[Queen Victoria|Princess Victoria]].{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=218}}{{sfn|Vallone|2001|pp=49, 72}} King William loved his children and was aggrieved at their treatment at the hands of the Duchess, who would leave the room whenever they entered.{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=218}}

==Marriage to Kennedy-Erskine==
On 5 July 1827, Augusta married the Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine, a younger son of the [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa|13th Earl of Cassilis]]. Kennedy-Erskine served as a captain with the [[16th The Queen's Lancers|16th Lancers]], and was made an [[equerry]] to King William in 1830.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} They had three children:
* William Henry Kennedy-Erskine (1 July 1828 – 5 September 1870); married Catherine Jones in 1862 and had issue including the Scottish writer [[Violet Jacob]]
* [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster|Wilhelmina '''"Mina"''' Kennedy-Erskine]] (27 June 1830{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=3}} – 9 October 1906); married [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]] in 1855 and had issue
* Augusta Anne '''Millicent''' Kennedy-Erskine (11 May 1831 – 11 February 1895); married [[James Hay Erskine Wemyss]] in 1855 and had issue

Augusta enjoyed botany and needlework.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} John inherited his maternal grandfather's estate of Dun in [[Forfarshire]], and as its [[châtelain]]e, Augusta was featured in [[Hugh Massingberd]]'s ''Great Houses of Scotland''.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} John died on 6 March 1831.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} Her youngest daughter Millicent was born posthumously, as John died several months before her birth.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} In an act considered scandalous King William, still early in his reign, publicly mourned the death of his son-in-law.{{sfn|Fraser|2004|p=352}}

Now widowed, Lady Augusta and her children lived in a "charming brickhouse" at Railshead on the [[River Thames]]. King William often visited his daughter and grandchildren there, at one point coming to comfort Augusta when her young daughter Wilhelmina fell ill with a fever. They would often visit the king at [[Windsor Castle]] as well. They also had a house in Brighton.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=5–9, 28, 34}}

==Marriage to Gordon==
On 24 August 1836, Lady Augusta married [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton|Lord Frederick Gordon]], the third son of [[George Gordon, 9th Marquess of Huntly]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} Gordon was a professional sailor, and would become Admiral of the Navy in 1868. He and Augusta had no surviving children together.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}

Their Railshead residence had been situated next to a house owned by John's parents, who were angered by Augusta's second marriage and forced Augusta and Frederick to leave.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=28, 34, 40}} Augusta turned to her father for help, and he granted her apartments in [[Kensington Palace]] and the position of State Housekeeper (replacing her recently deceased sister [[Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley|Sophia]]).{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=42}} They lived there for many years.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=50}} In 1847, they embarked on a three-year trip to the continent, visiting Germany, France, and Italy. In 1850, they returned to Kensington Palace and Augusta's daughters [[Season (society)|came out in society]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=83, 129–44}} Both daughters married in 1855 in a double wedding, Wilhelmina to the [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster|2nd Earl of Munster]] and Millicent to [[James Hay Erskine Wemyss]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=152}}

Augusta died in 1865. Her husband survived Augusta by twelve years.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}

== Ancestry ==
{{ahnentafel
|collapsed=yes |align=center
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe;
|1= 1. '''Lady Augusta Gordon'''
|2= 2. [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]
|3= 3. [[Dorothea Jordan|Dorothy Jordan]]
|4= 4. [[George III of the United Kingdom]]
|5= 5. [[Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
|6= 6. Francis Bland
|7= 7. Grace Phillips
|8= 8. [[Frederick, Prince of Wales]]
|9= 9. [[Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha]]
|10= 10. [[Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg]]
|11= 11. [[Princess Elisabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen]]
|12= 12. Nathaniel Bland
|13= 13. Elizabeth Heaton
|16= 16. [[George II of Great Britain]]
|17= 17. [[Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach]]
|18= 18. [[Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg]]
|19= 19. [[Magdalena Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst]]
|20= 20. [[Adolf Frederick II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
|21= 21. Princess Christiane Emilie of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
|22= 22. [[Ernest Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen]]
|23= 23. [[Countess Sophia Albertine of Erbach-Erbach]]
|24= 24. James Bland
|25= 25. Lucy Brewster
|26= 26. Francis Heaton
|27= 27. Elizabeth Curtis
}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

;Works cited
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PEc7AwAAQBAJ& |title=Royal Bastards |first1=Peter |last1=Beauclerk-Dewar |first2=Roger |last2=Powell |year=2008 |location=Stroud |publisher=The History Press |isbn=9780752473154 |ref=harv}}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Brock|first=Michael |authorlink=Michael Brock |title=William IV (1765–1837) |id=29451 |date=2004 }}
* {{Cite book |url=https://www.questia.com/read/117825946 |title=Before Victoria: Extraordinary Women of the British Romantic Era |first=Elizabeth |last=Campbell Denlinger |year=2005 |location=New York|publisher=Columbia University Press |via=Questia |isbn= |ref=harv}} {{Subscription needed}}
* {{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books/about/My_Memories_and_Miscellanies.html?id=x40xAQAAMAAJ |title=My Memories and Miscellanies |first=Wilhelmina |last=FitzClarence |authorlink=Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster |year=1904 |location=London |publisher=Eveleigh Nash |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|first=Flora|last=Fraser|authorlink=Flora Fraser (writer) |title=Princesses: The Six Daughters of George III |publisher=John Murray |location=London |year=2004 |isbn=0719561094 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://www.vonbibra.net/files/TVBSChapt20001.pdf |title=The Von Bibra Story |first=Lois |last=Nyman |year=1996 |location=Launceston|publisher=Foot & Playsted |isbn=0-9597188-1-8 |ref=harv}}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Ranger|first=Paul|title=Jordan, Dorothy (1761–1816) |id=15119|date=2004 }}
*{{cite book|first=Lynne |last=Vallone |title=Becoming Victoria |publisher=Yale University Press |location=|year=2001 |isbn=978-0-300-08950-9|ref=harv}}
*{{cite book|first=Kate|last=Williams|authorlink=Kate Williams (historian) |title=Becoming Queen Victoria: The Tragic Death of Princess Charlotte and the Unexpected Rise of Britain's Greatest Monarch |publisher=Ballatine Books|location=|year=2010 |isbn=0-345-46195-9 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/?id=gAfVIVra9C4C& |title=The Life and Reign of William the Fourth |last= Wright |first=G.N. |year=1837 |location=London |publisher=Fisher, Son, & Co |ref=harv}}
{{refend}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Augusta}}
[[Category:Articles created via the Article Wizard]]
[[Category:1803 births]]
[[Category:1865 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century British people]]
[[Category:19th-century women]]
[[Category:People from London]]
[[Category:FitzClarence family]]
[[Category:Illegitimate children of William IV of the United Kingdom]]

Augusta Gordon

2018-06-05T02:49:40Z

Ruby2010: /* Family and early life */ fix wl

{{EngvarB|date=June 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2014}}
{{Infobox noble|type
| name = Lady Augusta FitzClarence
| title =
| image = [[File:Lady Augusta FitzClarence and children.jpg|230px]]
| caption = Lady Augusta with her three children
| alt =
| CoA =
| more = no
| succession =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| suc-type =
| spouse = Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton]]
| issue = William Henry Kennedy-Erskine [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster]] Millicent Wemyss
| full name =
| styles =
| titles =
| noble family = [[:Category:FitzClarence family|FitzClarence]]
| father = [[William IV of the United Kingdom|William IV]]
| mother = [[Dorothea Jordan]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1803|11|17|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]]
| christening_date =
| christening_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1865|12|08|1803|11|17|df=y}}
| death_place =
| burial_date =
| burial_place =
| religion =
| occupation =
}}
'''Lady Augusta Gordon''' (''née'' '''FitzClarence'''; 17 November 1803 – 8 December 1865) was a British noblewoman. Born the fourth illegitimate daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom]] (then Duke of Clarence) by his long-time mistress [[Dorothea Jordan]], she grew up at their [[Bushy House]] residence in [[Teddington]]. Augusta had four sisters and five brothers all surnamed FitzClarence. Soon after their father became monarch, the FitzClarence children were raised to the ranks of younger children of a [[marquess]].

In 1827, Augusta married the Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine, a younger son of the [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa|13th Earl of Cassilis]]. They had three children before he died in 1831. Five years later, she married [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton|Lord Frederick Gordon]], the third son of the [[George Gordon, 9th Marquess of Huntly|9th Marquess of Huntly]]. After the death of her sister [[Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley|Sophia]] in 1837, Augusta was appointed State Housekeeper of [[Kensington Palace]] by her father. She was the mother of the novelist [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster]].

==Family and early life==
Augusta FitzClarence was born at [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]] on 17 November 1803 as the fourth daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom|Prince William, Duke of Clarence]] by his long-time mistress, the famous comic actress [[Dorothea Jordan]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|pp=851–54}}{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} Dorothea was the most successful actress of her day and continued to act on the stage during their relationship.{{sfn|Brock|2004}} Augusta had nine siblings from the relationship, four sisters and five brothers all surnamed FitzClarence.{{sfn|Wright|1837|pp=429, 851–54}} While circumstances prevented the couple from ever marrying, for twenty years William and Dorothea enjoyed domestic stability and were devoted to their children.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Campbell Denlinger|2005|p=81}} In 1797, they moved from Clarence Lodge to Bushy House, residing at the Teddington residence until 1807.{{sfn|Brock|2004}} Augusta was born there.

Augusta's daughter [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster|Wilhelmina]] would later write that Bushy was "a happy and beloved home" until it "came to end" upon her father's marriage to [[Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen|Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen]] in 1818.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=4}} He and Dorothea had parted ways in December 1811 under a deed of separation, the debt-ridden duke desiring to secure a rich wife.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} Dorothea was granted £4,400 and the task of caring for their daughters; William was permitted to visit them until they turned thirteen.{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} She left Bushy in January 1812. The money was not enough to cover her debts, however. Dorothea continued to act on the stage after his leaving. In 1815, she moved from London to [[Boulogne]], France to evade her creditors.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} On 5 July 1816, she died there alone. She had suffered from ill health and possessed little money, having squandered the bulk of it on her eldest daughter Frances (fathered by another man).{{sfn|Ranger|2004}}

Augusta's stepmother, Adelaide, was gentle and loving to the FitzClarence children.{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=146}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=4–5}} In 1818, Augusta and her siblings were granted a pension of £500, and Augusta was given her own version of the [[English heraldry|Royal Arms]] featuring a "baton sinister azure charged with an anchor between two roses or".{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} In 1819, [[Franz Ludwig von Bibra|Baron Franz Ludwig von Bibra]], a German man with knowledge of the classics and English, was engaged to tutor the two youngest FitzClarence daughters. He left in 1822 upon the completion of their education.{{sfn|Nyman|1996|p=26}} In June 1830, the Duke of Clarence succeeded his brother [[George IV of the United Kingdom|George IV]] as King William IV.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=861}} The following year, he made his eldest son [[George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster|George]] Earl of Munster, and had his issue by Jordan raised to the ranks of younger children of a [[marquess]].{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}{{sfn|Fraser|2004|p=352}} With their father now monarch, the FitzClarences frequently attended court{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=218}} but their presence angered the [[Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld|Duchess of Kent]], who felt that the FitzClarences would be a corrupting influence on her daughter [[Queen Victoria|Princess Victoria]].{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=218}}{{sfn|Vallone|2001|pp=49, 72}} King William loved his children and was aggrieved at their treatment at the hands of the Duchess, who would leave the room whenever they entered.{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=218}}

==Marriage to Kennedy-Erskine==
On 5 July 1827, Augusta married the Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine, a younger son of the [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa|13th Earl of Cassilis]]. Kennedy-Erskine served as a captain with the [[16th The Queen's Lancers|16th Lancers]], and was made an [[equerry]] to King William in 1830.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} They had three children:
* William Henry Kennedy-Erskine (1 July 1828 – 5 September 1870); married Catherine Jones in 1862 and had issue including the Scottish writer [[Violet Jacob]]
* [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster|Wilhelmina '''"Mina"''' Kennedy-Erskine]] (27 June 1830{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=3}} – 9 October 1906); married [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]] in 1855 and had issue
* Augusta Anne '''Millicent''' Kennedy-Erskine (11 May 1831 – 11 February 1895); married [[James Hay Erskine Wemyss]] in 1855 and had issue

Augusta enjoyed botany and needlework.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} John inherited his maternal grandfather's estate of Dun in [[Forfarshire]], and as its [[châtelain]]e, Augusta was featured in [[Hugh Massingberd]]'s ''Great Houses of Scotland''.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} John died on 6 March 1831.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} Her youngest daughter Millicent was born posthumously, as John died several months before her birth.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} In an act considered scandalous King William, still early in his reign, publicly mourned the death of his son-in-law.{{sfn|Fraser|2004|p=352}}

Now widowed, Lady Augusta and her children lived in a "charming brickhouse" at Railshead on the [[River Thames]]. King William often visited his daughter and grandchildren there, at one point coming to comfort Augusta when her young daughter Wilhelmina fell ill with a fever. They would often visit the king at [[Windsor Castle]] as well. They also had a house in Brighton.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=5–9, 28, 34}}

==Marriage to Gordon==
On 24 August 1836, Lady Augusta married [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton|Lord Frederick Gordon]], the third son of [[George Gordon, 9th Marquess of Huntly]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} Gordon was a professional sailor, and would become Admiral of the Navy in 1868. He and Augusta had no surviving children together.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}

Their Railshead residence had been situated next to a house owned by John's parents, who were angered by Augusta's second marriage and forced Augusta and Frederick to leave.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=28, 34, 40}} Augusta turned to her father for help, and he granted her apartments in [[Kensington Palace]] and the position of State Housekeeper (replacing her recently deceased sister [[Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley|Sophia]]).{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=42}} They lived there for many years.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=50}} In 1847, they embarked on a three-year trip to the continent, visiting Germany, France, and Italy. In 1850, they returned to Kensington Palace and Augusta's daughters [[Season (society)|came out in society]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=83, 129–44}} Both daughters married in 1855 in a double wedding, Wilhelmina to the [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster|2nd Earl of Munster]] and Millicent to [[James Hay Erskine Wemyss]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=152}}

Augusta died in 1865. Her husband survived Augusta by twelve years.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}

== Ancestry ==
{{ahnentafel
|collapsed=yes |align=center
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe;
|1= 1. '''Lady Augusta Gordon'''
|2= 2. [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]
|3= 3. [[Dorothea Jordan|Dorothy Jordan]]
|4= 4. [[George III of the United Kingdom]]
|5= 5. [[Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
|6= 6. Francis Bland
|7= 7. Grace Phillips
|8= 8. [[Frederick, Prince of Wales]]
|9= 9. [[Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha]]
|10= 10. [[Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg]]
|11= 11. [[Princess Elisabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen]]
|12= 12. Nathaniel Bland
|13= 13. Elizabeth Heaton
|16= 16. [[George II of Great Britain]]
|17= 17. [[Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach]]
|18= 18. [[Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg]]
|19= 19. [[Magdalena Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst]]
|20= 20. [[Adolf Frederick II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
|21= 21. Princess Christiane Emilie of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
|22= 22. [[Ernest Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen]]
|23= 23. [[Countess Sophia Albertine of Erbach-Erbach]]
|24= 24. James Bland
|25= 25. Lucy Brewster
|26= 26. Francis Heaton
|27= 27. Elizabeth Curtis
}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

;Works cited
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PEc7AwAAQBAJ& |title=Royal Bastards |first1=Peter |last1=Beauclerk-Dewar |first2=Roger |last2=Powell |year=2008 |location=Stroud |publisher=The History Press |isbn=9780752473154 |ref=harv}}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Brock|first=Michael |authorlink=Michael Brock |title=William IV (1765–1837) |id=29451 |date=2004 }}
* {{Cite book |url=https://www.questia.com/read/117825946 |title=Before Victoria: Extraordinary Women of the British Romantic Era |first=Elizabeth |last=Campbell Denlinger |year=2005 |location=New York|publisher=Columbia University Press |via=Questia |isbn= |ref=harv}} {{Subscription needed}}
* {{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books/about/My_Memories_and_Miscellanies.html?id=x40xAQAAMAAJ |title=My Memories and Miscellanies |first=Wilhelmina |last=FitzClarence |authorlink=Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster |year=1904 |location=London |publisher=Eveleigh Nash |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|first=Flora|last=Fraser|authorlink=Flora Fraser (writer) |title=Princesses: The Six Daughters of George III |publisher=John Murray |location=London |year=2004 |isbn=0719561094 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://www.vonbibra.net/files/TVBSChapt20001.pdf |title=The Von Bibra Story |first=Lois |last=Nyman |year=1996 |location=Launceston|publisher=Foot & Playsted |isbn=0-9597188-1-8 |ref=harv}}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Ranger|first=Paul|title=Jordan, Dorothy (1761–1816) |id=15119|date=2004 }}
*{{cite book|first=Lynne |last=Vallone |title=Becoming Victoria |publisher=Yale University Press |location=|year=2001 |isbn=978-0-300-08950-9|ref=harv}}
*{{cite book|first=Kate|last=Williams|authorlink=Kate Williams (historian) |title=Becoming Queen Victoria: The Tragic Death of Princess Charlotte and the Unexpected Rise of Britain's Greatest Monarch |publisher=Ballatine Books|location=|year=2010 |isbn=0-345-46195-9 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/?id=gAfVIVra9C4C& |title=The Life and Reign of William the Fourth |last= Wright |first=G.N. |year=1837 |location=London |publisher=Fisher, Son, & Co |ref=harv}}
{{refend}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Augusta}}
[[Category:Articles created via the Article Wizard]]
[[Category:1803 births]]
[[Category:1865 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century British people]]
[[Category:19th-century women]]
[[Category:People from London]]
[[Category:FitzClarence family]]
[[Category:Illegitimate children of William IV of the United Kingdom]]

Blitzableiter in der französischen Mode

2017-03-10T04:31:45Z

Ruby2010: added Category:18th-century fashion using HotCat

[[File:Umbrella fitted with lightning conductor.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|Lightning rod umbrella]]

The '''lightning rod fashion''' took place in late eighteenth century Europe, after the introduction of [[Benjamin Franklin]]'s [[lightning rod]] invention.{{sfn|Schiffer|2003|p=190}}{{sfn|O'Reilly|2011|p=184}} The fashion of a lady's lightning rod hat and a gentleman's lightning umbrella was most popular in France, especially in the city of Paris. The concept that surrounded the fashion was that the electricity from a lightning bolt strike would hit the Franklin designed protective device instead of the person and would travel down a small metal chain into the ground harmlessly. The proven technology was already used to some extent in France to protect wooden buildings, so was an accepted science concept that developed into a temporary fashion.

== Background ==

Franklin's lightning rod invention of the mid eighteenth-century to protect wooden structures did not become commonplace in American society until the nineteenth century, over fifty years after he first introduced the idea.{{sfn|Camenzind|2007|p=22}} Franklin's electrical experiments made electricity a fashionable trend in European society however.<ref name=ElectricFad>{{cite news |author= |title=THE LIGHTNING ROD FASHION |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/9256546// | newspaper =[[Lubbock Avalanche-Journal|Lubbock Morning Avalanche]]|location=Lubbock, Texas |date=May 13, 1933 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] {{open access}} }}</ref>

== Fashion styles ==
[[File:Lightning rod hats.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|Lady's lightning rod hat]]
In 1778 they experimented with the idea of putting a lightning rod above a person's head in an accessory to protect them from lightning bolt hits.<ref name=SilverCord>{{cite news |author= |title= The Lightning Rod Fashion |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/9233163// | newspaper = Valley Morning Star |location=Harlingen, Texas |date= May 13, 1933 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] {{open access}}}}</ref> A lady's hat was equipped with a woven metal ribbon around it and then attached to that was a small metal chain of silver that ran down the back of the lady's dress and dragged on the ground.<ref name=FashionCraze>{{cite news |author= |title=Believe it or NOT |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/9232654// | newspaper =The Record-Argus |location=Greenville, Pennsylvania |date=May 13, 1933 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] {{open access}} }}</ref> The lightning hat was called ''le chapeau paratonnerre'' in French.{{sfn|Dray|2005|p=148}}{{sfn|O'Reilly|2011|p=184}} The hat with the metal ribbon wrapped around it was a popular Paris fashion trend in 1778 based on the concept that it would protect the woman. The idea was that the electric lightning strike out of the sky was theorized to go down the chain of silver instead and directly into the ground harmlessly.{{sfn|Figuier|1867|p=569}}{{sfn|Société française des électriciens|1936|p=522}}

A gentleman's 1778 version of this was a pointed rod at the top center of an umbrella.{{sfn|Bureaux|1895|p=211}} A metal chain dropped off the exterior of umbrella and dragged along the ground would provide a conduit that a lightning strike would follow and be diverted into the ground without hurting the person.{{sfn|Dray|2005|p=148}} In French it was called ''parapluie-paratonnerre'', in English meaning "lightning umbrella."{{sfn|Dray|2005|p=148}}

The French physician and writer Claude Jean Veau Delaunay demonstrated a telescoping portable lightning rod that was 6 meters (19.685 feet) long when extended out fully.{{sfn|Schiffer|2003|p=190}} This was to illustrate that those in an open area, like farmers in a field, could be protected from being hit by a lightning bolt.{{sfn|Schiffer|2003|p=190}} There was a Chinese version of this explained by writer Jules Cordier Clairville in his 1851 book ''The crystal palace or Parisians in London.''{{sfn|Clairville|1851|p=31}}

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Sources ==

*{{cite book|ref=harv|last=Bureaux|first=|title=Le Photo-journal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2rgEAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA211|year=1895|publisher=Bureaux}}
*{{cite book|ref=harv|last=Camenzind|first=Hans|title=Much Ado about Almost Nothing|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VCUMQMTWCtMC&pg=PA22|date=1 February 2007|publisher=Hans Camenzind|isbn=978-0-615-13995-1}}
*{{cite book|ref=harv|last=Clairville|first=Jules Cordier|title=The crystal palace or Parisians in London|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yblbAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA31|page=31|year=1851|publisher=[[Beck]]}}
*{{cite book|ref=harv|last=Dray|first=Philip|title=Stealing God's Thunder|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hjw4TwsfeqgC&pg=PT148|date=2 August 2005|publisher=[[Random House Publishing Group]]|isbn=978-1-58836-461-6}}
*{{cite book|ref=harv|last=Figuier|first=Louis|title=The wonders of science or popular description of modern inventions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8DUVAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA569|year=1867|publisher=Furne, Juvet}}
*{{cite book|ref=harv|last=O'Reilly|first=James |title=Travelers' Tales Paris|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IwkVHLge2I4C&pg=PA184|date=27 December 2011|publisher=Travelers' Tales|isbn=978-1-60952-074-8|quote=Benjamin Franklin's discovery of atmospheric electricity did not give birth to a new French hairdress, but he was honored with a hat,“le chapeau paratonnerre,” with a little metal chain to attract lightning extending from the back of the hatband.}}
*{{cite book|ref=harv|last=Schiffer|first=Michael Brian|title=Draw the Lightning Down|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xS9jvWe26OoC&pg=PA190|date=14 October 2003|publisher=[[University of California Press]]|isbn=978-0-520-23802-2|quote= Public discussions of lightning conductors in France also took a more whimsical turn. If buildings could be protected from lightning, then why not people as well? In 1778 it was proposed that hats be equipped with lightning conductors. From a metal ring around the hat, a chain would dangle downward dragging on the ground behind the wearer of this most fashionable contrivance of millinery artistry. }}
*{{cite book|ref=harv|last=Société française des électriciens|first=|title=Bulletin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y5AoAQAAMAAJ|year=1936|quote=En 1778, on voit apparaître à Paris la mode du chapeau paratonnerre pour les femmes; .. = In 1778, the fashion of the lightning rod hat for women appeared in Paris...}}

[[Category:Protective gear]]
[[Category:Science in popular culture]]
[[Category:18th-century fashion]]

West Horsley Place

2016-11-06T14:31:23Z

Ruby2010: Tweak alignment

{{Use British English|date=October 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2016}}

[[File:West Horsley Place.jpg|thumb|West Horsley Place: the mid-17th century facade applied to the 15th-century structure.]]
[[File:Poppies in Season, West Horsley - geograph.org.uk - 494421.jpg|thumb|Poppies in the meadow at West Horsley Place, 2007]]

'''West Horsley Place''' is a [[listed building|Grade I listed]] building in [[West Horsley]], Surrey, England.<ref name="NHLE">{{NHLE|num=1188949|desc= West Horsley Place |accessdate= 22 October 2016}}</ref> There are eight further Grade II buildings on the estate,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://westhorsleyplace.org/|title=West Horsley Place – West Horsley Place|publisher=|accessdate=23 October 2016}}</ref> including a mid-19th-century dog kennel.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1029319|title=DOG KENNEL TO SOUTH EAST OF WEST HORSLEY PLACE – 1029319 – Historic England|first=Historic|last=England|publisher=|accessdate=23 October 2016}}</ref>

==History==
The house dates back to the 15th century,<ref name="NHLE" /> and was built out of red brick, with its west-wing gallery later being converted into extra bedrooms.<ref name=BHO/> The house has 50 bedrooms.<ref name=FT>{{cite news| url= https://www.ft.com/content/f1bba2e6-ef51-11e5-9f20-c3a047354386| title= Grange Park Opera’s new £10m plot| last=Pickford| first=John| work=[[Financial Times]]| date=30 March 2016| accessdate=23 October 2016|subscription=y}}</ref> In the sixteenth century, it was owned by [[John Bourchier, 2nd Baron Berners|John, Lord Berners]], who made the first English translation of [[Froissart's Chronicles|Froissart's ''Chronicles'']], and then the [[Earl of Lincoln]].<ref name=BHO>{{cite web| url= http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/surrey/vol3/pp353-357| title= A History of the County of Surrey: Volume 3| volume=3| pages=353–357| publisher=[[Victoria County History]]| via=[[British History Online]]| date=1911| accessdate=23 October 2016}}</ref> It was then owned by [[Henry Currie]], the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] MP for [[Guildford (UK Parliament constituency)|Guildford]] from 1847 to 1852.<ref name="BrayleyBritton1841">{{cite book|author1=Edward Wedlake Brayley|author2=John Britton|title=A topographical history of Surrey, by E.W. Brayley assisted by J. Britton and E.W. Brayley, jun. The geological section by G. Mantell|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9bYHAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA95|year=1841|page=95}}</ref> In 1868, the place was used for [[fox hunting]].<ref>{{cite news| url= http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001429/18680120/153/0008| title= Hunting Appointments| work=Maidstone Journal and Kentish Advertiser| page=8| date=20 January 1868| accessdate=23 October 2016| via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]| subscription=y}}</ref> When owner Laura Mart Fielder died in 1908, West Horsley Place was valued at £62,536; she left £3,000 to [[King's College, Cambridge]].<ref>{{cite news| url= http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000206/19080622/076/0006| title= .| work=[[Manchester Courier|Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser]]| page=6| date=22 June 1908| accessdate=23 October 2016| via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]| subscription=y}}</ref>

In 1931, it was acquired by [[Robert Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe]] and his wife, the Marchioness of Crewe, and after his death in 1945, his wife (Peggy née Primrose d. 1967) left it to their daughter, [[Mary Innes-Ker, Duchess of Roxburghe]] (1915–2014).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://announcements.telegraph.co.uk/deaths/179054/roxburghe|title=ROXBURGHE, – Deaths Announcements – Telegraph Announcements|publisher=|accessdate=23 October 2016}}</ref>

On her death in 2014 it was "accidentally" inherited by her nephew, the broadcaster and author [[Bamber Gascoigne]]. Gascoigne had no idea he was to inherit it until he was contacted by a solicitor.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/11486628/Bamber-Gascoigne-to-save-500-year-old-manor-after-accidental-inheritance.html|title=Bamber Gascoigne to save 500-year-old manor after 'accidental' inheritance|publisher=|accessdate=23 October 2016}}</ref> To raise money to restore the somewhat dilapidated 50-room house, Gascoigne arranged for the duchess's possessions to be auctioned by [[Sotheby's]] in London and Geneva, raising £8.8 million, with her [[Cartier (jeweler)|Cartier]] diamond engagement ring selling for £167,000, 14 times its estimate.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-surrey-32926756|title=Bamber Gascoigne raises £8.8m from West Horsley auctions|date=29 May 2015|publisher=|accessdate=23 October 2016|via=www.bbc.co.uk}}</ref> The house was the location for much of the filming of the [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] programme ''Harry Price: Ghost Hunter''.<ref>{{cite news| url= http://metro.co.uk/2015/12/27/heres-why-you-wont-want-to-miss-itvs-spooky-new-drama-harry-price-ghost-hunter-5585535/| title= Here’s why you won’t want to miss ITV’s spooky new drama Harry Price: Ghost Hunter| last=Westbrook| first=Caroline| work=[[Metro (British newspaper)|Metro]]| date=27 December 2015| accessdate=23 October 2016}}</ref>

==Grange Park Opera==
[[Grange Park Opera]] will be taking up residence in a purpose-built 700-seat theatre in the grounds, with its inaugural production in June 2017 being Puccini's ''[[Tosca]]'', led by the Maltese tenor [[Joseph Calleja]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/tvandradioblog/2015/nov/12/grange-park-opera-move-residence-bamber-gascoigne-stately-home|title=Opera company to move into Bamber Gascoigne's crumbling stately home|first=Aisha|last=Gani|date=12 November 2015|publisher=|accessdate=23 October 2016|via=The Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grangeparkopera.co.uk/whp/|title=The Appeal – GRANGE PARK OPERA|publisher=|accessdate=23 October 2016}}</ref> The lease on the property is for 99 years.<ref>{{cite news| url= https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/2015/grange-park-opera-plans-700-seat-woodland-la-scala/| title= Grange Park Opera plans 700-seat woodland La Scala| last=Hutchison| first=David| work=[[The Stage]]| date=12 November 2015| accessdate=23 October 2016}}</ref> The planning application for the 700-seat "theatre in the woods" met with some opposition, due to it being in the green belt, but with the support of the conductor [[Stephen Barlow (conductor)|Stephen Barlow]] and others was approved by [[Guildford Borough Council]] in May 2016.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/joanna-lumley-attends-meeting-new-11358726|title=New opera house gets go-ahead as Joanna Lumley lends support|first=Mark|last=Edwards|date=20 May 2016|publisher=|accessdate=23 October 2016}}</ref> {{As of|2016}}, the Grange Park Opera had pledges for over half of the £10 million they hope to raise to renovate the house.<ref name=FT/>

==References==

{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{Official website|westhorsleyplace.org}}

{{Coord|51.265880|-0.441929|type:landmark_region:GB|display=title}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:West Horsley Place}}
[[Category:Grade I listed buildings in Surrey]]
[[Category:Grade I listed houses]]
[[Category:15th-century architecture]]

Augusta Gordon

2016-01-15T03:06:05Z

Ruby2010: /* References */

{{EngvarB|date=June 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2014}}
{{Infobox noble|type
| name = Lady Augusta FitzClarence
| title =
| image = [[File:Lady Augusta FitzClarence and children.jpg|230px]]
| caption = Lady Augusta with her three children
| alt =
| CoA =
| more = no
| succession =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| suc-type =
| spouse = Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton]]
| issue = William Henry Kennedy-Erskine [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster]] Millicent Wemyss
| full name =
| styles =
| titles =
| noble family = [[:Category:FitzClarence family|FitzClarence]]
| father = [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]
| mother = [[Dorothea Jordan]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1803|11|17|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]]
| christening_date =
| christening_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1865|12|08|1803|11|17|df=y}}
| death_place =
| burial_date =
| burial_place =
| religion =
| occupation =
}}
'''Lady Augusta Gordon''' (''née'' '''FitzClarence'''; 17 November 1803 – 8 December 1865) was a British noblewoman. Born the fourth illegitimate daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom]] (then Duke of Clarence) by his long-time mistress [[Dorothea Jordan]], she grew up at their [[Bushy House]] residence in [[Teddington]]. Augusta had four sisters and five brothers all surnamed FitzClarence. Soon after their father became monarch, the FitzClarence children were raised to the ranks of younger children of a [[marquess]].

In 1827, Augusta married the Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine, a younger son of the [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa|13th Earl of Cassilis]]. They had three children before he died in 1831. Five years later, she married [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton|Lord Frederick Gordon]], the third son of the [[George Gordon, 9th Marquess of Huntly|9th Marquess of Huntly]]. After the death of her sister [[Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley|Sophia]] in 1837, Augusta was appointed State Housekeeper of [[Kensington Palace]] by her father. She was the mother of the novelist [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster]].

==Family and early life==
Augusta FitzClarence was born at [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]] on 17 November 1803 as the fourth daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom|Prince William, Duke of Clarence]] by his long-time mistress, the famous comic actress [[Dorothea Jordan]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|pp=851–54}}{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} Dorothea was the most successful actress of her day and continued to act on the stage during their relationship.{{sfn|Brock|2004}} Augusta had nine siblings from the relationship, four sisters and five brothers all surnamed FitzClarence.{{sfn|Wright|1837|pp=429, 851–54}} While circumstances prevented the couple from ever marrying, for twenty years William and Dorothea enjoyed domestic stability and were devoted to their children.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Campbell Denlinger|2005|p=81}} In 1797, they moved from Clarence Lodge to Bushy House, residing at the Teddington residence until 1807.{{sfn|Brock|2004}} Augusta was born there.

Augusta's daughter [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster|Wilhelmina]] would later write that Bushy was "a happy and beloved home" until it "came to end" upon her father's marriage to [[Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen|Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen]] in 1818.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=4}} He and Dorothea had parted ways in December 1811 under a deed of separation, the debt-ridden duke desiring to secure a rich wife.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} Dorothea was granted £4,400 and the task of caring for their daughters; William was permitted to visit them until they turned thirteen.{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} She left Bushy in January 1812. The money was not enough to cover her debts, however. Dorothea continued to act on the stage after his leaving. In 1815, she moved from London to [[Boulogne]], France to evade her creditors.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} On 5 July 1816, she died there alone. She had suffered from ill health and possessed little money, having squandered the bulk of it on her eldest daughter Frances (fathered by another man).{{sfn|Ranger|2004}}

William's new wife, Princess Adelaide, was gentle and loving to the FitzClarence children.{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=146}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=4–5}} In 1818, Augusta and her siblings were granted a pension of £500, and Augusta was given her own version of the [[English heraldry|Royal Arms]] featuring a "baton sinister azure charged with an anchor between two roses or".{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} In 1819, [[Franz Ludwig von Bibra|Baron Franz Ludwig von Bibra]], a German man with knowledge of the classics and English, was engaged to tutor the two youngest FitzClarence daughters. He left in 1822 upon the completion of their education.{{sfn|Nyman|1996|p=26}} In June 1830, the Duke of Clarence succeeded his brother [[George IV of the United Kingdom|George IV]] as King William IV.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=861}} The following year, he made his eldest son [[George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster|George]] Earl of Munster, and had his issue by Jordan raised to the ranks of younger children of a [[marquess]].{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}{{sfn|Fraser|2004|p=352}} With their father now monarch, the FitzClarences frequently attended court{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=218}} but their presence angered the [[Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld|Duchess of Kent]], who felt that the FitzClarences would be a corrupting influence on her daughter [[Queen Victoria|Princess Victoria]].{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=218}}{{sfn|Vallone|2001|pp=49, 72}} King William loved his children and was aggrieved at their treatment at the hands of the Duchess, who would leave the room whenever they entered.{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=218}}

==Marriage to Kennedy-Erskine==
On 5 July 1827, Augusta married the Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine, a younger son of the [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa|13th Earl of Cassilis]]. Kennedy-Erskine served as a captain with the [[16th The Queen's Lancers|16th Lancers]], and was made an [[equerry]] to King William in 1830.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} They had three children:
* William Henry Kennedy-Erskine (1 July 1828 – 5 September 1870); married Catherine Jones in 1862 and had issue including the Scottish writer [[Violet Jacob]]
* [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster|Wilhelmina '''"Mina"''' Kennedy-Erskine]] (27 June 1830{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=3}} – 9 October 1906); married [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]] in 1855 and had issue
* Augusta Anne '''Millicent''' Kennedy-Erskine (11 May 1831 – 11 February 1895); married [[James Hay Erskine Wemyss]] in 1855 and had issue

Augusta enjoyed botany and needlework.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} John inherited his maternal grandfather's estate of Dun in [[Forfarshire]], and as its [[châtelain]]e, Augusta was featured in [[Hugh Massingberd]]'s ''Great Houses of Scotland''.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} John died on 6 March 1831.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} Her youngest daughter Millicent was born posthumously, as John died several months before her birth.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} In an act considered scandalous King William, still early in his reign, publicly mourned the death of his son-in-law.{{sfn|Fraser|2004|p=352}}

Now widowed, Lady Augusta and her children lived in a "charming brickhouse" at Railshead on the [[River Thames]]. King William often visited his daughter and grandchildren there, at one point coming to comfort Augusta when her young daughter Wilhelmina fell ill with a fever. They would often visit the king at [[Windsor Castle]] as well. They also had a house in Brighton.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=5–9, 28, 34}}

==Marriage to Gordon==
On 24 August 1836, Lady Augusta married [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton|Lord Frederick Gordon]], the third son of [[George Gordon, 9th Marquess of Huntly]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} Gordon was a professional sailor, and would become Admiral of the Navy in 1868. He and Augusta had no surviving children together.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}

Their Railshead residence had been situated next to a house owned by John's parents, who were angered by Augusta's second marriage and forced Augusta and Frederick to leave.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=28, 34, 40}} Augusta turned to her father for help, and he granted her apartments in [[Kensington Palace]] and the position of State Housekeeper (replacing her recently deceased sister [[Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley|Sophia]]).{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=42}} They lived there for many years.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=50}} In 1847, they embarked on a three-year trip to the continent, visiting Germany, France, and Italy. In 1850, they returned to Kensington Palace and Augusta's daughters [[Season (society)|came out in society]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=83, 129–44}} Both daughters married in 1855 in a double wedding, Wilhelmina to the [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster|2nd Earl of Munster]] and Millicent to [[James Hay Erskine Wemyss]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=152}}

Augusta died in 1865. Her husband survived Augusta by twelve years.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

;Works cited
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=PEc7AwAAQBAJ& |title=Royal Bastards |first1=Peter |last1=Beauclerk-Dewar |first2=Roger |last2=Powell |year=2008 |location=Stroud |publisher=The History Press |isbn=9780752473154 |ref=harv}}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Brock|first=Michael |authorlink=Michael Brock |title=William IV (1765–1837) |id=29451 |date=2004 }}
* {{Cite book |url=http://www.questia.com/read/117825946 |title=Before Victoria: Extraordinary Women of the British Romantic Era |first=Elizabeth |last=Campbell Denlinger |year=2005 |location=New York|publisher=Columbia University Press |via=Questia |isbn= |ref=harv}} {{Subscription needed}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books/about/My_Memories_and_Miscellanies.html?id=x40xAQAAMAAJ |title=My Memories and Miscellanies |first=Wilhelmina |last=FitzClarence |authorlink=Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster |year=1904 |location=London |publisher=Eveleigh Nash |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|first=Flora|last=Fraser|authorlink=Flora Fraser (writer) |title=Princesses: The Six Daughters of George III |publisher=John Murray |location=London |year=2004 |isbn=0719561094 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://www.vonbibra.net/files/TVBSChapt20001.pdf |title=The Von Bibra Story |first=Lois |last=Nyman |year=1996 |location=Launceston|publisher=Foot & Playsted |isbn=0-9597188-1-8 |ref=harv}}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Ranger|first=Paul|title=Jordan, Dorothy (1761–1816) |id=15119|date=2004 }}
*{{cite book|first=Lynne |last=Vallone |title=Becoming Victoria |publisher=Yale University Press |location=|year=2001 |isbn=978-0-300-08950-9|ref=harv}}
*{{cite book|first=Kate|last=Williams|authorlink=Kate Williams (historian) |title=Becoming Queen Victoria: The Tragic Death of Princess Charlotte and the Unexpected Rise of Britain's Greatest Monarch |publisher=Ballatine Books|location=|year=2010 |isbn=0-345-46195-9 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=gAfVIVra9C4C& |title=The Life and Reign of William the Fourth |last= Wright |first=G.N. |year=1837 |location=London |publisher=Fisher, Son, & Co |ref=harv}}
{{refend}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Augusta}}
[[Category:Articles created via the Article Wizard]]
[[Category:1803 births]]
[[Category:1865 deaths]]
[[Category:People from London]]
[[Category:FitzClarence family]]
[[Category:Illegitimate children of William IV of the United Kingdom]]

Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster

2015-11-13T04:57:22Z

Ruby2010: /* Marriage */

{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox noble|type
| name = Wilhelmina Kennedy-Erskine
| title = Countess of Munster
| image = Countess Munster.jpg
| caption = The Countess of Munster as portrayed on the frontispiece of her autobiography (published 1904)
| alt =
| CoA =
| more = no
| succession =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| suc-type =
| spouse = [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]]
| spouse-type = Husband
| issue = Edward, Viscount FitzClarence Hon. Lionel Frederick Archibald [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster]] Hon. Arthur Falkland Manners [[Aubrey FitzClarence, 4th Earl of Munster]] Hon. William George Hon. Harold Edward Lady Lillian Boyd Lady Dorothea Lee-Warner
| full name =
| styles =
| titles =
| noble family = [[:Category:FitzClarence family|FitzClarence family]]
| house-type = nobility
| father = Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine
| mother = [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1830|06|27}}
| birth_place = [[House of Dun|Dun House]], Montrose, Scotland
| christening_date =
| christening_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1906|10|09|1830|06|27}}
| death_place =
| burial_date =
| burial_place =
| religion =
| occupation = Peeress, novelist
| module = '''Signature''' [[Image:Countess Munster signature.jpg]]
}}
'''Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster''' (''née'' '''Kennedy-Erskine'''; 27 June 1830 – 9 October 1906) was a British peeress and novelist. Her mother, [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]], was an illegitimate daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]; Wilhelmina, also known as Mina, was born the day after William's succession as monarch. She travelled as a young girl throughout Europe, visiting the courts of [[July Monarchy|France]] and [[Kingdom of Hanover|Hanover]]. In 1855, Mina married her first cousin [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]]; they would have nine children, including the [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster|3rd]] and [[Aubrey FitzClarence, 4th Earl of Munster|4th]] Earls of Munster.

The Earl and Countess of Munster lived at [[Palmeira Square]] in [[Brighton]]. Later in life, Lady Munster became a novelist and short story writer. In 1889, she released her first novel, ''Dorinda''; a second, ''A Scotch Earl'', followed two years later. The year 1896 saw the publication of ''Ghostly Tales'', a collection of tales on the supernatural which have largely been forgotten today. Lady Munster also produced an autobiography entitled ''My Memories and Miscellanies'', which was released in 1904. She died two years later.

==Family and early life==
[[File:Lady Augusta FitzClarence and children.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Wilhelmina ''(right)'' with her mother Lady Augusta and two siblings. Painted by [[John Hayter]], c. 1831]]
Wilhelmina "Mina" Kennedy-Erskine was born on 27 June 1830 in [[House of Dun|Dun House]], Montrose, Scotland. She was the second child of the Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine and his wife [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]], an illegitimate daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom|William IV]] (who became monarch the day before Mina's birth).{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=3}} Her father, the second son of the [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa|13th Earl of Cassilis]], was a captain with the [[16th The Queen's Lancers|16th Lancers]] and an [[equerry]] to King William before dying in 1831 at the age of 28.<ref>{{Cite news|title=The Queen's Third Drawing Room |newspaper=[[The Observer]] |date=27 March 1831 |page=1}}</ref>{{sfn|Lodge|Innes|1832|p=13}} Her paternal grandmother, Anne Watts, was a descendant of the [[Schuyler family]], the Van Cortlandt family (including [[Stephanus Van Cortlandt]]), and the Delancey family of [[British North America]].<ref>The Peerage: A genealogical survey of the peerage of Britain as well as the royal families of Europe http://www.thepeerage.com/p2438.htm#i24371. Accessed February 11, 2015.</ref>

Mina lived with her widowed mother and two siblings in a "charming brick house" on the [[River Thames]] called Railshead, which was next door to a house owned by her paternal grandparents.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=5–7}} King William visited the family often and was quite fond of Mina;{{sfn|Academy and Literature|p=454}} on one occasion, he visited to comfort his daughter when three- or four-year-old Mina nearly died of a "very dangerous brain fever".{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=8}} The Kennedy-Erskines also often visited [[Windsor Castle]] during the king's reign.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=34}}

Five years after Kennedy-Erskine's death, Lady Augusta married [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton]], a decision that displeased her first husband's parents.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=40}} The decision led to Lady Augusta's departure from Railshead. In 1837 she became State Housekeeper at [[Kensington Palace]] after the death of her sister, [[Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley|Lady De L'Isle]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}}{{sfn|Cambridge|1900|p=25}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=42}} Mina lived there until she married.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=50}} She and her sister Millicent enjoyed music and had a particular love for the Italian soprano [[Marietta Alboni]]. The sisters' Italian singing-master secretly arranged for a meeting with Alboni, but the encounter did not go well; the singer discovered that they were the daughters of the "housekeeper", and, assuming that they were not ladies, departed soon after.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=61–64}}

In the late 1840s, Mina travelled through Europe with her family so that they might "learn languages and finish [their] education".{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=83}} The trip started in 1847, when Mina journeyed to [[Dresden]] due to her mother's desire for her daughters to learn German.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=83–84}} From 1847 to 1849, she and her family lived in Paris near the [[Arc de Triomphe]], and were kindly received by the French Royal Family headed by [[Louis Philippe I]] and [[Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily|Queen Marie Amalie]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=110–17}} They left soon after the king and queen's [[French Revolution of 1848|fall from power]], as the city had suddenly become unsafe for those of their rank.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=120–23}} In 1850, they visited the court of [[Kingdom of Hanover|Hanover]] and were received by [[Ernest Augustus I of Hanover]] and his family; later that year, they returned to Kensington Palace and Mina and Millicent [[Season (society)|came out in society]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=129–44}}

==Marriage==
[[File:Earl of Munster 25 February 1882.jpg|thumb|right|180px|The Earl of Munster as caricatured by Spy ([[Leslie Ward]]) in ''[[Vanity Fair (British magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'', February 1882 ]]
Mina married her full first cousin [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]] at [[Wemyss Castle]] on 17 April 1855 in a double wedding in which her sister Millicent married [[James Hay Erskine Wemyss]].{{sfn|Julian Stanley Long|1916|p=201}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=152}} Like Mina, FitzClarence was a grandchild of William IV; at a young age, he had succeeded his father the [[George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster|1st Earl]], who served as a governor of Windsor Castle and constable of the [[Round Tower (Portsmouth)|Round Tower]] until his suicide in 1842.{{sfn|Reynolds|2004}} The FitzClarences travelled to Hamburg immediately after the wedding, visiting local ''[[schloss]]es'' and the family of [[Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein]] (who later married [[Princess Helena of the United Kingdom|The Princess Helena]]).{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=153–56}} Their first child, Edward, was born within a year.{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}} The couple would have nine children, four of whom outlived their mother:
* Edward, Viscount FitzClarence (29 March 1856 – 1870){{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|Innes|1890|p=453}}
* Hon. Lionel Frederick Archibald (24 July 1857 – 24 March 1863){{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|Innes|1890|p=453}}
* [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster]] (18 July 1859 – 2 February 1902); died without issue{{sfn|Lodge|Innes|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=2035}}
* Hon. Arthur Falkland Manners (18 October 1860 – 1861){{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|Innes|1890|p=453}}
* [[Aubrey FitzClarence, 4th Earl of Munster]] (7 June 1862 – 1 January 1928); died without issue{{sfn|Lodge|Innes|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=2035}}
* Hon. William George (17 September 1864 – 4 October 1899); married Charlotte Elizabeth Williams{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|Innes|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=2035}}
* Hon. Harold Edward (15 November 1870 – 28 August 1926); married Frances Isabel Eleanor Keppel; their son was the [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 5th Earl of Munster|5th Earl of Munster]]{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|Innes|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=48}}
* Lady Lillian Adelaide Katherine Mary (10 December 1873 – 15 July 1948); married Captain William Arthur Boyd{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|Innes|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|2003|p=470}}
* Lady Dorothea Augusta (5 May 1876 – 1942); married Major Chandos Brydges Lee-Warner{{sfn|Lodge|Innes|1890|p=453}}<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp60749/lady-dorothea-augusta-lee-warner |title=Lady Dorothea Augusta Lee-Warner |publisher=[[National Portrait Gallery, London|National Portrait Gallery]] |accessdate=17 February 2014}}</ref>

The Earl and Countess of Munster lived at [[Palmeira Square]] in [[Brighton]].{{sfn|Lady's Realm|p=197}}{{sfn|Dod|1903|p=654}}{{sfn|Addison|Oakes|1901|p=821}} According to an article in contemporary women's magazine ''[[The Lady's Realm]]'', the Countess lived a very quiet life. In 1897, the magazine reported that she had lived in retirement in Brighton for the past thirty-five years. Her attachment to the city, the article suggested, was due to childhood memories of visiting there with King William.{{sfn|Lady's Realm|p=197}} The article also stated that because Lord Munster's health was failing, the Countess was living in "comparative seclusion", though her lifestyle was also attributed to a love of a "quiet, literary, and artistic life".{{sfn|Lady's Realm|p=197}} She died on 9 October 1906,{{sfn|Brooke|Sladen|1907|p=1275}} having been widowed five years.{{sfn|Debrett's|p=601}}

==Literary career==
{{Library resources box|by=yes|onlinebooksby=yes|lcheading= Munster, Wilhelmina Fitzclarence, Countess of, 1830–1906}}
Later in life, Lady Munster became a novelist and short story writer, writing under the title the Countess of Munster. At the age of nearly sixty,{{sfn|Wilson|2000|p=219}} she published two novels; her first, ''Dorinda'', in 1889, and her second, ''A Scotch Earl'', in 1891.{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} The plot of ''Dorinda'' centred on a young woman who eventually kills herself after stealing works of art from her friends. [[Oscar Wilde]] noted Munster's skill in writing ''Dorinda''; he compared the "exceedingly clever" novel's eponymous heroine to "a sort of well-born" [[Becky Sharp (character)|Becky Sharp]],{{sfn|Wilde|1910|p=110}} and praised the author's ability "to draw ... in a few sentences the most lifelike portraits of social types and social exceptions".{{sfn|Youngkin|2013}} In 1888, an article by Munster about ballad singing appeared in ''[[The Woman's World]]'', a Victorian women's magazine edited by Wilde.{{sfn|Youngkin|2013}} ''A Scotch Earl'', which centred on a vulgar Scottish nobleman named Lord Invergordon, was less well received by contemporaries. ''[[The Spectator]]'' published a critical review soon after its publication which suggested that the novel's showering of "contempt upon the society of wealth and rank" was close to [[Republicanism in the United Kingdom|Republicanism]] or Socialism.{{sfn|The Spectator|p=297}} The review criticised ''A Scotch Earl'' for lacking "any merits of construction or style", and added that Lady Munster was "not and never will be a capable novelist".{{sfn|The Spectator|p=297}}

In 1896, Munster released ''Ghostly Tales'', a collection of stories "written in a manner similar to accounts of true hauntings".{{sfn|Anderson|2012}}{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} ''Lady's Realm'' considered her stories to be based on fact.{{sfn|Lady's Realm|p=197}} A positive review of ''Ghostly Tales'' was published in the ''[[Saturday Review (London)|Saturday Review]]'' in 1897, in which the stories were described as "entertaining and dramatic", but it was noted that not all were based on supernatural events.{{sfn|Cook|Harwood|1897|p=230}} Hugh Lamb included the Countess's "surprisingly grim" story "The Tyburn Ghost" in his 1979 edited volume ''Tales from a Gas-Lit Graveyard''. He wrote at the time that Lady Munster's works had been "completely overlooked by bibliophiles and anthologists since her death".{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} Lamb deemed this regrettable, as he considered ''Ghostly Tales'' "possibly her best work" and one of the "truly representative collections of Victorian ghost stories".{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} Lamb also included another of her stories, "The Page-Boy's Ghost", in a 1988 anthology.{{sfn|Lamb|1988|p=208}} However, modern author and editor [[Douglas A. Anderson]] has called the Countess's stories "standard, melodramatic fare", which are "perfectly forgettable".{{sfn|Anderson|2012}}

In 1904, Lady Munster produced an autobiography entitled ''My Memories and Miscellanies''. In its [[foreword]], she explained that "some valued friends" convinced her to write it, despite her reluctance, because her "long life" had witnessed "not a few interesting events".{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=vii}} The book was called her "chief work" in ''[[The Manchester Guardian]]'' at the time of her death in 1906.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Memorial Notices |newspaper=[[The Manchester Guardian]] |date=12 October 1906 |page=7}}</ref> The Countess wrote the entire book by memory, and expressed regret that she had given up her journal writing as a young girl after someone else improperly read it.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=112}} The autobiography included several recounted sightings of the female ghost "Green Jean" at Wemyss Castle; Lady Munster claimed that several members of her family, including Millicent, saw the ghost while staying there.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=159–64}}

==Ancestry==
{{ahnentafel top|width=100%}}
{{ahnentafel-compact5
|style=font-size: 90%; line-height: 110%;
|border=1
|boxstyle=padding-top: 0; padding-bottom: 0;
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe;
|1= 1. '''Wilhelmina Kennedy-Erskine'''
|2= 2. Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine
|3= 3. [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]]
|4= 4. [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa]]
|5= 5. Margaret Erskine
|6= 6. [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]
|7= 7. [[Dorothea Jordan|Dorothea Bland]]
|8= 8. [[Archibald Kennedy, 11th Earl of Cassilis]]
|9= 9. Anne Watts
|10= 10. John Erskine
|11= 11. Mary Baird
|12= 12. [[George III of the United Kingdom]]
|13= 13. [[Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz|Duchess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
|14= 14. Francis Bland
|15= 15. Grace Phillips
|16= 16. Archibald Kennedy
|18= 18. John Watts
|19= 19. Ann DeLancey
|20= 20. John Erskine of Dunard
|22= 22. William Baird
|23= 23. Alicia Johnston
|24= 24. [[Frederick, Prince of Wales]]
|25= 25. [[Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha]]
|26= 26. [[Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg|Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
|27= 27. [[Princess Elizabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen]]
|28= 28. James Bland
|29= 29. Lucy Brewster
}}</center>
{{ahnentafel bottom}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

;Works cited
{{refbegin|colwidth=30em}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=8EcuAAAAYAAJ&| title = Who's Who | year = 1901 |first1=Henry Robert |last1=Addison |first2=Charles Henry |last2=Oakes |publisher=Adam & Charles Black |location=London |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite web|url=http://desturmobed.blogspot.com/2012/05/countess-of-munster.html |first=Douglas A. |last=Anderson |authorlink=Douglas A. Anderson |title=The Countess of Munster |date=10 May 2012 |publisher=Desturmobed.blogspot.com |accessdate= 7 November 2013 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite journal| url = http://books.google.com/?id=tBo7AQAAMAAJ& |title=Brighton Society |volume=1 | year = 1897 |location=London |publisher=Hutchinson and Co |p=198 |journal=[[Lady's Realm]] |ref={{sfnRef|Lady's Realm}} }}
* {{Cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=cLc7AQAAMAAJ& |title=Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage, and Companionage |year=1902 |volume=189 |location=London |publisher=Dean & Son Limited |ref={{sfnRef|Debrett's}}}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=w0pLAAAAMAAJ& | title =Who's Who: An Annual Biographical Dictionary | year = 1907 |first1=Douglas |last1=Brooke |first2=Wheelton |last2=Sladen |location=London |publisher=Adam & Charles Black |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=K1YwAAAAIAAJ& | title = A Memoir of Her Royal Highness Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck, Volume 1 |first=Mary Adelaide of |last=Cambridge |authorlink=Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge | year = 1900 |location=London |publisher=John Murray |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite journal| url = http://books.google.com/?id=aZE_AQAAIAAJ& | title = Fiction |volume=83 | last1= Cook | first1 = John Douglas |first2=Philip |last2=Harwood |coauthors=Frank Harris, Walter Herries Pollock, Harold Hodge | year = 1897 |location=London |journal=[[Saturday Review (London)|Saturday Review]] |p=230 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book | url = http://books.google.com/?id=uZstAQAAMAAJ& | title = Dod's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage of Great Britain, and Ireland for ... : Including All the Titled Classes | last1 = Dod | first1 = Charles Roger | year = 1903 |location=London |publisher=Ampson, Low, Marston & Company |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books/about/My_Memories_and_Miscellanies.html?id=x40xAQAAMAAJ |title=My Memories and Miscellanies |first=Wilhelmina |last=FitzClarence|year=1904 |location=London |publisher=Eveleigh Nash |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=KDw6AQAAMAAJ& |title=Armorial Families: A Complete Peerage, Baronetage, and Knightage |editor1-first=Arthur Charles |editor1-last=Fox-Davies |year=1895 |location=Edinburgh |publisher=T.C. & E.C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=GlIwAAAAIAAJ& | title = Twenty Years at Court: From the Correspondence of the Hon. Eleanor Stanley, Maid of Honour to Her Late Majesty Queen Victoria, 1842–1862 | last1 = Julian Stanley Long | first1 = Eleanor | year = 1916 |location=New York |publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=zYNfom9HQPIC& | title =Tales from a Gas-Lit Graveyard | isbn = 978-0-486-43429-2 | editor-first = Hugh | year = 1979 |publisher=W.H. Allen |location=London | editor-last = Lamb |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=aB6iSLC66cwC&oi=fnd& | title =Gaslit Nightmares | isbn = 0-486-44924-6| editor-first = Hugh | year = 1988 |publisher=Futura Publications |location=London | editor-last = Lamb |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/books?id=IIsUAAAAYAAJ& | title = The Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire as at Present Existing | last1 = Lodge | first1 = Edmund |first2=Anne |last2=Innes |coauthors=Eliza Innes, Maria Innes | year = 1832 |publisher=Ibotson and Palmer |location=London |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=BxQwAAAAYAAJ& | title = The Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire as at Present Existing | last1 = Lodge | first1 = Edmund |first2=Anne |last2=Innes |coauthors=Eliza Innes, Maria Innes | year = 1890 |publisher=Hurst and Blackett |location=London |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |title=Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage |edition=106th |editor-last=Mosley |editor-first=Charles |year=1999 |location=Crans, Switzerland |publisher=Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |title=Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage |edition=107th |editor-last=Mosley |editor-first=Charles |year=2003 |location=Wilmington, Delaware |publisher=Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite journal| url = http://books.google.com/books?id=jkg9AQAAIAAJ& | title= Recent Novels |volume= 66–67 | year = 1891 |p=297 |location=London |publisher=John Campbell |journal=[[The Spectator]] |ref={{sfnRef|The Spectator}} }}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Reynolds|first=K.D.|title=FitzClarence, George Augustus Frederick, first earl of Munster (1794–1842) |id=9542|date=2004 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite journal| url = http://books.google.com/?id=ljpRAAAAYAAJ& | journal= [[The Academy (periodical)|The Academy and Literature]] |volume=66 |title=Short Notices | date = 23 April 1904 |page=454 |publisher= |location=London |ref={{sfnRef|Academy and Literature}}}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=0NIVAAAAYAAJ& |title=The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde: Together with Essays and Stories by Lady Wilde, Volume 4 |first=Oscar |last=Wilde |authorlink=Oscar Wilde |year=1910 |publisher=Aldine Publishing Company |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?ei=uy54U_-sFcupyASi4oCYBw&id=l1QYAQAAIAAJ&dq=munster+fitzclarence+wilhelmina&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=munster |title=Shadows in the Attic: A Guide to British Supernatural Fiction, 1820–1950 |last= Wilson |first=Neil |year=2000 |location=London |publisher=British Library Publishing Division |isbn=978-0-7123-1074-1 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=gAfVIVra9C4C& |title=The Life and Reign of William the Fourth |last= Wright |first=G.N. |year=1837 |location=London |publisher=Fisher, Son, & Co |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url =http://books.google.com/books?id=bWRZAgAAQBAJ& | title =Wilde Discoveries: Traditions, Histories, Archives |chapter=The Aestetic Character of Oscar Wilde's The Woman's World |first=Molly |last=Youngkin | asin= B00HCLU9EW| editor-first = Joseph | year = 2013 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |location=London | editor-last = Bristow |ref=harv}}
{{refend}}
{{Commons category|Augusta FitzClarence Kennedy-Erskine }}

{{Good article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:FitzClarence, Wilhelmina, Countess of Munster}}
[[Category:1830 births]]
[[Category:1906 deaths]]
[[Category:FitzClarence family]]
[[Category:Schuyler family]]
[[Category:English people of Dutch descent]]
[[Category:English people of Huguenot descent]]
[[Category:British countesses]]
[[Category:People from Montrose, Angus]]
[[Category:British women novelists]]
[[Category:19th-century British novelists]]
[[Category:20th-century British novelists]]
[[Category:British short story writers]]
[[Category:British women short story writers]]
[[Category:British horror writers]]
[[Category:Women horror writers]]
[[Category:British autobiographers]]
[[Category:Women autobiographers]]
[[Category:19th-century women writers]]
[[Category:20th-century women writers]]

Metallkorsett

2015-10-31T16:55:59Z

Ruby2010: /* Medical uses */ ce

[[File:Fig9Corset en fer (Musee de Cluny).gif|thumb|Iron corset in the [[Musee de Cluny]]. Drawing made in 1893 by Saint-Elme Gautier.]]

'''Metal corsets''' (also known as '''iron corsets''') are a type of [[History of corsets|historical]] [[corset]] or [[bodice]] made entirely out of metal, usually [[iron]] or steel. The metal corset was popularly claimed to have been introduced to France by [[Catherine de' Medici]] in the 16th century, although this is now considered a myth. The idea that such garments were worn for fashionable purposes is debatable, with fashion historians now regarding such claims sceptically. Some of the more decorative and extreme examples of metal corsets that have survived are now generally thought to be later reproductions designed to appeal to [[Sexual fetishism|fetishists]], rather than garments intended for fashionable wear. Since the late 20th century, fashion designers such as [[Alexander McQueen]] and [[Issey Miyake]] have made contemporary metal bodices and corsets from wire and [[aluminium]] coils.

Many of the original metal bodices that have survived are now believed to have been intended for medical purposes as [[Orthotics|orthopaedic]] support garments and back braces. Such garments were described by the French army surgeon [[Ambroise Paré]] in the sixteenth century as a remedy for the "crookednesse of the Bodie." Metal medical corsets were still being made in the early twentieth century.

==History==
[[File:Catherinedemedicishadow.jpg|thumb|upright|Catherine de' Medici, c.1555.]]

===Origins===
Early historians and writers have often attributed the invention of the metal corset to [[Catherine de' Medici]], who is said to have introduced them to fashionable France from Italy.<ref name=norris>{{cite book |last1=Norris |first1=Herbert |title=Tudor costume and fashion|date=1938|publisher=Dover Publications |location=Mineola, N.Y. |isbn=9780486298450 |pages=222–223 |edition=1997 reprint |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=yVdfZGj6NmkC&pg=PA222}}</ref> The fashion historian [[Valerie Steele]] noted that this mythical royal connection captured public imagination, with fetishistic writers playing up the idea of a "cruel, tortuous fashion" enforced by a dominant queen who demanded unrealistically small waists from her subjects.<ref name=steele>{{cite book |last1=Steele |first1=Valerie |title=The Corset : a cultural history |date=2003 |publisher=Yale University |location=New Haven |isbn=9780300099539 |page=5 |edition=2nd print. |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=uk6I0-MDXVQC&pg=PA5}}</ref> While fashionable corsets (or stays) did appear in the 16th century, those made by tailors were made of fabric with metal or bone stays, and those made from hinged metal were used for medical purposes.<ref name=steele/> Contemporary accounts referring to stays (or 'bodies') in the 16th and 17th centuries refer only to such garments being stiffened with [[baleen|whalebone]].<ref name=waugh>{{cite book |last1=Waugh |first1=Norah |title=Corsets and crinolines |date=1954 |publisher=Routledge / Theatre Arts Books |location=New York |isbn=9780878305261 |page=25 |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=aQvICQAAQBAJ&pg=PA21}}</ref> Later sources, while noting the de' Medici claim, note that stays of this period would have been made of cloth boned with metal (or whalebone) strips, rather than full metal garments.<ref name=steele/><ref name=ewing>{{cite book |last1=Ewing |first1=Elizabeth |title=Fashion in underwear : from Babylon to bikini briefs |date=2010 |publisher=Dover Publications |location=Mineola, N.Y. |isbn=9780486476490 |page=28 |edition=Dover ed. |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=pX5r8p1dPjUC&pg=PA28}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Yarwood |first1=Doreen |title=European costume : 4000 years of fashion |date=1975 |publisher=Larousse |location=New York |isbn=9780883320297 |page=123}}</ref>

A steel corset in the [[Stibbert Museum]], Florence, Italy, is dated to the mid-16th century, and thought to be similar to the metal stays recorded as having been made by a ''corazzaio mastro'' (master armour-maker) for [[Eleanor of Toledo]] and delivered to her on 28 February 1549.<ref name=moda>{{cite book |last1=Landini |first1=Roberta Orsi |last2=Niccoli |first2=Bruna |title=Moda a Firenze 1540 - 1580 : lo stile di Eleonora di Toledo e la sua influenza |date=2005 |publisher=Pagliai Polistampa |page=132 |location=Firenze |isbn=9788883048678 |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=VZ_pAAAAMAAJ&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=corazzaio|language=Italian |quote=Tuttavia Eleonora possiede anche due busti di acciaio (62), consegnati il 28 febbraio 1549 dal corazzaio mastro}}</ref> However, as Eleanor's wardrobe records do not list any boned or stiffened corsets, it is thought that her steel bodice was designed for medical or therapeutic reasons rather than worn as a fashionable garment.<ref name=moda/>

[[File:Corset-cover of steel worn in the time of Catherine de Medici (1868 fantasy drawing).jpg |thumb |upright |left |"Corset-cover of steel worn in the time of Catherine de Medici" (1868 fetishistic illustration)]]

===Authenticity===
Although surviving metal bodices are usually dated to the late 16th and early 17th century, Steele has stated that some of these are more recent fakes created to cater to fetishistic "fantasies about women imprisoned in metal corsets."<Ref name=steele/> At least one early scholar claimed that a misbehaving wife would be locked into a metal corset by her husband until she promised to behave.<ref name=norris/> One such iron corset, with a 14-inch waist, was acquired by the [[Fashion Institute of Technology|FIT]] Museum as dating from 1580–1600, but is now considered to be a forgery from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.<ref name=fit>{{cite web|last1=Staff writer|title=Iron corset 1875 - 1925|url=https://museum-at-fit.culturalspot.org/asset-viewer/iron-corset/fgHPM7b4_RZXRQ?hl=en |publisher=The Museum at FIT |accessdate=29 September 2015}}</ref> Steele noted suspect similarities between this corset and an illustration first published in 1868 in ''The Corset and the Crinoline'', a "fetishistic" book claiming to offer a historical overview of fashion, and draws parallells between such suspicious corsets and fake medieval [[chastity belt]]s.<ref name=steele/> [[Harold Koda]], curator of the [[Costume Institute]], states that the excessive regularity of the garment's structure is evidence for its being a 19th-century fabrication.<ref name=koda>{{cite book |last1=Koda |first1=Harold |title=Extreme beauty : the body transformed|date=2003|publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art |location=New York |isbn=9780300103120|pages=75-76|url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=rL-19_S0-PMC&pg=PA75}}</ref> The fashion historians C. Willett Cunnington and his wife Phillis also stated firmly that surviving "iron bodies," when not medical garments, were usually "fanciful 'reproductions'" with no proof of their having genuinely been worn.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Cunnington |first1=C. Willett |last2=Cunnington |first2=Phillis |title=The history of underclothes |date=1951 |publisher=Dover Pub.|location=New York|isbn=9780486319780|page=48|edition=1992 reprint |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=PUXDAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA48}}</ref>

David Kunzle, in ''Fashion and Fetishism'', has also noted that there is no literary evidence to indicate that metal corsets were worn.<ref name=kunzle76>{{cite book|last1=Kunzle|first1=David|title=Fashion and fetishism : a social history of the corset, tight-lacing and other forms of body-sculpture in the West |date=1982 |publisher=Rowman and Littlefield|location=Totowa, N.J.|isbn=9780847662760|page=76}}</ref> He has suggested that such garments might have served the same purpose as the deliberately uncomfortable, tortuous [[cilice|hair shirt]], combining a fashionable silhouette with either [[penance]], or for [[sadomasochism|masochistic]] gratification, and might have been worn in [[convent]]s.<ref name=kunzle76/> To support his "pure speculation", Kunzle cites a 1871 newspaper report from ''[[The Times]]'' reporting that during the [[Paris Commune]], the [[National Guard (France)|National Guard]] found two iron corsets, a [[rack (torture)|rack]], and other instruments in the Convent of the White Nuns in [[Picpus, Paris|Picpus]].<ref name=kunzle108>{{cite book |last1=Kunzle |first1=David |title=Fashion and fetishism : a social history of the corset, tight-lacing and other forms of body-sculpture in the West |date=1982 |publisher=Rowman and Littlefield |location=Totowa, N.J.|isbn=9780847662760|page=108}}</ref> The claim by the [[Mother Superior]] that the instruments were for orthopaedic purposes was dismissed as "a superficial falsehood."<ref name=kunzle108/><ref>{{cite news |last1=Special Correspondent |title=A Popular Fete at the Tulllieres|url=http://www.newspapers.com/clip/3325334/the_times/ |accessdate=30 September 2015|work=The Times |via=[[Newspapers.com]]|date=9 May 1871}}</ref>

While fashion historians such as Steele and the Cunningtons are sceptical, scholars outside the field of dress history sometimes treat these corsets as legitimate fashion garments. The anthropologist Marianne Thesander concluded that because such bodices fit the fashionable silhouette of their alleged period, they were probably authentic, and served the same purpose as other corsets.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Thesander |first1=Marianne |title=The feminine ideal |date=1997 |publisher=Reaktion Books |location=London |isbn=9781861890047 |page=62 |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=mo3shY_azw0C&pg=PA62}}</ref>

[[File:York corset.png|thumb|upright|Hinged iron corset with back clasp opening. 1580–1599. Collection of [[York Castle Museum]].]]

===In museums===
Metal corsets are found in a number of museum collections around the world. Some museums, including the Museo Stibbert, and the [[Kyoto]] Costume Institute in Japan, present their metal bodices as fashionable late 16th-century garments.<ref name=moda/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Fukai |first1=Akiko |title=Fashion : the collection of the Kyoto Costume Institute : a history from the 18th to the 20th century |date=2002 |publisher=Taschen |location=Köln |isbn=9783822812068 |pages=13–15 |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ARLmnMFZ9rcC&pg=PA13}}</ref> The [[Victoria and Albert Museum]] in London describes their iron corset (formerly owned by the painter [[Talbot Hughes]]) as dating from the 18th century and likely intended for orthopaedic purposes.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Staff writer |title=Corset, 18th century, iron. |url=http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O139315/corset-unknown/?print=1 |website=V&A Search the Collections |publisher=Victoria and Albert Museum |accessdate=1 October 2015}}</ref> Others, such as the iron corset in the Fashion Institute of Technology, are presented as fakes.<ref name=fit/>

===Modern period===
Since the 20th century, actual metal corsets have occasionally been made for contemporary wear, although such instances are rare.<ref name=steele/> Steele notes that alongside a 1930s metal corset allegedly made for and worn by a fetish corsetiere called Cayne, the early 21st-century [[Tightlacing|tight-lacer]] [[Cathie Jung]] had a silver corset-cover made to wear over her actual laced corset.<ref name=steele/> Between 1933 and 1940 Mrs. Cayne advertised a booklet describing her 14-inch waistline and offered other services in the ''[[Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News]]''.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kunzle|first1=David|title=Fashion and fetishism: a social history of the corset, tight-lacing and other forms of body-sculpture in the West|date=1982|publisher=Rowman and Littlefield|location=Totowa, NJ|isbn=9780847662760|page=333}} Plate 8 in the book is a photograph of Mrs. Cayne's corset.</ref>

20th and 21st century designers have sometimes offered metal corsets and bodices as part of their presentations, including [[Alexander McQueen]], [[Issey Miyake]], and [[Thierry Mugler]].<ref name=koda/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Lauder |first1=Velda |title=Corsets : a modern guide|date=2010|publisher=A. & C. Black |location=London |isbn=9781408127551 |page=153 |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=CWFSV3G1M5AC&pg=PA153}}</ref> One of McQueen's most famous pieces was a 1999 aluminium corset, called the Coiled Corset, created in collaboration with the jeweller [[Shaun Leane (jeweller)|Shaun Leane]] and the artist [[Kees van der Graaf]].<ref name=koda/><ref name=coil/> Built around a cast of the model Laura Morgan's torso, the garment had a 15-inch waist and was composed of 97 stacked coils, which had to be screwed together onto Morgan's body.<ref name=coil>{{cite web |last1=Staff writer|title='Coiled corset', The Museum of Savage Beauty|url=http://www.vam.ac.uk/museumofsavagebeauty/mcq/coiled-corset/ |website=The Museum of Savage Beauty|publisher=Victoria and Albert Museum |accessdate=30 September 2015}}</ref> The Coiled Corset was inspired by the [[neck ring]]s worn by [[Southern Ndebele people|Ndebele women]], extended to encase the wearer's torso.<ref name=coil/> In 2001, the corset formed part of a live presentation at the [[Victoria and Albert Museum]] showcasing McQueen and Leane's collaborations.<ref name=coil/> Corsets and bustiers can also be made using wire, such as a 1983 aluminium wire bustier by Miyake which was cuffed around the torso over a feathered garment, offering a pun on the theme of birdcages.<ref name=koda/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Lauder |first1=Velda |title=Corsets : a modern guide|date=2010|publisher=A. & C. Black |location=London |isbn=9781408127551 |page=194 |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=CWFSV3G1M5AC&pg=PA194}}</ref>

==Medical uses==
[[File:Orthopaedic corset, Europe, 1801-1880 Wellcome L0057511.jpg|thumb|upright|Orthopaedic corset for a child. Iron. Europe, 1801–1880.]]

It is now widely believed that authentic metal corsets were intended as a form of [[orthotics|orthopaedic brace]] to address spinal issues such as [[scoliosis]].<ref name=steele/><ref name=fit/><ref name=ewing/> Metal corsets also acted as support garments for women who had damaged themselves through habitual [[tightlacing]].<ref name=secret>{{cite news |last1=Stephens |first1=Andrew |title=The secret history of underwear |url=http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/the-secret-history-of-underwear-20140609-zs0wj.html|accessdate=29 September 2015|work=The Sydney Morning Herald |agency=Fairfax Media |date=14 June 2014}}</ref>

The 16th-century French army surgeon [[Ambroise Paré]] described metal corsets as intended "to amend the crookednesse of the Bodie," recommending that the iron should be perforated in order to make the garments lighter, and that they be made to fit and padded for comfort.<ref name=steele/> Paré criticised the concept of corsetry as a waist-training device, warning that such a practice risked deforming the figure.<ref name=steele/>

Kunzle noted that in Peter Rondeau's 1739 French-German dictionary, the French term ''corps de fer'' is explained in German as "Schnürburst, mit kleinen eisernen blechen, für übel gewaschenes Frauenzimmer" (A bodice, with small iron plates, for badly-grown (i.e., deformed) girls).<ref name=kunzle108/> He reads this as implying that the iron plates would have been part of a fabric corset, rather than an all-metal garment.<ref name=kunzle108/>

Metal corsets continued to be used in the 18th and early 19th century, although equivalent garments made from canvas were increasingly used in their place.<ref name=steele/> In 1894, A.M. Phelps of the American Orthopaedic Association recommended an aluminium corset coated with waterproof enamel for sufferers of [[Pott disease]] or curvature of the spine.<ref name=phelps>{{cite journal |last1=Phelps |first1=A. M. |title=The Aluminium Corset |journal=Transactions of the American Orthopedic Association |date=16 September 1894 |volume=1 |page=236–237 |accessdate=30 September 2015}}</ref> Made from a cast of the patient's body, the advantages of such a garment were that aluminium was lightweight, durable, thin enough to be worn beneath clothing, and could be worn while bathing.<ref name=phelps/> Such corsets were still being recommended in the early 20th century as cheaper and more durable in the longer run than plaster moulds, although their initial expense was greater.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Unknown |title=Untitled section |journal=The Journal of the American Medical Association |date=1902 |page=1439 |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=mlYKAQAAMAAJ&q=%22aluminium+corset%22 |publisher=American Medical Association |quote=I always advise the aluminium corset, for, although the first cost is greater than for the plaster-of-paris support, yet, before treatment is ended, the metal appliance will have proved the cheaper.}}</ref>

The Mexican painter [[Frida Kahlo]] was a notable wearer of such medical corsets, following ongoing problems as a result of a serious road crash she experienced as a teenager.<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Grosenick|editor1-first=Uta |title=Women artists in the 20th and 21st century |date=2001 |publisher=Taschen |location=Köln |isbn=9783822858547 |page=252 |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ZSvSfCmzo2wC&pg=PA252}}</ref> By 1944, Kahlo's doctors had recommended that she wear a steel corset instead of the plaster ones she had mainly worn since the accident; and Kahlo, whose paintings were heavily autobiographical, used the new corset as the basis for one of her best known self-portraits, ''[[The Broken Column]]''.<ref name=kettenmann>{{cite book |last1=Kettenmann |first1=Andrea |title=Frida Kahlo, 1907–1954 : pain and passion |date=2007 |publisher=Taschen |location=Köln |isbn=9783822859834 |pages=67–68 |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=s_ZdPsktyjEC&pg=PA67}}</ref> In the painting, Kahlo portrays herself weeping with agony, her torso split open revealing that her spine is a crumbling [[Ionic order|Ionic column]], and her damaged body held together by the steel corset.<ref name=kettenmann/><ref>{{cite web|last1=Staff writer|title=Frida Kahlo: Room Guide: Room 11: Achieving Equilibrium|url=http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/frida-kahlo/frida-kahlo-room-guide/frida-kahlo-room-guide-room-11|website=Tate Modern|publisher=Tate Modern|accessdate=1 October 2015}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Metal corsets}}

{{corsetry}}

[[Category:Corsetry]]
[[Category:Medical equipment]]
[[Category:Artworks in metal]]

Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster

2015-01-09T03:36:13Z

Ruby2010: /* References */ Trim citation

{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox noble|type
| name = Wilhelmina Kennedy-Erskine
| title = Countess of Munster
| image = Countess Munster.jpg
| caption = The Countess of Munster as portrayed on the frontispiece of her autobiography (published 1904)
| alt =
| CoA =
| more = no
| succession =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| suc-type =
| spouse = [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]]
| spouse-type = Husband
| issue = Edward, Viscount FitzClarence Hon. Lionel Frederick Archibald [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster]] Hon. Arthur Falkland Manners [[Aubrey FitzClarence, 4th Earl of Munster]] Hon. William George Hon. Harold Edward Lady Lillian Boyd Lady Dorothea Lee-Warner
| full name =
| styles =
| titles =
| noble family = [[:Category:FitzClarence family|FitzClarence family]]
| house-type = nobility
| father = Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine
| mother = [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1830|06|27}}
| birth_place = [[House of Dun|Dun House]], Montrose, Scotland
| christening_date =
| christening_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1906|10|09|1830|06|27}}
| death_place =
| burial_date =
| burial_place =
| religion =
| occupation = Peeress, novelist
| module = '''Signature''' [[Image:Countess Munster signature.jpg]]
}}
'''Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster''' (''née'' '''Kennedy-Erskine'''; 27 June 1830 – 9 October 1906) was a British peeress and novelist. Her mother, [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]], was an illegitimate daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]; Wilhelmina, also known as Mina, was born the day after William's succession as monarch. She travelled as a young girl throughout Europe, visiting the courts of [[July Monarchy|France]] and [[Kingdom of Hanover|Hanover]]. In 1855, Mina married her first cousin [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]]; they would have nine children, including the [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster|3rd]] and [[Aubrey FitzClarence, 4th Earl of Munster|4th]] Earls of Munster.

The Earl and Countess of Munster lived at [[Palmeira Square]] in [[Brighton]]. Later in life, Lady Munster became a novelist and short story writer. In 1889, she released her first novel, ''Dorinda''; a second, ''A Scotch Earl'', followed two years later. The year 1896 saw the publication of ''Ghostly Tales'', a collection of tales on the supernatural which have largely been forgotten today. Lady Munster also produced an autobiography entitled ''My Memories and Miscellanies'', which was released in 1904. She died two years later.

==Family and early life==
[[File:Lady Augusta FitzClarence and children.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Wilhelmina ''(right)'' with her mother Lady Augusta and two siblings. Painted by [[John Hayter]], c. 1831]]
Wilhelmina "Mina" Kennedy-Erskine was born on 27 June 1830 in [[House of Dun|Dun House]], Montrose, Scotland. She was the second child of the Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine and his wife [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]], an illegitimate daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom|William IV]] (who became monarch the day before Mina's birth).{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=3}} Her father, the second son of the [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa|13th Earl of Cassilis]], was a captain with the [[16th The Queen's Lancers|16th Lancers]] and an [[equerry]] to King William before dying in 1831 at the age of 28.<ref>{{Cite news|title=The Queen's Third Drawing Room |newspaper=[[The Observer]] |date=27 March 1831 |page=1}}</ref>{{sfn|Lodge|Innes|1832|p=13}}

Mina lived with her widowed mother and two siblings in a "charming brick house" on the [[River Thames]] called Railshead, which was next door to a house owned by her paternal grandparents.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=5–7}} King William visited the family often and was quite fond of Mina;{{sfn|Academy and Literature|p=454}} on one occasion, he visited to comfort his daughter when three- or four-year-old Mina nearly died of a "very dangerous brain fever".{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=8}} The Kennedy-Erskines also often visited [[Windsor Castle]] during the king's reign.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=34}}

Five years after Kennedy-Erskine's death, Lady Augusta married [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton]], a decision that displeased her first husband's parents.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=40}} The decision led to Lady Augusta's departure from Railshead. In 1837 she became State Housekeeper at [[Kensington Palace]] after the death of her sister, [[Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley|Lady De L'Isle]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}}{{sfn|Cambridge|1900|p=25}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=42}} Mina lived there until she married.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=50}} She and her sister Millicent enjoyed music and had a particular love for the Italian soprano [[Marietta Alboni]]. The sisters' Italian singing-master secretly arranged for a meeting with Alboni, but the encounter did not go well; the singer discovered that they were the daughters of the "housekeeper", and, assuming that they were not ladies, departed soon after.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=61–64}}

In the late 1840s, Mina travelled through Europe with her family so that they might "learn languages and finish [their] education".{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=83}} The trip started in 1847, when Mina journeyed to [[Dresden]] due to her mother's desire for her daughters to learn German.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=83–84}} From 1847 to 1849, she and her family lived in Paris near the [[Arc de Triomphe]], and were kindly received by the French Royal Family headed by [[Louis Philippe I]] and [[Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily|Queen Marie Amalie]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=110–17}} They left soon after the king and queen's [[French Revolution of 1848|fall from power]], as the city had suddenly become unsafe for those of their rank.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=120–23}} In 1850, they visited the court of [[Kingdom of Hanover|Hanover]] and were received by [[Ernest Augustus I of Hanover]] and his family; later that year, they returned to Kensington Palace and Mina and Millicent [[Season (society)|came out in society]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=129–44}}

==Marriage==
[[File:Earl of Munster 25 February 1882.jpg|thumb|right|180px|The Earl of Munster as caricatured by Spy ([[Leslie Ward]]) in ''[[Vanity Fair (British magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'', February 1882 ]]
Mina married her full first cousin [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]] at [[Wemyss Castle]] on 17 April 1855 in a double wedding in which her sister Millicent married [[James Hay Erskine Wemyss]].{{sfn|Julian Stanley Long|1916|p=201}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=152}} Like Mina, FitzClarence was a grandchild of William IV; at a young age, he had succeeded his father the [[George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster|1st Earl]], who served as a governor of Windsor Castle and constable of the [[Round Tower (Portsmouth)|Round Tower]] until his suicide in 1842.{{sfn|Reynolds|2004}} The FitzClarences travelled to Hamburg immediately after the wedding, visiting local ''[[schloss]]es'' and the family of [[Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein]] (who later married [[Princess Helena of the United Kingdom|The Princess Helena]]).{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=153–56}} Their first child, Edward, was born within a year.{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}} The couple would have nine children, four of whom outlived their mother:
* Edward, Viscount FitzClarence (29 March 1856 – 1870){{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|Innes|1890|p=453}}
* Hon. Lionel Frederick Archibald (24 July 1857 – 24 March 1863){{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|Innes|1890|p=453}}
* [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster]] (18 July 1859 – 2 February 1902); died without issue{{sfn|Lodge|Innes|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=2035}}
* Hon. Arthur Falkland Manners (18 October 1860 – 1861){{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|Innes|1890|p=453}}
* [[Aubrey FitzClarence, 4th Earl of Munster]] (7 June 1862 – 1 January 1928); died without issue{{sfn|Lodge|Innes|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=2035}}
* Hon. William George (17 September 1864 – 4 October 1899); married Charlotte Elizabeth Williams{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|Innes|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=2035}}
* Hon. Harold Edward (15 November 1870 – 28 August 1926); married Frances Isabel Eleanor Keppel; their son was the [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 5th Earl of Munster|5th Earl of Munster]]{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|Innes|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=48}}
* Lady Lillian Adelaide Katherine Mary (10 December 1873 – 15 July 1948); married Captain William Arthur Boyd{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|Innes|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|2003|p=470}}
* Lady Dorothea Augusta (5 May 1876 – 1942); married Major Chandos Brydges Lee-Warner{{sfn|Lodge|Innes|1890|p=453}}<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp60749/lady-dorothea-augusta-lee-warner |title=Lady Dorothea Augusta Lee-Warner |publisher=[[National Portrait Gallery, London|National Portrait Gallery]] |accessdate=17 February 2014}}</ref>

The Earl and Countess of Munster lived at [[Palmeira Square]] in [[Brighton]].{{sfn|Lady's Realm|p=197}}{{sfn|Dod|1903|p=654}}{{sfn|Addison|Oakes|1901|p=821}} According to an article in contemporary women's magazine ''[[Lady's Realm]]'', the Countess lived a very quiet life. In 1897, the magazine reported that she had lived in retirement in Brighton for the past thirty-five years. Her attachment to the city, the article suggested, was due to childhood memories of visiting there with King William.{{sfn|Lady's Realm|p=197}} The article also stated that because Lord Munster's health was failing, the Countess was living in "comparative seclusion", though her lifestyle was also attributed to a love of a "quiet, literary, and artistic life".{{sfn|Lady's Realm|p=197}} She died on 9 October 1906,{{sfn|Brooke|Sladen|1907|p=1275}} having been widowed five years.{{sfn|Debrett's|p=601}}

==Literary career==
{{Library resources box|by=yes|onlinebooksby=yes|lcheading= Munster, Wilhelmina Fitzclarence, Countess of, 1830–1906}}
Later in life, Lady Munster became a novelist and short story writer, writing under the title the Countess of Munster. At the age of nearly sixty,{{sfn|Wilson|2000|p=219}} she published two novels; her first, ''Dorinda'', in 1889, and her second, ''A Scotch Earl'', in 1891.{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} The plot of ''Dorinda'' centred on a young woman who eventually kills herself after stealing works of art from her friends. [[Oscar Wilde]] noted Munster's skill in writing ''Dorinda''; he compared the "exceedingly clever" novel's eponymous heroine to "a sort of well-born" [[Becky Sharp (character)|Becky Sharp]],{{sfn|Wilde|1910|p=110}} and praised the author's ability "to draw ... in a few sentences the most lifelike portraits of social types and social exceptions".{{sfn|Youngkin|2013}} In 1888, an article by Munster about ballad singing appeared in ''[[The Woman's World]]'', a Victorian women's magazine edited by Wilde.{{sfn|Youngkin|2013}} ''A Scotch Earl'', which centred on a vulgar Scottish nobleman named Lord Invergordon, was less well-received by contemporaries. ''[[The Spectator]]'' published a critical review soon after its publication which suggested that the novel's showering of "contempt upon the society of wealth and rank" was close to [[Republicanism in the United Kingdom|Republicanism]] or Socialism.{{sfn|The Spectator|p=297}} The review criticised ''A Scotch Earl'' for lacking "any merits of construction or style", and added that Lady Munster was "not and never will be a capable novelist".{{sfn|The Spectator|p=297}}

In 1896, Munster released ''Ghostly Tales'', a collection of stories "written in a manner similar to accounts of true hauntings".{{sfn|Anderson|2012}}{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} ''Lady's Realm'' considered her stories to be based on fact.{{sfn|Lady's Realm|p=197}} A positive review of ''Ghostly Tales'' was published in the ''[[Saturday Review (London)|Saturday Review]]'' in 1897, in which the stories were described as "entertaining and dramatic", but it was noted that not all were based on supernatural events.{{sfn|Cook|Harwood|1897|p=230}} Hugh Lamb included the Countess's "surprisingly grim" story "The Tyburn Ghost" in his 1979 edited volume ''Tales from a Gas-Lit Graveyard''. He wrote at the time that Lady Munster's works had been "completely overlooked by bibliophiles and anthologists since her death".{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} Lamb deemed this regrettable, as he considered ''Ghostly Tales'' "possibly her best work" and one of the "truly representative collections of Victorian ghost stories".{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} Lamb also included another of her stories, "The Page-Boy's Ghost", in a 1988 anthology.{{sfn|Lamb|1988|p=208}} However, modern author and editor [[Douglas A. Anderson]] has called the Countess's stories "standard, melodramatic fare", which are "perfectly forgettable".{{sfn|Anderson|2012}}

In 1904, Lady Munster produced an autobiography entitled ''My Memories and Miscellanies''. In its [[foreword]], she explained that "some valued friends" convinced her to write it, despite her reluctance, because her "long life" had witnessed "not a few interesting events".{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=vii}} The book was called her "chief work" in ''[[The Manchester Guardian]]'' at the time of her death in 1906.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Memorial Notices |newspaper=[[The Manchester Guardian]] |date=12 October 1906 |page=7}}</ref> The Countess wrote the entire book by memory, and expressed regret that she had given up her journal writing as a young girl after someone else improperly read it.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=112}} The autobiography included several recounted sightings of the female ghost "Green Jean" at Wemyss Castle; Lady Munster claimed that several members of her family, including Millicent, saw the ghost while staying there.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=159–64}}

==Ancestry==
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|boxstyle=padding-top: 0; padding-bottom: 0;
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe;
|1= 1. '''Wilhelmina Kennedy-Erskine'''
|2= 2. Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine
|3= 3. [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]]
|4= 4. [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa]]
|5= 5. Margaret Erskine
|6= 6. [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]
|7= 7. [[Dorothea Jordan|Dorothea Bland]]
|8= 8. [[Archibald Kennedy, 11th Earl of Cassilis]]
|9= 9. Anne Watts
|10= 10. John Erskine
|11= 11. Mary Baird
|12= 12. [[George III of the United Kingdom]]
|13= 13. [[Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz|Duchess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
|14= 14. Francis Bland
|15= 15. Grace Phillips
|16= 16. Archibald Kennedy
|18= 18. John Watts
|19= 19. Ann DeLancey
|20= 20. John Erskine of Dunard
|22= 22. William Baird
|23= 23. Alicia Johnston
|24= 24. [[Frederick, Prince of Wales]]
|25= 25. [[Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha]]
|26= 26. [[Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg|Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
|27= 27. [[Princess Elizabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen]]
|28= 28. James Bland
|29= 29. Lucy Brewster
}}</center>
{{ahnentafel bottom}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

;Works cited
{{refbegin|colwidth=30em}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=8EcuAAAAYAAJ&| title = Who's Who | year = 1901 |first1=Henry Robert |last1=Addison |first2=Charles Henry |last2=Oakes |publisher=Adam & Charles Black |location=London |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite web|url=http://desturmobed.blogspot.com/2012/05/countess-of-munster.html |first=Douglas A. |last=Anderson |authorlink=Douglas A. Anderson |title=The Countess of Munster |date=10 May 2012 |publisher=Desturmobed.blogspot.com |accessdate= 7 November 2013 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite journal| url = http://books.google.com/?id=tBo7AQAAMAAJ& |title=Brighton Society |volume=1 | year = 1897 |location=London |publisher=Hutchinson and Co |p=198 |journal=[[Lady's Realm]] |ref={{sfnRef|Lady's Realm}} }}
* {{Cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=cLc7AQAAMAAJ& |title=Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage, and Companionage |year=1902 |volume=189 |location=London |publisher=Dean & Son Limited |ref={{sfnRef|Debrett's}}}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=w0pLAAAAMAAJ& | title =Who's Who: An Annual Biographical Dictionary | year = 1907 |first1=Douglas |last1=Brooke |first2=Wheelton |last2=Sladen |location=London |publisher=Adam & Charles Black |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=K1YwAAAAIAAJ& | title = A Memoir of Her Royal Highness Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck, Volume 1 |first=Mary Adelaide of |last=Cambridge |authorlink=Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge | year = 1900 |location=London |publisher=John Murray |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite journal| url = http://books.google.com/?id=aZE_AQAAIAAJ& | title = Fiction |volume=83 | last1= Cook | first1 = John Douglas |first2=Philip |last2=Harwood |coauthors=Frank Harris, Walter Herries Pollock, Harold Hodge | year = 1897 |location=London |journal=[[Saturday Review (London)|Saturday Review]] |p=230 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book | url = http://books.google.com/?id=uZstAQAAMAAJ& | title = Dod's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage of Great Britain, and Ireland for ... : Including All the Titled Classes | last1 = Dod | first1 = Charles Roger | year = 1903 |location=London |publisher=Ampson, Low, Marston & Company |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books/about/My_Memories_and_Miscellanies.html?id=x40xAQAAMAAJ |title=My Memories and Miscellanies |first=Wilhelmina |last=FitzClarence|year=1904 |location=London |publisher=Eveleigh Nash |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=KDw6AQAAMAAJ& |title=Armorial Families: A Complete Peerage, Baronetage, and Knightage |editor1-first=Arthur Charles |editor1-last=Fox-Davies |year=1895 |location=Edinburgh |publisher=T.C. & E.C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=GlIwAAAAIAAJ& | title = Twenty Years at Court: From the Correspondence of the Hon. Eleanor Stanley, Maid of Honour to Her Late Majesty Queen Victoria, 1842–1862 | last1 = Julian Stanley Long | first1 = Eleanor | year = 1916 |location=New York |publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=zYNfom9HQPIC& | title =Tales from a Gas-Lit Graveyard | isbn = 978-0-486-43429-2 | editor-first = Hugh | year = 1979 |publisher=W.H. Allen |location=London | editor-last = Lamb |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=aB6iSLC66cwC&oi=fnd& | title =Gaslit Nightmares | isbn = 0-486-44924-6| editor-first = Hugh | year = 1988 |publisher=Futura Publications |location=London | editor-last = Lamb |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/books?id=IIsUAAAAYAAJ& | title = The Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire as at Present Existing | last1 = Lodge | first1 = Edmund |first2=Anne |last2=Innes |coauthors=Eliza Innes, Maria Innes | year = 1832 |publisher=Ibotson and Palmer |location=London |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=BxQwAAAAYAAJ& | title = The Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire as at Present Existing | last1 = Lodge | first1 = Edmund |first2=Anne |last2=Innes |coauthors=Eliza Innes, Maria Innes | year = 1890 |publisher=Hurst and Blackett |location=London |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |title=Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage |edition=106th |editor-last=Mosley |editor-first=Charles |year=1999 |location=Crans, Switzerland |publisher=Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |title=Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage |edition=107th |editor-last=Mosley |editor-first=Charles |year=2003 |location=Wilmington, Delaware |publisher=Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite journal| url = http://books.google.com/books?id=jkg9AQAAIAAJ& | title= Recent Novels |volume= 66–67 | year = 1891 |p=297 |location=London |publisher=John Campbell |journal=[[The Spectator]] |ref={{sfnRef|The Spectator}} }}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Reynolds|first=K.D.|title=FitzClarence, George Augustus Frederick, first earl of Munster (1794–1842) |id=9542|date=2004 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite journal| url = http://books.google.com/?id=ljpRAAAAYAAJ& | journal= [[The Academy (periodical)|The Academy and Literature]] |volume=66 |title=Short Notices | date = 23 April 1904 |page=454 |publisher= |location=London |ref={{sfnRef|Academy and Literature}}}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=0NIVAAAAYAAJ& |title=The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde: Together with Essays and Stories by Lady Wilde, Volume 4 |first=Oscar |last=Wilde |authorlink=Oscar Wilde |year=1910 |publisher=Aldine Publishing Company |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?ei=uy54U_-sFcupyASi4oCYBw&id=l1QYAQAAIAAJ&dq=munster+fitzclarence+wilhelmina&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=munster |title=Shadows in the Attic: A Guide to British Supernatural Fiction, 1820–1950 |last= Wilson |first=Neil |year=2000 |location=London |publisher=British Library Publishing Division |isbn=978-0-7123-1074-1 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=gAfVIVra9C4C& |title=The Life and Reign of William the Fourth |last= Wright |first=G.N. |year=1837 |location=London |publisher=Fisher, Son, & Co |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url =http://books.google.com/books?id=bWRZAgAAQBAJ& | title =Wilde Discoveries: Traditions, Histories, Archives |chapter=The Aestetic Character of Oscar Wilde's The Woman's World |first=Molly |last=Youngkin | asin= B00HCLU9EW| editor-first = Joseph | year = 2013 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |location=London | editor-last = Bristow |ref=harv}}
{{refend}}
{{Commons category|Augusta FitzClarence Kennedy-Erskine }}

{{Good article}}

{{Persondata
| NAME = FitzClarence, Wilhelmina, Countess of Munster
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = British writer
| DATE OF BIRTH = 27 June 1830
| PLACE OF BIRTH = Dun House, Montrose, Scotland
| DATE OF DEATH = 9 October 1906
| PLACE OF DEATH = Hove, Sussex, England
}}
[[Category:FitzClarence family]]
[[Category:1830 births]]
[[Category:1906 deaths]]
[[Category:British countesses]]
[[Category:People from Montrose, Angus]]
[[Category:19th-century British novelists]]
[[Category:British horror writers]]
[[Category:British women short story writers]]
[[Category:20th-century British novelists]]
[[Category:British autobiographers]]
[[Category:Women autobiographers]]
[[Category:Women horror writers]]
[[Category:Women novelists]]
[[Category:20th-century women writers]]
[[Category:19th-century women writers]]

Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster

2014-12-10T23:37:00Z

Ruby2010: /* References */

{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox noble|type
| name = Wilhelmina Kennedy-Erskine
| title = Countess of Munster
| image = Countess Munster.jpg
| caption = The Countess of Munster as portrayed on the frontispiece of her autobiography (published 1904)
| alt =
| CoA =
| more = no
| succession =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| suc-type =
| spouse = [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]]
| spouse-type = Husband
| issue = Edward, Viscount FitzClarence Hon. Lionel Frederick Archibald [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster]] Hon. Arthur Falkland Manners [[Aubrey FitzClarence, 4th Earl of Munster]] Hon. William George Hon. Harold Edward Lady Lillian Boyd Lady Dorothea Lee-Warner
| full name =
| styles =
| titles =
| noble family = [[:Category:FitzClarence family|FitzClarence family]]
| house-type = nobility
| father = Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine
| mother = [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1830|06|27}}
| birth_place = [[House of Dun|Dun House]], Montrose, Scotland
| christening_date =
| christening_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1906|10|09|1830|06|27}}
| death_place =
| burial_date =
| burial_place =
| religion =
| occupation = Peeress, novelist
| module = '''Signature''' [[Image:Countess Munster signature.jpg]]
}}
'''Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster''' (''née'' '''Kennedy-Erskine'''; 27 June 1830 – 9 October 1906) was a British peeress and novelist. Her mother, [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]], was an illegitimate daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]; Wilhelmina, also known as Mina, was born the day after William's succession as monarch. She travelled as a young girl throughout Europe, visiting the courts of [[July Monarchy|France]] and [[Kingdom of Hanover|Hanover]]. In 1855, Mina married her first cousin [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]]; they would have nine children, including the [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster|3rd]] and [[Aubrey FitzClarence, 4th Earl of Munster|4th]] Earls of Munster.

The Earl and Countess of Munster lived at [[Palmeira Square]] in [[Brighton]]. Later in life, Lady Munster became a novelist and short story writer. In 1889, she released her first novel, ''Dorinda''; a second, ''A Scotch Earl'', followed two years later. The year 1896 saw the publication of ''Ghostly Tales'', a collection of tales on the supernatural which have largely been forgotten today. Lady Munster also produced an autobiography entitled ''My Memories and Miscellanies'', which was released in 1904. She died two years later.

==Family and early life==
[[File:Lady Augusta FitzClarence and children.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Wilhelmina ''(right)'' with her mother Lady Augusta and two siblings. Painted by [[John Hayter]], c. 1831]]
Wilhelmina "Mina" Kennedy-Erskine was born on 27 June 1830 in [[House of Dun|Dun House]], Montrose, Scotland. She was the second child of the Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine and his wife [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]], an illegitimate daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom|William IV]] (who became monarch the day before Mina's birth).{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=3}} Her father, the second son of the [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa|13th Earl of Cassilis]], was a captain with the [[16th The Queen's Lancers|16th Lancers]] and an [[equerry]] to King William before dying in 1831 at the age of 28.<ref>{{Cite news|title=The Queen's Third Drawing Room |newspaper=[[The Observer]] |date=27 March 1831 |page=1}}</ref>{{sfn|Lodge|Innes|1832|p=13}}

Mina lived with her widowed mother and two siblings in a "charming brick house" on the [[River Thames]] called Railshead, which was next door to a house owned by her paternal grandparents.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=5–7}} King William visited the family often and was quite fond of Mina;{{sfn|Academy and Literature|p=454}} on one occasion, he visited to comfort his daughter when three- or four-year-old Mina nearly died of a "very dangerous brain fever".{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=8}} The Kennedy-Erskines also often visited [[Windsor Castle]] during the king's reign.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=34}}

Five years after Kennedy-Erskine's death, Lady Augusta married [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton]], a decision that displeased her first husband's parents.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=40}} The decision led to Lady Augusta's departure from Railshead. In 1837 she became State Housekeeper at [[Kensington Palace]] after the death of her sister, [[Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley|Lady De L'Isle]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}}{{sfn|Cambridge|1900|p=25}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=42}} Mina lived there until she married.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=50}} She and her sister Millicent enjoyed music and had a particular love for the Italian soprano [[Marietta Alboni]]. The sisters' Italian singing-master secretly arranged for a meeting with Alboni, but the encounter did not go well; the singer discovered that they were the daughters of the "housekeeper", and, assuming that they were not ladies, departed soon after.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=61–64}}

In the late 1840s, Mina travelled through Europe with her family so that they might "learn languages and finish [their] education".{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=83}} The trip started in 1847, when Mina journeyed to [[Dresden]] due to her mother's desire for her daughters to learn German.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=83–84}} From 1847 to 1849, she and her family lived in Paris near the [[Arc de Triomphe]], and were kindly received by the French Royal Family headed by [[Louis Philippe I]] and [[Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily|Queen Marie Amalie]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=110–17}} They left soon after the king and queen's [[French Revolution of 1848|fall from power]], as the city had suddenly become unsafe for those of their rank.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=120–23}} In 1850, they visited the court of [[Kingdom of Hanover|Hanover]] and were received by [[Ernest Augustus I of Hanover]] and his family; later that year, they returned to Kensington Palace and Mina and Millicent [[Season (society)|came out in society]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=129–44}}

==Marriage==
[[File:Earl of Munster 25 February 1882.jpg|thumb|right|180px|The Earl of Munster as caricatured by Spy ([[Leslie Ward]]) in ''[[Vanity Fair (British magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'', February 1882 ]]
Mina married her full first cousin [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]] at [[Wemyss Castle]] on 17 April 1855 in a double wedding in which her sister Millicent married [[James Hay Erskine Wemyss]].{{sfn|Julian Stanley Long|1916|p=201}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=152}} Like Mina, FitzClarence was a grandchild of William IV; at a young age, he had succeeded his father the [[George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster|1st Earl]], who served as a governor of Windsor Castle and constable of the [[Round Tower (Portsmouth)|Round Tower]] until his suicide in 1842.{{sfn|Reynolds|2004}} The FitzClarences travelled to Hamburg immediately after the wedding, visiting local ''[[schloss]]es'' and the family of [[Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein]] (who later married [[Princess Helena of the United Kingdom|The Princess Helena]]).{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=153–56}} Their first child, Edward, was born within a year.{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}} The couple would have nine children, four of whom outlived their mother:
* Edward, Viscount FitzClarence (29 March 1856 – 1870){{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|Innes|1890|p=453}}
* Hon. Lionel Frederick Archibald (24 July 1857 – 24 March 1863){{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|Innes|1890|p=453}}
* [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster]] (18 July 1859 – 2 February 1902); died without issue{{sfn|Lodge|Innes|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=2035}}
* Hon. Arthur Falkland Manners (18 October 1860 – 1861){{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|Innes|1890|p=453}}
* [[Aubrey FitzClarence, 4th Earl of Munster]] (7 June 1862 – 1 January 1928); died without issue{{sfn|Lodge|Innes|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=2035}}
* Hon. William George (17 September 1864 – 4 October 1899); married Charlotte Elizabeth Williams{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|Innes|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=2035}}
* Hon. Harold Edward (15 November 1870 – 28 August 1926); married Frances Isabel Eleanor Keppel; their son was the [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 5th Earl of Munster|5th Earl of Munster]]{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|Innes|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=48}}
* Lady Lillian Adelaide Katherine Mary (10 December 1873 – 15 July 1948); married Captain William Arthur Boyd{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|Innes|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|2003|p=470}}
* Lady Dorothea Augusta (5 May 1876 – 1942); married Major Chandos Brydges Lee-Warner{{sfn|Lodge|Innes|1890|p=453}}<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp60749/lady-dorothea-augusta-lee-warner |title=Lady Dorothea Augusta Lee-Warner |publisher=[[National Portrait Gallery, London|National Portrait Gallery]] |accessdate=17 February 2014}}</ref>

The Earl and Countess of Munster lived at [[Palmeira Square]] in [[Brighton]].{{sfn|Lady's Realm|p=197}}{{sfn|Dod|1903|p=654}}{{sfn|Addison|Oakes|1901|p=821}} According to an article in contemporary women's magazine ''[[Lady's Realm]]'', the Countess lived a very quiet life. In 1897, the magazine reported that she had lived in retirement in Brighton for the past thirty-five years. Her attachment to the city, the article suggested, was due to childhood memories of visiting there with King William.{{sfn|Lady's Realm|p=197}} The article also stated that because Lord Munster's health was failing, the Countess was living in "comparative seclusion", though her lifestyle was also attributed to a love of a "quiet, literary, and artistic life".{{sfn|Lady's Realm|p=197}} She died on 9 October 1906,{{sfn|Brooke|Sladen|1907|p=1275}} having been widowed five years.{{sfn|Debrett's|p=601}}

==Literary career==
{{Library resources box|by=yes|onlinebooksby=yes|lcheading= Munster, Wilhelmina Fitzclarence, Countess of, 1830–1906}}
Later in life, Lady Munster became a novelist and short story writer, writing under the title the Countess of Munster. At the age of nearly sixty,{{sfn|Wilson|2000|p=219}} she published two novels; her first, ''Dorinda'', in 1889, and her second, ''A Scotch Earl'', in 1891.{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} The plot of ''Dorinda'' centred on a young woman who eventually kills herself after stealing works of art from her friends. [[Oscar Wilde]] noted Munster's skill in writing ''Dorinda''; he compared the "exceedingly clever" novel's eponymous heroine to "a sort of well-born" [[Becky Sharp (character)|Becky Sharp]],{{sfn|Wilde|1910|p=110}} and praised the author's ability "to draw ... in a few sentences the most lifelike portraits of social types and social exceptions".{{sfn|Youngkin|2013}} In 1888, an article by Munster about ballad singing appeared in ''[[The Woman's World]]'', a Victorian women's magazine edited by Wilde.{{sfn|Youngkin|2013}} ''A Scotch Earl'', which centred on a vulgar Scottish nobleman named Lord Invergordon, was less well-received by contemporaries. ''[[The Spectator]]'' published a critical review soon after its publication which suggested that the novel's showering of "contempt upon the society of wealth and rank" was close to [[Republicanism in the United Kingdom|Republicanism]] or Socialism.{{sfn|The Spectator|p=297}} The review criticised ''A Scotch Earl'' for lacking "any merits of construction or style", and added that Lady Munster was "not and never will be a capable novelist".{{sfn|The Spectator|p=297}}

In 1896, Munster released ''Ghostly Tales'', a collection of stories "written in a manner similar to accounts of true hauntings".{{sfn|Anderson|2012}}{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} ''Lady's Realm'' considered her stories to be based on fact.{{sfn|Lady's Realm|p=197}} A positive review of ''Ghostly Tales'' was published in the ''[[Saturday Review (London)|Saturday Review]]'' in 1897, in which the stories were described as "entertaining and dramatic", but it was noted that not all were based on supernatural events.{{sfn|Cook|Harwood|1897|p=230}} Hugh Lamb included the Countess's "surprisingly grim" story "The Tyburn Ghost" in his 1979 edited volume ''Tales from a Gas-Lit Graveyard''. He wrote at the time that Lady Munster's works had been "completely overlooked by bibliophiles and anthologists since her death".{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} Lamb deemed this regrettable, as he considered ''Ghostly Tales'' "possibly her best work" and one of the "truly representative collections of Victorian ghost stories".{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} Lamb also included another of her stories, "The Page-Boy's Ghost", in a 1988 anthology.{{sfn|Lamb|1988|p=208}} However, modern author and editor [[Douglas A. Anderson]] has called the Countess's stories "standard, melodramatic fare", which are "perfectly forgettable".{{sfn|Anderson|2012}}

In 1904, Lady Munster produced an autobiography entitled ''My Memories and Miscellanies''. In its [[foreword]], she explained that "some valued friends" convinced her to write it, despite her reluctance, because her "long life" had witnessed "not a few interesting events".{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=vii}} The book was called her "chief work" in ''[[The Manchester Guardian]]'' at the time of her death in 1906.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Memorial Notices |newspaper=[[The Manchester Guardian]] |date=12 October 1906 |page=7}}</ref> The Countess wrote the entire book by memory, and expressed regret that she had given up her journal writing as a young girl after someone else improperly read it.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=112}} The autobiography included several recounted sightings of the female ghost "Green Jean" at Wemyss Castle; Lady Munster claimed that several members of her family, including Millicent, saw the ghost while staying there.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=159–64}}

==Ancestry==
{{ahnentafel top|width=100%}}
{{ahnentafel-compact5
|style=font-size: 90%; line-height: 110%;
|border=1
|boxstyle=padding-top: 0; padding-bottom: 0;
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe;
|1= 1. '''Wilhelmina Kennedy-Erskine'''
|2= 2. Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine
|3= 3. [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]]
|4= 4. [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa]]
|5= 5. Margaret Erskine
|6= 6. [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]
|7= 7. [[Dorothea Jordan|Dorothea Bland]]
|8= 8. [[Archibald Kennedy, 11th Earl of Cassilis]]
|9= 9. Anne Watts
|10= 10. John Erskine
|11= 11. Mary Baird
|12= 12. [[George III of the United Kingdom]]
|13= 13. [[Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz|Duchess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
|14= 14. Francis Bland
|15= 15. Grace Phillips
|16= 16. Archibald Kennedy
|18= 18. John Watts
|19= 19. Ann DeLancey
|20= 20. John Erskine of Dunard
|22= 22. William Baird
|23= 23. Alicia Johnston
|24= 24. [[Frederick, Prince of Wales]]
|25= 25. [[Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha]]
|26= 26. [[Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg|Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
|27= 27. [[Princess Elizabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen]]
|28= 28. James Bland
|29= 29. Lucy Brewster
}}</center>
{{ahnentafel bottom}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

;Works cited
{{refbegin|colwidth=30em}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=8EcuAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA821&dq=Palmeira+Square+earl+of+munster#v=onepage&q=Palmeira%20Square%20earl%20of%20munster&f=false | title = Who's Who | year = 1901 |first1=Henry Robert |last1=Addison |first2=Charles Henry |last2=Oakes |publisher=Adam & Charles Black |location=London |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite web|url=http://desturmobed.blogspot.com/2012/05/countess-of-munster.html |first=Douglas A. |last=Anderson |authorlink=Douglas A. Anderson |title=The Countess of Munster |date=10 May 2012 |publisher=Desturmobed.blogspot.com |accessdate= 7 November 2013 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite journal| url = http://books.google.com/?id=tBo7AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA198&dq=queen+victoria+%22lady+munster%22#v=onepage&q=queen%20victoria%20%22lady%20munster%22&f=false |title=Brighton Society |volume=1 | year = 1897 |location=London |publisher=Hutchinson and Co |p=198 |journal=[[Lady's Realm]] |ref={{sfnRef|Lady's Realm}} }}
* {{Cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=cLc7AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA601&dq=2nd+%22earl+of+munster%22+1901&hl=en&sa=X&ei=B0aCU5KQI4qMqgbljIDIDA&ved=0CDMQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=2nd%20%22earl%20of%20munster%22%201901&f=false |title=Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage, and Companionage |year=1902 |volume=189 |location=London |publisher=Dean & Son Limited |ref={{sfnRef|Debrett's}}}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=w0pLAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA1275&lpg=PA1275&dq=wilhelmina+1906+munster#v=onepage&q=wilhelmina%201906%20munster&f=false | title =Who's Who: An Annual Biographical Dictionary | year = 1907 |first1=Douglas |last1=Brooke |first2=Wheelton |last2=Sladen |location=London |publisher=Adam & Charles Black |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=K1YwAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA25&lpg=PA25&dq=countess+of+munster+kennedy-erskine#v=onepage&q=countess%20of%20munster%20kennedy-erskine&f=false | title = A Memoir of Her Royal Highness Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck, Volume 1 |first=Mary Adelaide of |last=Cambridge |authorlink=Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge | year = 1900 |location=London |publisher=John Murray |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite journal| url = http://books.google.com/?id=aZE_AQAAIAAJ&pg=PA230&dq=%22countess+of+munster%22+novelist#v=onepage&q=%22countess%20of%20munster%22%20novelist&f=false | title = Fiction |volume=83 | last1= Cook | first1 = John Douglas |first2=Philip |last2=Harwood |coauthors=Frank Harris, Walter Herries Pollock, Harold Hodge | year = 1897 |location=London |journal=[[Saturday Review (London)|Saturday Review]] |p=230 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book | url = http://books.google.com/?id=uZstAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA654&dq=Palmeira+Square+earl+of+munster#v=onepage&q=Palmeira%20Square%20earl%20of%20munster&f=false | title = Dod's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage of Great Britain, and Ireland for ... : Including All the Titled Classes | last1 = Dod | first1 = Charles Roger | year = 1903 |location=London |publisher=Ampson, Low, Marston & Company |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books/about/My_Memories_and_Miscellanies.html?id=x40xAQAAMAAJ |title=My Memories and Miscellanies |first=Wilhelmina |last=FitzClarence|year=1904 |location=London |publisher=Eveleigh Nash |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=KDw6AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA722&dq=%22Wilhelmina%22+%22Kennedy-Erskine%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=mIWCUt_KKOWU2gW6xYDwBA&ved=0CCwQ6AEwADge#v=onepage&q=%22Wilhelmina%22%20%22Kennedy-Erskine%22&f=false |title=Armorial Families: A Complete Peerage, Baronetage, and Knightage |editor1-first=Arthur Charles |editor1-last=Fox-Davies |year=1895 |location=Edinburgh |publisher=T.C. & E.C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=GlIwAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA201&dq=kennedy-erskine+earl+munster#v=onepage&q=kennedy-erskine%20earl%20munster&f=false | title = Twenty Years at Court: From the Correspondence of the Hon. Eleanor Stanley, Maid of Honour to Her Late Majesty Queen Victoria, 1842–1862 | last1 = Julian Stanley Long | first1 = Eleanor | year = 1916 |location=New York |publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=zYNfom9HQPIC&pg=PA163&dq=%22countess+of+munster%22+novelist#v=onepage&q=%22countess%20of%20munster%22%20novelist&f=false | title =Tales from a Gas-Lit Graveyard | isbn = 978-0-486-43429-2 | editor-first = Hugh | year = 1979 |publisher=W.H. Allen |location=London | editor-last = Lamb |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=aB6iSLC66cwC&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=%22countess+of+munster%22&ots=ntS1c8R4iB&sig=yEEHRmdty-U5w-Yz6D1C6HVkinA#v=onepage&q=munster&f=false | title =Gaslit Nightmares | isbn = 0-486-44924-6| editor-first = Hugh | year = 1988 |publisher=Futura Publications |location=London | editor-last = Lamb |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/books?id=IIsUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA13&dq=John+Kennedy-Erskine+fitzclarence+1831&hl=en&sa=X&ei=uAUFU9CWE4a9yAGt8oHIAg&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=John%20Kennedy-Erskine%20fitzclarence%201831&f=false | title = The Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire as at Present Existing | last1 = Lodge | first1 = Edmund |first2=Anne |last2=Innes |coauthors=Eliza Innes, Maria Innes | year = 1832 |publisher=Ibotson and Palmer |location=London |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=BxQwAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA453&dq=Wilhelmina+Kennedy-Erskine+fitzclarence#v=onepage&q=Wilhelmina%20Kennedy-Erskine%20fitzclarence&f=false | title = The Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire as at Present Existing | last1 = Lodge | first1 = Edmund |first2=Anne |last2=Innes |coauthors=Eliza Innes, Maria Innes | year = 1890 |publisher=Hurst and Blackett |location=London |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |title=Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage |edition=106th |editor-last=Mosley |editor-first=Charles |year=1999 |location=Crans, Switzerland |publisher=Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |title=Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage |edition=107th |editor-last=Mosley |editor-first=Charles |year=2003 |location=Wilmington, Delaware |publisher=Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite journal| url = http://books.google.com/books?id=jkg9AQAAIAAJ&pg=RA1-PA297&dq=munster+A+%22Scotch+Earl%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=W_qAU6yYEM6iyATPzoL4CQ&ved=0CFwQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=munster%20A%20%22Scotch%20Earl%22&f=false | title= Recent Novels |volume= 66–67 | year = 1891 |p=297 |location=London |publisher=John Campbell |journal=[[The Spectator]] |ref={{sfnRef|The Spectator}} }}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Reynolds|first=K.D.|title=FitzClarence, George Augustus Frederick, first earl of Munster (1794–1842) |id=9542|date=2004 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite journal| url = http://books.google.com/?id=ljpRAAAAYAAJ& | journal= [[The Academy (periodical)|The Academy and Literature]] |volume=66 |title=Short Notices | date = 23 April 1904 |page=454 |publisher= |location=London |ref={{sfnRef|Academy and Literature}}}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=0NIVAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA111&dq=munster+wilde&hl=en&sa=X&ei=9veAU6m5CY6pyATbuIEw&ved=0CE4Q6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=munster&f=false |title=The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde: Together with Essays and Stories by Lady Wilde, Volume 4 |first=Oscar |last=Wilde |authorlink=Oscar Wilde |year=1910 |publisher=Aldine Publishing Company |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?ei=uy54U_-sFcupyASi4oCYBw&id=l1QYAQAAIAAJ&dq=munster+fitzclarence+wilhelmina&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=munster |title=Shadows in the Attic: A Guide to British Supernatural Fiction, 1820–1950 |last= Wilson |first=Neil |year=2000 |location=London |publisher=British Library Publishing Division |isbn=978-0-7123-1074-1 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=gAfVIVra9C4C&pg=PA854&dq=Wilhelmina+Kennedy-Erskine+fitzclarence#v=onepage&q=Wilhelmina%20Kennedy-Erskine%20fitzclarence&f=false |title=The Life and Reign of William the Fourth |last= Wright |first=G.N. |year=1837 |location=London |publisher=Fisher, Son, & Co |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url =http://books.google.com/books?id=bWRZAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT442&dq=munster+fitzclarence+wilhelmina&hl=en&sa=X&ei=uy54U_-sFcupyASi4oCYBw&ved=0CCoQ6AEwADgK#v=onepage&q=munster&f=false | title =Wilde Discoveries: Traditions, Histories, Archives |chapter=The Aestetic Character of Oscar Wilde's The Woman's World |first=Molly |last=Youngkin | asin= B00HCLU9EW| editor-first = Joseph | year = 2013 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |location=London | editor-last = Bristow |ref=harv}}

{{refend}}
{{Commons category|Augusta FitzClarence Kennedy-Erskine }}

{{Good article}}

{{Persondata
| NAME = FitzClarence, Wilhelmina, Countess of Munster
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = British writer
| DATE OF BIRTH = 27 June 1830
| PLACE OF BIRTH = Dun House, Montrose, Scotland
| DATE OF DEATH = 9 October 1906
| PLACE OF DEATH = Hove, Sussex, England
}}
[[Category:FitzClarence family]]
[[Category:1830 births]]
[[Category:1906 deaths]]
[[Category:British countesses]]
[[Category:People from Montrose, Angus]]
[[Category:19th-century British novelists]]
[[Category:British horror writers]]
[[Category:British women short story writers]]
[[Category:20th-century British novelists]]
[[Category:British autobiographers]]
[[Category:Women autobiographers]]
[[Category:Women horror writers]]
[[Category:Women novelists]]
[[Category:20th-century women writers]]
[[Category:19th-century women writers]]

Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster

2014-11-15T19:35:11Z

Ruby2010: /* References */

{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox noble|type
| name = Wilhelmina Kennedy-Erskine
| title = Countess of Munster
| image = Countess Munster.jpg
| caption = The Countess of Munster as portrayed on the frontispiece of her autobiography (published 1904)
| alt =
| CoA =
| more = no
| succession =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| suc-type =
| spouse = [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]]
| spouse-type = Husband
| issue = Edward, Viscount FitzClarence Hon. Lionel Frederick Archibald [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster]] Hon. Arthur Falkland Manners [[Aubrey FitzClarence, 4th Earl of Munster]] Hon. William George Hon. Harold Edward Lady Lillian Boyd Lady Dorothea Lee-Warner
| full name =
| styles =
| titles =
| noble family = [[:Category:FitzClarence family|FitzClarence family]]
| house-type = nobility
| father = Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine
| mother = [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1830|06|27}}
| birth_place = [[House of Dun|Dun House]], Montrose, Scotland
| christening_date =
| christening_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1906|10|09|1830|06|27}}
| death_place =
| burial_date =
| burial_place =
| religion =
| occupation = Peeress, novelist
| module = '''Signature''' [[Image:Countess Munster signature.jpg]]
}}
'''Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster''' (''née'' '''Kennedy-Erskine'''; 27 June 1830 – 9 October 1906) was a British peeress and novelist. Her mother, [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]], was an illegitimate daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]; Wilhelmina, also known as Mina, was born the day after William's succession as monarch. She travelled as a young girl throughout Europe, visiting the courts of [[July Monarchy|France]] and [[Kingdom of Hanover|Hanover]]. In 1855, Mina married her first cousin [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]]; they would have nine children, including the [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster|3rd]] and [[Aubrey FitzClarence, 4th Earl of Munster|4th]] Earls of Munster.

The Earl and Countess of Munster lived at [[Palmeira Square]] in [[Brighton]]. Later in life, Lady Munster became a novelist and short story writer. In 1889, she released her first novel, ''Dorinda''; a second, ''A Scotch Earl'', followed two years later. The year 1896 saw the publication of ''Ghostly Tales'', a collection of tales on the supernatural which have largely been forgotten today. Lady Munster also produced an autobiography entitled ''My Memories and Miscellanies'', which was released in 1904. She died two years later.

==Family and early life==
[[File:Lady Augusta FitzClarence and children.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Wilhelmina ''(right)'' with her mother Lady Augusta and two siblings. Painted by [[John Hayter]], c. 1831]]
Wilhelmina "Mina" Kennedy-Erskine was born on 27 June 1830 in [[House of Dun|Dun House]], Montrose, Scotland. She was the second child of the Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine and his wife [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]], an illegitimate daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom|William IV]] (who became monarch the day before Mina's birth).{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=3}} Her father, the second son of the [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa|13th Earl of Cassilis]], was a captain with the [[16th The Queen's Lancers|16th Lancers]] and an [[equerry]] to King William before dying in 1831 at the age of 28.<ref>{{Cite news|title=The Queen's Third Drawing Room |newspaper=[[The Observer]] |date=27 March 1831 |page=1}}</ref>{{sfn|Lodge|Innes|1832|p=13}}

Mina lived with her widowed mother and two siblings in a "charming brick house" on the [[River Thames]] called Railshead, which was next door to a house owned by her paternal grandparents.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=5–7}} King William visited the family often and was quite fond of Mina;{{sfn|Academy and Literature|p=454}} on one occasion, he visited to comfort his daughter when three- or four-year-old Mina nearly died of a "very dangerous brain fever".{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=8}} The Kennedy-Erskines also often visited [[Windsor Castle]] during the king's reign.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=34}}

Five years after Kennedy-Erskine's death, Lady Augusta married [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton]], a decision that displeased her first husband's parents.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=40}} The decision led to Lady Augusta's departure from Railshead. In 1837 she became State Housekeeper at [[Kensington Palace]] after the death of her sister, [[Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley|Lady De L'Isle]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}}{{sfn|Cambridge|1900|p=25}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=42}} Mina lived there until she married.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=50}} She and her sister Millicent enjoyed music and had a particular love for the Italian soprano [[Marietta Alboni]]. The sisters' Italian singing-master secretly arranged for a meeting with Alboni, but the encounter did not go well; the singer discovered that they were the daughters of the "housekeeper", and, assuming that they were not ladies, departed soon after.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=61–64}}

In the late 1840s, Mina travelled through Europe with her family so that they might "learn languages and finish [their] education".{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=83}} The trip started in 1847, when Mina journeyed to [[Dresden]] due to her mother's desire for her daughters to learn German.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=83–84}} From 1847 to 1849, she and her family lived in Paris near the [[Arc de Triomphe]], and were kindly received by the French Royal Family headed by [[Louis Philippe I]] and [[Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily|Queen Marie Amalie]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=110–17}} They left soon after the king and queen's [[French Revolution of 1848|fall from power]], as the city had suddenly become unsafe for those of their rank.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=120–23}} In 1850, they visited the court of [[Kingdom of Hanover|Hanover]] and were received by [[Ernest Augustus I of Hanover]] and his family; later that year, they returned to Kensington Palace and Mina and Millicent [[Season (society)|came out in society]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=129–44}}

==Marriage==
[[File:Earl of Munster 25 February 1882.jpg|thumb|right|180px|The Earl of Munster as caricatured by Spy ([[Leslie Ward]]) in ''[[Vanity Fair (British magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'', February 1882 ]]
Mina married her full first cousin [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]] at [[Wemyss Castle]] on 17 April 1855 in a double wedding in which her sister Millicent married [[James Hay Erskine Wemyss]].{{sfn|Julian Stanley Long|1916|p=201}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=152}} Like Mina, FitzClarence was a grandchild of William IV; at a young age, he had succeeded his father the [[George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster|1st Earl]], who served as a governor of Windsor Castle and constable of the [[Round Tower (Portsmouth)|Round Tower]] until his suicide in 1842.{{sfn|Reynolds|2004}} The FitzClarences travelled to Hamburg immediately after the wedding, visiting local ''[[schloss]]es'' and the family of [[Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein]] (who later married [[Princess Helena of the United Kingdom|The Princess Helena]]).{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=153–56}} Their first child, Edward, was born within a year.{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}} The couple would have nine children, four of whom outlived their mother:
* Edward, Viscount FitzClarence (29 March 1856 – 1870){{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|Innes|1890|p=453}}
* Hon. Lionel Frederick Archibald (24 July 1857 – 1863){{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|Innes|1890|p=453}}
* [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster]] (18 July 1859 – 2 February 1902); died without issue{{sfn|Lodge|Innes|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=2035}}
* Hon. Arthur Falkland Manners (18 October 1860 – 1861){{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|Innes|1890|p=453}}
* [[Aubrey FitzClarence, 4th Earl of Munster]] (7 June 1862 – 1 January 1928); died without issue{{sfn|Lodge|Innes|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=2035}}
* Hon. William George (17 September 1864 – 4 October 1899); married Charlotte Elizabeth Williams{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|Innes|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=2035}}
* Hon. Harold Edward (15 November 1870 – 28 August 1926); married Frances Isabel Eleanor Keppel; their son was the [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 5th Earl of Munster|5th Earl of Munster]]{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|Innes|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=48}}
* Lady Lillian Adelaide Katherine Mary (10 December 1873 – 15 July 1948); married Captain William Arthur Boyd{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|Innes|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|2003|p=470}}
* Lady Dorothea Augusta (5 May 1876 – 1942); married Major Chandos Brydges Lee-Warner{{sfn|Lodge|Innes|1890|p=453}}<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp60749/lady-dorothea-augusta-lee-warner |title=Lady Dorothea Augusta Lee-Warner |publisher=[[National Portrait Gallery, London|National Portrait Gallery]] |accessdate=17 February 2014}}</ref>

The Earl and Countess of Munster lived at [[Palmeira Square]] in [[Brighton]].{{sfn|Lady's Realm|p=197}}{{sfn|Dod|1903|p=654}}{{sfn|Addison|Oakes|1901|p=821}} According to an article in contemporary women's magazine ''[[Lady's Realm]]'', the Countess lived a very quiet life. In 1897, the magazine reported that she had lived in retirement in Brighton for the past thirty-five years. Her attachment to the city, the article suggested, was due to childhood memories of visiting there with King William.{{sfn|Lady's Realm|p=197}} The article also stated that because Lord Munster's health was failing, the Countess was living in "comparative seclusion", though her lifestyle was also attributed to a love of a "quiet, literary, and artistic life".{{sfn|Lady's Realm|p=197}} She died on 9 October 1906,{{sfn|Brooke|Sladen|1907|p=1275}} having been widowed five years.{{sfn|Debrett's|p=601}}

==Literary career==
{{Library resources box|by=yes|onlinebooksby=yes|lcheading= Munster, Wilhelmina Fitzclarence, Countess of, 1830–1906}}
Later in life, Lady Munster became a novelist and short story writer, writing under the title the Countess of Munster. At the age of nearly sixty,{{sfn|Wilson|2000|p=219}} she published two novels; her first, ''Dorinda'', in 1889, and her second, ''A Scotch Earl'', in 1891.{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} The plot of ''Dorinda'' centred on a young woman who eventually kills herself after stealing works of art from her friends. [[Oscar Wilde]] noted Munster's skill in writing ''Dorinda''; he compared the "exceedingly clever" novel's eponymous heroine to "a sort of well-born" [[Becky Sharp (character)|Becky Sharp]],{{sfn|Wilde|1910|p=110}} and praised the author's ability "to draw ... in a few sentences the most lifelike portraits of social types and social exceptions".{{sfn|Youngkin|2013}} In 1888, an article by Munster about ballad singing appeared in ''[[The Woman's World]]'', a Victorian women's magazine edited by Wilde.{{sfn|Youngkin|2013}} ''A Scotch Earl'', which centred on a vulgar Scottish nobleman named Lord Invergordon, was less well-received by contemporaries. ''[[The Spectator]]'' published a critical review soon after its publication which suggested that the novel's showering of "contempt upon the society of wealth and rank" was close to [[Republicanism in the United Kingdom|Republicanism]] or Socialism.{{sfn|The Spectator|p=297}} The review criticised ''A Scotch Earl'' for lacking "any merits of construction or style", and added that Lady Munster was "not and never will be a capable novelist".{{sfn|The Spectator|p=297}}

In 1896, Munster released ''Ghostly Tales'', a collection of stories "written in a manner similar to accounts of true hauntings".{{sfn|Anderson|2012}}{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} ''Lady's Realm'' considered her stories to be based on fact.{{sfn|Lady's Realm|p=197}} A positive review of ''Ghostly Tales'' was published in the ''[[Saturday Review (London)|Saturday Review]]'' in 1897, in which the stories were described as "entertaining and dramatic", but it was noted that not all were based on supernatural events.{{sfn|Cook|Harwood|1897|p=230}} Hugh Lamb included the Countess's "surprisingly grim" story "The Tyburn Ghost" in his 1979 edited volume ''Tales from a Gas-Lit Graveyard''. He wrote at the time that Lady Munster's works had been "completely overlooked by bibliophiles and anthologists since her death".{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} Lamb deemed this regrettable, as he considered ''Ghostly Tales'' "possibly her best work" and one of the "truly representative collections of Victorian ghost stories".{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} Lamb also included another of her stories, "The Page-Boy's Ghost", in a 1988 anthology.{{sfn|Lamb|1988|p=208}} However, modern author and editor [[Douglas A. Anderson]] has called the Countess's stories "standard, melodramatic fare", which are "perfectly forgettable".{{sfn|Anderson|2012}}

In 1904, Lady Munster produced an autobiography entitled ''My Memories and Miscellanies''. In its [[foreword]], she explained that "some valued friends" convinced her to write it, despite her reluctance, because her "long life" had witnessed "not a few interesting events".{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=vii}} The book was called her "chief work" in ''[[The Manchester Guardian]]'' at the time of her death in 1906.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Memorial Notices |newspaper=[[The Manchester Guardian]] |date=12 October 1906 |page=7}}</ref> The Countess wrote the entire book by memory, and expressed regret that she had given up her journal writing as a young girl after someone else improperly read it.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=112}} The autobiography included several recounted sightings of the female ghost "Green Jean" at Wemyss Castle; Lady Munster claimed that several members of her family, including Millicent, saw the ghost while staying there.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=159–64}}

==Ancestry==
{{ahnentafel top|width=100%}}
{{ahnentafel-compact5
|style=font-size: 90%; line-height: 110%;
|border=1
|boxstyle=padding-top: 0; padding-bottom: 0;
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|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe;
|1= 1. '''Wilhelmina Kennedy-Erskine'''
|2= 2. Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine
|3= 3. [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]]
|4= 4. [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa]]
|5= 5. Margaret Erskine
|6= 6. [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]
|7= 7. [[Dorothea Jordan|Dorothea Bland]]
|8= 8. [[Archibald Kennedy, 11th Earl of Cassilis]]
|9= 9. Anne Watts
|10= 10. John Erskine
|11= 11. Mary Baird
|12= 12. [[George III of the United Kingdom]]
|13= 13. [[Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz|Duchess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
|14= 14. Francis Bland
|15= 15. Grace Phillips
|16= 16. Archibald Kennedy
|18= 18. John Watts
|19= 19. Ann DeLancey
|20= 20. John Erskine of Dunard
|22= 22. William Baird
|23= 23. Alicia Johnston
|24= 24. [[Frederick, Prince of Wales]]
|25= 25. [[Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha]]
|26= 26. [[Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg|Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
|27= 27. [[Princess Elizabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen]]
|28= 28. James Bland
|29= 29. Lucy Brewster
}}</center>
{{ahnentafel bottom}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

;Works cited
{{refbegin|colwidth=30em}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=8EcuAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA821&dq=Palmeira+Square+earl+of+munster#v=onepage&q=Palmeira%20Square%20earl%20of%20munster&f=false | title = Who's Who | year = 1901 |first1=Henry Robert |last1=Addison |first2=Charles Henry |last2=Oakes |publisher=Adam & Charles Black |location=London |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite web|url=http://desturmobed.blogspot.com/2012/05/countess-of-munster.html |first=Douglas A. |last=Anderson |authorlink=Douglas A. Anderson |title=The Countess of Munster |date=10 May 2012 |publisher=Desturmobed.blogspot.com |accessdate= 7 November 2013 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite journal| url = http://books.google.com/?id=tBo7AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA198&dq=queen+victoria+%22lady+munster%22#v=onepage&q=queen%20victoria%20%22lady%20munster%22&f=false |title=Brighton Society |volume=1 | year = 1897 |location=London |publisher=Hutchinson and Co |p=198 |journal=[[Lady's Realm]] |ref={{sfnRef|Lady's Realm}} }}
* {{Cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=cLc7AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA601&dq=2nd+%22earl+of+munster%22+1901&hl=en&sa=X&ei=B0aCU5KQI4qMqgbljIDIDA&ved=0CDMQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=2nd%20%22earl%20of%20munster%22%201901&f=false |title=Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage, and Companionage |year=1902 |volume=189 |location=London |publisher=Dean & Son Limited |ref={{sfnRef|Debrett's}}}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=w0pLAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA1275&lpg=PA1275&dq=wilhelmina+1906+munster#v=onepage&q=wilhelmina%201906%20munster&f=false | title =Who's Who: An Annual Biographical Dictionary | year = 1907 |first1=Douglas |last1=Brooke |first2=Wheelton |last2=Sladen |location=London |publisher=Adam & Charles Black |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=K1YwAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA25&lpg=PA25&dq=countess+of+munster+kennedy-erskine#v=onepage&q=countess%20of%20munster%20kennedy-erskine&f=false | title = A Memoir of Her Royal Highness Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck, Volume 1 |first=Mary Adelaide of |last=Cambridge |authorlink=Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge | year = 1900 |location=London |publisher=John Murray |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite journal| url = http://books.google.com/?id=aZE_AQAAIAAJ&pg=PA230&dq=%22countess+of+munster%22+novelist#v=onepage&q=%22countess%20of%20munster%22%20novelist&f=false | title = Fiction |volume=83 | last1= Cook | first1 = John Douglas |first2=Philip |last2=Harwood |coauthors=Frank Harris, Walter Herries Pollock, Harold Hodge | year = 1897 |location=London |journal=[[Saturday Review (London)|Saturday Review]] |p=230 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book | url = http://books.google.com/?id=uZstAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA654&dq=Palmeira+Square+earl+of+munster#v=onepage&q=Palmeira%20Square%20earl%20of%20munster&f=false | title = Dod's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage of Great Britain, and Ireland for ... : Including All the Titled Classes | last1 = Dod | first1 = Charles Roger | year = 1903 |location=London |publisher=Ampson, Low, Marston & Company |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books/about/My_Memories_and_Miscellanies.html?id=x40xAQAAMAAJ |title=My Memories and Miscellanies |first=Wilhelmina |last=FitzClarence|year=1904 |location=London |publisher=Eveleigh Nash |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=KDw6AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA722&dq=%22Wilhelmina%22+%22Kennedy-Erskine%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=mIWCUt_KKOWU2gW6xYDwBA&ved=0CCwQ6AEwADge#v=onepage&q=%22Wilhelmina%22%20%22Kennedy-Erskine%22&f=false |title=Armorial Families: A Complete Peerage, Baronetage, and Knightage |editor1-first=Arthur Charles |editor1-last=Fox-Davies |year=1895 |location=Edinburgh |publisher=T.C. & E.C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=GlIwAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA201&dq=kennedy-erskine+earl+munster#v=onepage&q=kennedy-erskine%20earl%20munster&f=false | title = Twenty Years at Court: From the Correspondence of the Hon. Eleanor Stanley, Maid of Honour to Her Late Majesty Queen Victoria, 1842–1862 | last1 = Julian Stanley Long | first1 = Eleanor | year = 1916 |location=New York |publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=zYNfom9HQPIC&pg=PA163&dq=%22countess+of+munster%22+novelist#v=onepage&q=%22countess%20of%20munster%22%20novelist&f=false | title =Tales from a Gas-Lit Graveyard | isbn = 978-0-486-43429-2 | editor-first = Hugh | year = 1979 |publisher=W.H. Allen |location=London | editor-last = Lamb |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=aB6iSLC66cwC&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=%22countess+of+munster%22&ots=ntS1c8R4iB&sig=yEEHRmdty-U5w-Yz6D1C6HVkinA#v=onepage&q=munster&f=false | title =Gaslit Nightmares | isbn = 0-486-44924-6| editor-first = Hugh | year = 1988 |publisher=Futura Publications |location=London | editor-last = Lamb |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/books?id=IIsUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA13&dq=John+Kennedy-Erskine+fitzclarence+1831&hl=en&sa=X&ei=uAUFU9CWE4a9yAGt8oHIAg&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=John%20Kennedy-Erskine%20fitzclarence%201831&f=false | title = The Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire as at Present Existing | last1 = Lodge | first1 = Edmund |first2=Anne |last2=Innes |coauthors=Eliza Innes, Maria Innes | year = 1832 |publisher=Ibotson and Palmer |location=London |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=BxQwAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA453&dq=Wilhelmina+Kennedy-Erskine+fitzclarence#v=onepage&q=Wilhelmina%20Kennedy-Erskine%20fitzclarence&f=false | title = The Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire as at Present Existing | last1 = Lodge | first1 = Edmund |first2=Anne |last2=Innes |coauthors=Eliza Innes, Maria Innes | year = 1890 |publisher=Hurst and Blackett |location=London |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |title=Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage |edition=106th |editor-last=Mosley |editor-first=Charles |year=1999 |location=Crans, Switzerland |publisher=Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |title=Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage |edition=107th |editor-last=Mosley |editor-first=Charles |year=2003 |location=Wilmington, Delaware |publisher=Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite journal| url = http://books.google.com/books?id=jkg9AQAAIAAJ&pg=RA1-PA297&dq=munster+A+%22Scotch+Earl%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=W_qAU6yYEM6iyATPzoL4CQ&ved=0CFwQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=munster%20A%20%22Scotch%20Earl%22&f=false | title= Recent Novels |volume= 66–67 | year = 1891 |p=297 |location=London |publisher=John Campbell |journal=[[The Spectator]] |ref={{sfnRef|The Spectator}} }}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Reynolds|first=K.D.|title=FitzClarence, George Augustus Frederick, first earl of Munster (1794–1842) |id=9542|date=2004 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite journal| url = http://books.google.com/?id=ljpRAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA454&dq=%22countess+of+munster%22+novelist#v=onepage&q=%22countess%20of%20munster%22%20novelist&f=false | journal= [[The Academy (periodical)|The Academy and Literature]] |volume=66 |chapter=Short Notices | date = 23 April 1904 |page=454 |publisher= |location=London |ref={{sfnRef|Academy and Literature}}}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=0NIVAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA111&dq=munster+wilde&hl=en&sa=X&ei=9veAU6m5CY6pyATbuIEw&ved=0CE4Q6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=munster&f=false |title=The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde: Together with Essays and Stories by Lady Wilde, Volume 4 |first=Oscar |last=Wilde |authorlink=Oscar Wilde |year=1910 |publisher=Aldine Publishing Company |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?ei=uy54U_-sFcupyASi4oCYBw&id=l1QYAQAAIAAJ&dq=munster+fitzclarence+wilhelmina&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=munster |title=Shadows in the Attic: A Guide to British Supernatural Fiction, 1820–1950 |last= Wilson |first=Neil |year=2000 |location=London |publisher=British Library Publishing Division |isbn=978-0-7123-1074-1 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=gAfVIVra9C4C&pg=PA854&dq=Wilhelmina+Kennedy-Erskine+fitzclarence#v=onepage&q=Wilhelmina%20Kennedy-Erskine%20fitzclarence&f=false |title=The Life and Reign of William the Fourth |last= Wright |first=G.N. |year=1837 |location=London |publisher=Fisher, Son, & Co |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url =http://books.google.com/books?id=bWRZAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT442&dq=munster+fitzclarence+wilhelmina&hl=en&sa=X&ei=uy54U_-sFcupyASi4oCYBw&ved=0CCoQ6AEwADgK#v=onepage&q=munster&f=false | title =Wilde Discoveries: Traditions, Histories, Archives |chapter=The Aestetic Character of Oscar Wilde's The Woman's World |first=Molly |last=Youngkin | asin= B00HCLU9EW| editor-first = Joseph | year = 2013 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |location=London | editor-last = Bristow |ref=harv}}

{{refend}}
{{Commons category|Augusta FitzClarence Kennedy-Erskine }}

{{Good article}}

{{Persondata
| NAME = FitzClarence, Wilhelmina, Countess of Munster
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = British writer
| DATE OF BIRTH = 27 June 1830
| PLACE OF BIRTH = Dun House, Montrose, Scotland
| DATE OF DEATH = 9 October 1906
| PLACE OF DEATH = Hove, Sussex, England
}}
[[Category:FitzClarence family]]
[[Category:1830 births]]
[[Category:1906 deaths]]
[[Category:British countesses]]
[[Category:People from Montrose, Angus]]
[[Category:19th-century British novelists]]
[[Category:British horror writers]]
[[Category:British women short story writers]]
[[Category:20th-century British novelists]]
[[Category:British autobiographers]]
[[Category:Women autobiographers]]
[[Category:Women horror writers]]
[[Category:Women novelists]]
[[Category:20th-century women writers]]
[[Category:19th-century women writers]]

Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster

2014-11-15T19:34:36Z

Ruby2010: Fixing harv errors

{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox noble|type
| name = Wilhelmina Kennedy-Erskine
| title = Countess of Munster
| image = Countess Munster.jpg
| caption = The Countess of Munster as portrayed on the frontispiece of her autobiography (published 1904)
| alt =
| CoA =
| more = no
| succession =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| suc-type =
| spouse = [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]]
| spouse-type = Husband
| issue = Edward, Viscount FitzClarence Hon. Lionel Frederick Archibald [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster]] Hon. Arthur Falkland Manners [[Aubrey FitzClarence, 4th Earl of Munster]] Hon. William George Hon. Harold Edward Lady Lillian Boyd Lady Dorothea Lee-Warner
| full name =
| styles =
| titles =
| noble family = [[:Category:FitzClarence family|FitzClarence family]]
| house-type = nobility
| father = Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine
| mother = [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1830|06|27}}
| birth_place = [[House of Dun|Dun House]], Montrose, Scotland
| christening_date =
| christening_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1906|10|09|1830|06|27}}
| death_place =
| burial_date =
| burial_place =
| religion =
| occupation = Peeress, novelist
| module = '''Signature''' [[Image:Countess Munster signature.jpg]]
}}
'''Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster''' (''née'' '''Kennedy-Erskine'''; 27 June 1830 – 9 October 1906) was a British peeress and novelist. Her mother, [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]], was an illegitimate daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]; Wilhelmina, also known as Mina, was born the day after William's succession as monarch. She travelled as a young girl throughout Europe, visiting the courts of [[July Monarchy|France]] and [[Kingdom of Hanover|Hanover]]. In 1855, Mina married her first cousin [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]]; they would have nine children, including the [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster|3rd]] and [[Aubrey FitzClarence, 4th Earl of Munster|4th]] Earls of Munster.

The Earl and Countess of Munster lived at [[Palmeira Square]] in [[Brighton]]. Later in life, Lady Munster became a novelist and short story writer. In 1889, she released her first novel, ''Dorinda''; a second, ''A Scotch Earl'', followed two years later. The year 1896 saw the publication of ''Ghostly Tales'', a collection of tales on the supernatural which have largely been forgotten today. Lady Munster also produced an autobiography entitled ''My Memories and Miscellanies'', which was released in 1904. She died two years later.

==Family and early life==
[[File:Lady Augusta FitzClarence and children.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Wilhelmina ''(right)'' with her mother Lady Augusta and two siblings. Painted by [[John Hayter]], c. 1831]]
Wilhelmina "Mina" Kennedy-Erskine was born on 27 June 1830 in [[House of Dun|Dun House]], Montrose, Scotland. She was the second child of the Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine and his wife [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]], an illegitimate daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom|William IV]] (who became monarch the day before Mina's birth).{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=3}} Her father, the second son of the [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa|13th Earl of Cassilis]], was a captain with the [[16th The Queen's Lancers|16th Lancers]] and an [[equerry]] to King William before dying in 1831 at the age of 28.<ref>{{Cite news|title=The Queen's Third Drawing Room |newspaper=[[The Observer]] |date=27 March 1831 |page=1}}</ref>{{sfn|Lodge|Innes|1832|p=13}}

Mina lived with her widowed mother and two siblings in a "charming brick house" on the [[River Thames]] called Railshead, which was next door to a house owned by her paternal grandparents.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=5–7}} King William visited the family often and was quite fond of Mina;{{sfn|Academy and Literature|p=454}} on one occasion, he visited to comfort his daughter when three- or four-year-old Mina nearly died of a "very dangerous brain fever".{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=8}} The Kennedy-Erskines also often visited [[Windsor Castle]] during the king's reign.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=34}}

Five years after Kennedy-Erskine's death, Lady Augusta married [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton]], a decision that displeased her first husband's parents.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=40}} The decision led to Lady Augusta's departure from Railshead. In 1837 she became State Housekeeper at [[Kensington Palace]] after the death of her sister, [[Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley|Lady De L'Isle]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}}{{sfn|Cambridge|1900|p=25}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=42}} Mina lived there until she married.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=50}} She and her sister Millicent enjoyed music and had a particular love for the Italian soprano [[Marietta Alboni]]. The sisters' Italian singing-master secretly arranged for a meeting with Alboni, but the encounter did not go well; the singer discovered that they were the daughters of the "housekeeper", and, assuming that they were not ladies, departed soon after.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=61–64}}

In the late 1840s, Mina travelled through Europe with her family so that they might "learn languages and finish [their] education".{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=83}} The trip started in 1847, when Mina journeyed to [[Dresden]] due to her mother's desire for her daughters to learn German.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=83–84}} From 1847 to 1849, she and her family lived in Paris near the [[Arc de Triomphe]], and were kindly received by the French Royal Family headed by [[Louis Philippe I]] and [[Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily|Queen Marie Amalie]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=110–17}} They left soon after the king and queen's [[French Revolution of 1848|fall from power]], as the city had suddenly become unsafe for those of their rank.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=120–23}} In 1850, they visited the court of [[Kingdom of Hanover|Hanover]] and were received by [[Ernest Augustus I of Hanover]] and his family; later that year, they returned to Kensington Palace and Mina and Millicent [[Season (society)|came out in society]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=129–44}}

==Marriage==
[[File:Earl of Munster 25 February 1882.jpg|thumb|right|180px|The Earl of Munster as caricatured by Spy ([[Leslie Ward]]) in ''[[Vanity Fair (British magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'', February 1882 ]]
Mina married her full first cousin [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]] at [[Wemyss Castle]] on 17 April 1855 in a double wedding in which her sister Millicent married [[James Hay Erskine Wemyss]].{{sfn|Julian Stanley Long|1916|p=201}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=152}} Like Mina, FitzClarence was a grandchild of William IV; at a young age, he had succeeded his father the [[George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster|1st Earl]], who served as a governor of Windsor Castle and constable of the [[Round Tower (Portsmouth)|Round Tower]] until his suicide in 1842.{{sfn|Reynolds|2004}} The FitzClarences travelled to Hamburg immediately after the wedding, visiting local ''[[schloss]]es'' and the family of [[Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein]] (who later married [[Princess Helena of the United Kingdom|The Princess Helena]]).{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=153–56}} Their first child, Edward, was born within a year.{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}} The couple would have nine children, four of whom outlived their mother:
* Edward, Viscount FitzClarence (29 March 1856 – 1870){{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|Innes|1890|p=453}}
* Hon. Lionel Frederick Archibald (24 July 1857 – 1863){{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|Innes|1890|p=453}}
* [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster]] (18 July 1859 – 2 February 1902); died without issue{{sfn|Lodge|Innes|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=2035}}
* Hon. Arthur Falkland Manners (18 October 1860 – 1861){{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|Innes|1890|p=453}}
* [[Aubrey FitzClarence, 4th Earl of Munster]] (7 June 1862 – 1 January 1928); died without issue{{sfn|Lodge|Innes|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=2035}}
* Hon. William George (17 September 1864 – 4 October 1899); married Charlotte Elizabeth Williams{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|Innes|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=2035}}
* Hon. Harold Edward (15 November 1870 – 28 August 1926); married Frances Isabel Eleanor Keppel; their son was the [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 5th Earl of Munster|5th Earl of Munster]]{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|Innes|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=48}}
* Lady Lillian Adelaide Katherine Mary (10 December 1873 – 15 July 1948); married Captain William Arthur Boyd{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|Innes|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|2003|p=470}}
* Lady Dorothea Augusta (5 May 1876 – 1942); married Major Chandos Brydges Lee-Warner{{sfn|Lodge|Innes|1890|p=453}}<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp60749/lady-dorothea-augusta-lee-warner |title=Lady Dorothea Augusta Lee-Warner |publisher=[[National Portrait Gallery, London|National Portrait Gallery]] |accessdate=17 February 2014}}</ref>

The Earl and Countess of Munster lived at [[Palmeira Square]] in [[Brighton]].{{sfn|Lady's Realm|p=197}}{{sfn|Dod|1903|p=654}}{{sfn|Addison|Oakes|1901|p=821}} According to an article in contemporary women's magazine ''[[Lady's Realm]]'', the Countess lived a very quiet life. In 1897, the magazine reported that she had lived in retirement in Brighton for the past thirty-five years. Her attachment to the city, the article suggested, was due to childhood memories of visiting there with King William.{{sfn|Lady's Realm|p=197}} The article also stated that because Lord Munster's health was failing, the Countess was living in "comparative seclusion", though her lifestyle was also attributed to a love of a "quiet, literary, and artistic life".{{sfn|Lady's Realm|p=197}} She died on 9 October 1906,{{sfn|Brooke|Sladen|1907|p=1275}} having been widowed five years.{{sfn|Debrett's|p=601}}

==Literary career==
{{Library resources box|by=yes|onlinebooksby=yes|lcheading= Munster, Wilhelmina Fitzclarence, Countess of, 1830–1906}}
Later in life, Lady Munster became a novelist and short story writer, writing under the title the Countess of Munster. At the age of nearly sixty,{{sfn|Wilson|2000|p=219}} she published two novels; her first, ''Dorinda'', in 1889, and her second, ''A Scotch Earl'', in 1891.{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} The plot of ''Dorinda'' centred on a young woman who eventually kills herself after stealing works of art from her friends. [[Oscar Wilde]] noted Munster's skill in writing ''Dorinda''; he compared the "exceedingly clever" novel's eponymous heroine to "a sort of well-born" [[Becky Sharp (character)|Becky Sharp]],{{sfn|Wilde|1910|p=110}} and praised the author's ability "to draw ... in a few sentences the most lifelike portraits of social types and social exceptions".{{sfn|Youngkin|2013}} In 1888, an article by Munster about ballad singing appeared in ''[[The Woman's World]]'', a Victorian women's magazine edited by Wilde.{{sfn|Youngkin|2013}} ''A Scotch Earl'', which centred on a vulgar Scottish nobleman named Lord Invergordon, was less well-received by contemporaries. ''[[The Spectator]]'' published a critical review soon after its publication which suggested that the novel's showering of "contempt upon the society of wealth and rank" was close to [[Republicanism in the United Kingdom|Republicanism]] or Socialism.{{sfn|The Spectator|p=297}} The review criticised ''A Scotch Earl'' for lacking "any merits of construction or style", and added that Lady Munster was "not and never will be a capable novelist".{{sfn|The Spectator|p=297}}

In 1896, Munster released ''Ghostly Tales'', a collection of stories "written in a manner similar to accounts of true hauntings".{{sfn|Anderson|2012}}{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} ''Lady's Realm'' considered her stories to be based on fact.{{sfn|Lady's Realm|p=197}} A positive review of ''Ghostly Tales'' was published in the ''[[Saturday Review (London)|Saturday Review]]'' in 1897, in which the stories were described as "entertaining and dramatic", but it was noted that not all were based on supernatural events.{{sfn|Cook|Harwood|1897|p=230}} Hugh Lamb included the Countess's "surprisingly grim" story "The Tyburn Ghost" in his 1979 edited volume ''Tales from a Gas-Lit Graveyard''. He wrote at the time that Lady Munster's works had been "completely overlooked by bibliophiles and anthologists since her death".{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} Lamb deemed this regrettable, as he considered ''Ghostly Tales'' "possibly her best work" and one of the "truly representative collections of Victorian ghost stories".{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} Lamb also included another of her stories, "The Page-Boy's Ghost", in a 1988 anthology.{{sfn|Lamb|1988|p=208}} However, modern author and editor [[Douglas A. Anderson]] has called the Countess's stories "standard, melodramatic fare", which are "perfectly forgettable".{{sfn|Anderson|2012}}

In 1904, Lady Munster produced an autobiography entitled ''My Memories and Miscellanies''. In its [[foreword]], she explained that "some valued friends" convinced her to write it, despite her reluctance, because her "long life" had witnessed "not a few interesting events".{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=vii}} The book was called her "chief work" in ''[[The Manchester Guardian]]'' at the time of her death in 1906.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Memorial Notices |newspaper=[[The Manchester Guardian]] |date=12 October 1906 |page=7}}</ref> The Countess wrote the entire book by memory, and expressed regret that she had given up her journal writing as a young girl after someone else improperly read it.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=112}} The autobiography included several recounted sightings of the female ghost "Green Jean" at Wemyss Castle; Lady Munster claimed that several members of her family, including Millicent, saw the ghost while staying there.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=159–64}}

==Ancestry==
{{ahnentafel top|width=100%}}
{{ahnentafel-compact5
|style=font-size: 90%; line-height: 110%;
|border=1
|boxstyle=padding-top: 0; padding-bottom: 0;
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe;
|1= 1. '''Wilhelmina Kennedy-Erskine'''
|2= 2. Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine
|3= 3. [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]]
|4= 4. [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa]]
|5= 5. Margaret Erskine
|6= 6. [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]
|7= 7. [[Dorothea Jordan|Dorothea Bland]]
|8= 8. [[Archibald Kennedy, 11th Earl of Cassilis]]
|9= 9. Anne Watts
|10= 10. John Erskine
|11= 11. Mary Baird
|12= 12. [[George III of the United Kingdom]]
|13= 13. [[Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz|Duchess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
|14= 14. Francis Bland
|15= 15. Grace Phillips
|16= 16. Archibald Kennedy
|18= 18. John Watts
|19= 19. Ann DeLancey
|20= 20. John Erskine of Dunard
|22= 22. William Baird
|23= 23. Alicia Johnston
|24= 24. [[Frederick, Prince of Wales]]
|25= 25. [[Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha]]
|26= 26. [[Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg|Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
|27= 27. [[Princess Elizabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen]]
|28= 28. James Bland
|29= 29. Lucy Brewster
}}</center>
{{ahnentafel bottom}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

;Works cited
{{refbegin|colwidth=30em}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=8EcuAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA821&dq=Palmeira+Square+earl+of+munster#v=onepage&q=Palmeira%20Square%20earl%20of%20munster&f=false | title = Who's Who | year = 1901 |first1=Henry Robert |last1=Addison |first2=Charles Henry |last2=Oakes |publisher=Adam & Charles Black |location=London |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite web|url=http://desturmobed.blogspot.com/2012/05/countess-of-munster.html |first=Douglas A. |last=Anderson |authorlink=Douglas A. Anderson |title=The Countess of Munster |date=10 May 2012 |publisher=Desturmobed.blogspot.com |accessdate= 7 November 2013 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite journal| url = http://books.google.com/?id=tBo7AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA198&dq=queen+victoria+%22lady+munster%22#v=onepage&q=queen%20victoria%20%22lady%20munster%22&f=false |title=Brighton Society |volume=1 | year = 1897 |location=London |publisher=Hutchinson and Co |p=198 |journal=[[Lady's Realm]] |ref={{sfnRef|Lady's Realm}} }}
* {{Cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=cLc7AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA601&dq=2nd+%22earl+of+munster%22+1901&hl=en&sa=X&ei=B0aCU5KQI4qMqgbljIDIDA&ved=0CDMQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=2nd%20%22earl%20of%20munster%22%201901&f=false |title=Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage, and Companionage |year=1902 |volume=189 |location=London |publisher=Dean & Son Limited |ref={{sfnRef|Debrett's}}}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=w0pLAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA1275&lpg=PA1275&dq=wilhelmina+1906+munster#v=onepage&q=wilhelmina%201906%20munster&f=false | title =Who's Who: An Annual Biographical Dictionary | year = 1907 |first1=Douglas |last1=Brooke |first2=Wheelton |last2=Sladen |location=London |publisher=Adam & Charles Black |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=K1YwAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA25&lpg=PA25&dq=countess+of+munster+kennedy-erskine#v=onepage&q=countess%20of%20munster%20kennedy-erskine&f=false | title = A Memoir of Her Royal Highness Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck, Volume 1 |first=Mary Adelaide of |last=Cambridge |authorlink=Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge | year = 1900 |location=London |publisher=John Murray |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite journal| url = http://books.google.com/?id=aZE_AQAAIAAJ&pg=PA230&dq=%22countess+of+munster%22+novelist#v=onepage&q=%22countess%20of%20munster%22%20novelist&f=false | title = Fiction |volume=83 | last1= Cook | first1 = John Douglas |first2=Philip |last2=Harwood |coothers=Frank Harris, Walter Herries Pollock, Harold Hodge | year = 1897 |location=London |journal=[[Saturday Review (London)|Saturday Review]] |p=230 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book | url = http://books.google.com/?id=uZstAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA654&dq=Palmeira+Square+earl+of+munster#v=onepage&q=Palmeira%20Square%20earl%20of%20munster&f=false | title = Dod's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage of Great Britain, and Ireland for ... : Including All the Titled Classes | last1 = Dod | first1 = Charles Roger | year = 1903 |location=London |publisher=Ampson, Low, Marston & Company |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books/about/My_Memories_and_Miscellanies.html?id=x40xAQAAMAAJ |title=My Memories and Miscellanies |first=Wilhelmina |last=FitzClarence|year=1904 |location=London |publisher=Eveleigh Nash |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=KDw6AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA722&dq=%22Wilhelmina%22+%22Kennedy-Erskine%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=mIWCUt_KKOWU2gW6xYDwBA&ved=0CCwQ6AEwADge#v=onepage&q=%22Wilhelmina%22%20%22Kennedy-Erskine%22&f=false |title=Armorial Families: A Complete Peerage, Baronetage, and Knightage |editor1-first=Arthur Charles |editor1-last=Fox-Davies |year=1895 |location=Edinburgh |publisher=T.C. & E.C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=GlIwAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA201&dq=kennedy-erskine+earl+munster#v=onepage&q=kennedy-erskine%20earl%20munster&f=false | title = Twenty Years at Court: From the Correspondence of the Hon. Eleanor Stanley, Maid of Honour to Her Late Majesty Queen Victoria, 1842–1862 | last1 = Julian Stanley Long | first1 = Eleanor | year = 1916 |location=New York |publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=zYNfom9HQPIC&pg=PA163&dq=%22countess+of+munster%22+novelist#v=onepage&q=%22countess%20of%20munster%22%20novelist&f=false | title =Tales from a Gas-Lit Graveyard | isbn = 978-0-486-43429-2 | editor-first = Hugh | year = 1979 |publisher=W.H. Allen |location=London | editor-last = Lamb |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=aB6iSLC66cwC&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=%22countess+of+munster%22&ots=ntS1c8R4iB&sig=yEEHRmdty-U5w-Yz6D1C6HVkinA#v=onepage&q=munster&f=false | title =Gaslit Nightmares | isbn = 0-486-44924-6| editor-first = Hugh | year = 1988 |publisher=Futura Publications |location=London | editor-last = Lamb |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/books?id=IIsUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA13&dq=John+Kennedy-Erskine+fitzclarence+1831&hl=en&sa=X&ei=uAUFU9CWE4a9yAGt8oHIAg&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=John%20Kennedy-Erskine%20fitzclarence%201831&f=false | title = The Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire as at Present Existing | last1 = Lodge | first1 = Edmund |first2=Anne |last2=Innes |coauthors=Eliza Innes, Maria Innes | year = 1832 |publisher=Ibotson and Palmer |location=London |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=BxQwAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA453&dq=Wilhelmina+Kennedy-Erskine+fitzclarence#v=onepage&q=Wilhelmina%20Kennedy-Erskine%20fitzclarence&f=false | title = The Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire as at Present Existing | last1 = Lodge | first1 = Edmund |first2=Anne |last2=Innes |coauthors=Eliza Innes, Maria Innes | year = 1890 |publisher=Hurst and Blackett |location=London |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |title=Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage |edition=106th |editor-last=Mosley |editor-first=Charles |year=1999 |location=Crans, Switzerland |publisher=Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |title=Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage |edition=107th |editor-last=Mosley |editor-first=Charles |year=2003 |location=Wilmington, Delaware |publisher=Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite journal| url = http://books.google.com/books?id=jkg9AQAAIAAJ&pg=RA1-PA297&dq=munster+A+%22Scotch+Earl%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=W_qAU6yYEM6iyATPzoL4CQ&ved=0CFwQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=munster%20A%20%22Scotch%20Earl%22&f=false | title= Recent Novels |volume= 66–67 | year = 1891 |p=297 |location=London |publisher=John Campbell |journal=[[The Spectator]] |ref={{sfnRef|The Spectator}} }}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Reynolds|first=K.D.|title=FitzClarence, George Augustus Frederick, first earl of Munster (1794–1842) |id=9542|date=2004 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite journal| url = http://books.google.com/?id=ljpRAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA454&dq=%22countess+of+munster%22+novelist#v=onepage&q=%22countess%20of%20munster%22%20novelist&f=false | journal= [[The Academy (periodical)|The Academy and Literature]] |volume=66 |chapter=Short Notices | date = 23 April 1904 |page=454 |publisher= |location=London |ref={{sfnRef|Academy and Literature}}}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=0NIVAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA111&dq=munster+wilde&hl=en&sa=X&ei=9veAU6m5CY6pyATbuIEw&ved=0CE4Q6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=munster&f=false |title=The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde: Together with Essays and Stories by Lady Wilde, Volume 4 |first=Oscar |last=Wilde |authorlink=Oscar Wilde |year=1910 |publisher=Aldine Publishing Company |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?ei=uy54U_-sFcupyASi4oCYBw&id=l1QYAQAAIAAJ&dq=munster+fitzclarence+wilhelmina&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=munster |title=Shadows in the Attic: A Guide to British Supernatural Fiction, 1820–1950 |last= Wilson |first=Neil |year=2000 |location=London |publisher=British Library Publishing Division |isbn=978-0-7123-1074-1 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=gAfVIVra9C4C&pg=PA854&dq=Wilhelmina+Kennedy-Erskine+fitzclarence#v=onepage&q=Wilhelmina%20Kennedy-Erskine%20fitzclarence&f=false |title=The Life and Reign of William the Fourth |last= Wright |first=G.N. |year=1837 |location=London |publisher=Fisher, Son, & Co |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url =http://books.google.com/books?id=bWRZAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT442&dq=munster+fitzclarence+wilhelmina&hl=en&sa=X&ei=uy54U_-sFcupyASi4oCYBw&ved=0CCoQ6AEwADgK#v=onepage&q=munster&f=false | title =Wilde Discoveries: Traditions, Histories, Archives |chapter=The Aestetic Character of Oscar Wilde's The Woman's World |first=Molly |last=Youngkin | asin= B00HCLU9EW| editor-first = Joseph | year = 2013 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |location=London | editor-last = Bristow |ref=harv}}

{{refend}}
{{Commons category|Augusta FitzClarence Kennedy-Erskine }}

{{Good article}}

{{Persondata
| NAME = FitzClarence, Wilhelmina, Countess of Munster
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = British writer
| DATE OF BIRTH = 27 June 1830
| PLACE OF BIRTH = Dun House, Montrose, Scotland
| DATE OF DEATH = 9 October 1906
| PLACE OF DEATH = Hove, Sussex, England
}}
[[Category:FitzClarence family]]
[[Category:1830 births]]
[[Category:1906 deaths]]
[[Category:British countesses]]
[[Category:People from Montrose, Angus]]
[[Category:19th-century British novelists]]
[[Category:British horror writers]]
[[Category:British women short story writers]]
[[Category:20th-century British novelists]]
[[Category:British autobiographers]]
[[Category:Women autobiographers]]
[[Category:Women horror writers]]
[[Category:Women novelists]]
[[Category:20th-century women writers]]
[[Category:19th-century women writers]]

Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L’Isle and Dudley

2014-10-09T17:17:02Z

Ruby2010: /* References */

{{Infobox noble|type
| name = Sophia FitzClarence
| title = Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley
| image =
| caption =
| alt =
| succession =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| suc-type =
| spouse = [[Philip Sidney, 1st Baron De L'Isle and Dudley]]
| spouse-type = Husband
| issue = Adelaide Sydney Ernestine Sydney Sophia Sydney Philip Sidney, 2nd Baron of De L'Isle and Dudley
| full name =
| styles =
| titles =
| noble family = [[:Category:FitzClarence family|FitzClarence family]]
| house-type = nobility
| father = [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]
| mother = [[Dorothea Jordan]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1795|03|04|df=y}}
| birth_place = Somerset Street, London
| christening_date =
| christening_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1837|04|10|1795|03|04|df=y}}
| death_place =
| burial_date =
| burial_place =
| religion =
| occupation = Noblewoman
}}
'''Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley''' (''née'' '''FitzClarence'''; 4 March 1795 – 10 April 1837) was the eldest daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom]] and his longtime mistress [[Dorothea Jordan]]. She was married to [[Philip Sidney, 1st Baron De L'Isle and Dudley]] and had four surviving children. Shortly before her death in 1837 she served as State Housekeeper in [[Kensington Palace]].

==Family and early life==
Sophia FitzClarence was born on 4 March 1795 on Somerset Street in London, the eldest daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom|Prince William, Duke of Clarence]] by his longtime mistress, the comic actress [[Dorothea Jordan]].{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} Sophia would come to have nine siblings, five brothers and four sisters all surnamed FitzClarence.{{sfn|Wright|1837|pp=429, 851–54}}{{sfn|Weir|2008|p=304}} While circumstances prevented the couple from ever marrying, for twenty years William and Dorothea enjoyed domestic stability and were devoted to their children.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Campbell Denlinger|2005|p=81}} In 1797, they moved from Clarence Lodge to Bushy House, residing at the Teddington residence until 1807.{{sfn|Brock|2004}} The couple separated in 1811 as William sought to produce legitimate issue.{{sfn|Campbell Denlinger|2005|p=84}}

==Marriage and issue==
On 13 August 1825, she married [[Philip Sidney, 1st Baron De L'Isle and Dudley|Philip Sidney]], later an M.P. and the 1st [[Viscount De L'Isle|Baron De L'Isle and Dudley]] of Penshurst in the County of Kent.{{sfn|Weir|2008|p=304}}{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=851}} Sidney was a relation of the [[Romantic poetry|Romantic poet]] and philosopher [[Percy Bysshe Shelley]], though he opted to drop "Shelley" from his surname.{{sfn|Brennan|2006}}

Sophia and her husband had four surviving children, three daughters and a son:{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=851}}{{sfn|Burke|1880|p=353}}

* Adelaide Augusta Willhelmina Sydney, married her first cousin, Frederick Charles George FitzClarence-Hunloke, son of [[George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster]], no issue
* Ernestine Wellington Sidney, married Philip Perceval; mother of Major Sir [[Philip Hunloke]], who was the father of Lt.-Col. [[Henry Hunloke|Henry Philip Hunloke]]
* Sophia Philippa Sidney, married Alexander, Graf von Kielmannsegg, a great-grandson of [[Johann Ludwig, Reichsgraf von Wallmoden-Gimborn]] (illegitimate son of [[George II of Great Britain]])
* Philip Sidney, 2nd Baron of De L'Isle and Dudley of Penshurst (1828–1898), grandfather of the [[William Sidney, 1st Viscount De L'Isle|1st Viscount De L'Isle]]

==Later life==
[[File:William IV in 1837 by his daughter Sophia.jpg|thumb|130px|William IV drawn by his daughter Sophia in 1837]]
In May 1831 Sophia, like her sisters, was raised to the status of a daughter of a [[marquess]]. In January 1837, she was appointed State Housekeeper of [[Kensington Palace]] where she died three months later.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=851}} Sophia died in childbirth in 1837, just after drawing a sketch of her ailing father. She was his favourite child and her death caused him intense grief. She was remembered as a woman of great wit, charm and gaiety.

The widowed Sidney died in 1851.{{sfn|Weir|2008|p=304}}

==Ancestry==
{{ahnentafel top|width=100%}}
{{ahnentafel-compact5
|style=font-size: 90%; line-height: 110%;
|border=1
|boxstyle=padding-top: 0; padding-bottom: 0;
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe;
|1= 1. '''Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley'''
|2= 2. [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]
|3= 3. [[Dorothea Jordan|Dorothy Jordan]]
|4= 4. [[George III of the United Kingdom]]
|5= 5. [[Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
|6= 6. Francis Bland
|7= 7. Grace Phillips
|8= 8. [[Frederick, Prince of Wales]]
|9= 9. [[Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha]]
|10= 10. [[Charles Louis Frederick, Duke of Mecklenburg-Mirow]]
|11= 11. [[Princess Elizabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen]]
|12= 12. Nathaniel Bland
|13= 13. Elizabeth Heaton
|16= 16. [[George II of Great Britain]]
|17= 17. [[Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach]]
|18= 18. [[Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg]]
|19= 19. [[Magdalena Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst]]
|20= 20. [[Adolf Frederick II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
|21= 21. Princess Christiane Emilie of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
|22= 22. [[Ernest Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen]]
|23= 23. Sophia Albertine of Erbach-Erbach
|24= 24. James Bland
|25= 25. Lucy Brewster
}}</center>
{{ahnentafel bottom}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

;Works cited
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=PEc7AwAAQBAJ& |title=Royal Bastards |first1=Peter |last1=Beauclerk-Dewar |first2=Roger |last2=Powell |year=2008 |location=Stroud |publisher=The History Press |isbn=9780752473154 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=U2O2gshcuSEC& |title=The Sidneys of Penshurst and the Monarchy, 1500-1700 |first=Michael G. |last=Brennan |year=2006 |publisher=Ashgate Publishing Company |ref=harv}}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Brock|first=Michael |authorlink=Michael Brock |title=William IV (1765–1837) |id=29451 |date=2004 }}
* {{Cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=u6IaAAAAYAAJ& |title=A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage, Volume 42, Part 1 |first=Bernard |last=Burke |publisher=Harrison and Sons |year=1880 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://www.questia.com/read/117825946 |title=Before Victoria: Extraordinary Women of the British Romantic Era |first=Elizabeth |last=Campbell Denlinger |year=2005 |location=New York|publisher=Columbia University Press |via=Questia |isbn= |ref=harv}} {{Subscription needed}}
*{{cite book|first=Alison|last=Weir|authorlink=Alison Weir|title=Britain's Royal Families, The Complete Genealogy|publisher=Vintage Books|location=London|year=2008|isbn=978-0-09-953973-5 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=gAfVIVra9C4C& |title=The Life and Reign of William the Fourth |last= Wright |first=G.N. |year=1837 |location=London |publisher=Fisher, Son, & Co |ref=harv}}
{{refend}}

{{Persondata 
| NAME = Sidney, Sophia
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = British Baroness
| DATE OF BIRTH = 1796
| PLACE OF BIRTH =
| DATE OF DEATH = 10 April 1837
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sidney, Sophia}}
[[Category:1796 births]]
[[Category:1837 deaths]]
[[Category:British baronesses]]
[[Category:Deaths in childbirth]]
[[Category:FitzClarence family]]
[[Category:Illegitimate children of William IV of the United Kingdom]]

Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L’Isle and Dudley

2014-09-18T14:34:23Z

Ruby2010: /* Later life */

{{Infobox noble|type
| name = Sophia FitzClarence
| title = Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley
| image =
| caption =
| alt =
| succession =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| suc-type =
| spouse = [[Philip Sidney, 1st Baron De L'Isle and Dudley]]
| spouse-type = Husband
| issue = Adelaide Sydney Ernestine Sydney Sophia Sydney Philip Sidney, 2nd Baron of De L'Isle and Dudley
| full name =
| styles =
| titles =
| noble family = [[:Category:FitzClarence family|FitzClarence family]]
| house-type = nobility
| father = [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]
| mother = [[Dorothea Jordan]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1795|03|04|df=y}}
| birth_place = Somerset Street, London
| christening_date =
| christening_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1837|04|10|1795|03|04|df=y}}
| death_place =
| burial_date =
| burial_place =
| religion =
| occupation = Noblewoman
}}
'''Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley''' (''née'' '''FitzClarence'''; 4 March 1795 – 10 April 1837) was the eldest daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom]] and his longtime mistress [[Dorothea Jordan]]. She was married to [[Philip Sidney, 1st Baron De L'Isle and Dudley]] and had four surviving children. Shortly before her death in 1837 she served as State Housekeeper in [[Kensington Palace]].

==Family and early life==
Sophia FitzClarence was born on 4 March 1795 on Somerset Street in London, the eldest daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom|Prince William, Duke of Clarence]] by his longtime mistress, the comic actress [[Dorothea Jordan]].{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} Sophia would come to have nine siblings, five brothers and four sisters all surnamed FitzClarence.{{sfn|Wright|1837|pp=429, 851–54}}{{sfn|Weir|2008|p=304}} While circumstances prevented the couple from ever marrying, for twenty years William and Dorothea enjoyed domestic stability and were devoted to their children.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Campbell Denlinger|2005|p=81}} In 1797, they moved from Clarence Lodge to Bushy House, residing at the Teddington residence until 1807.{{sfn|Brock|2004}} The couple separated in 1811 as William sought to produce legitimate issue.{{sfn|Campbell Denlinger|2005|p=84}}

==Marriage and issue==
On 13 August 1825, she married [[Philip Sidney, 1st Baron De L'Isle and Dudley|Philip Sidney]], later an M.P. and the 1st [[Viscount De L'Isle|Baron De L'Isle and Dudley]] of Penshurst in the County of Kent.{{sfn|Weir|2008|p=304}}{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=851}} Sidney was a relation of the [[Romantic poetry|Romantic poet]] and philosopher [[Percy Bysshe Shelley]], though he opted to drop "Shelley" from his surname.{{sfn|Brennan|2006}}

Sophia and her husband had four surviving children, three daughters and a son:{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=851}}{{sfn|Burke|1880|p=353}}

* Adelaide Augusta Willhelmina Sydney, married her first cousin, Frederick Charles George FitzClarence-Hunloke, son of [[George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster]], no issue
* Ernestine Wellington Sidney, married Philip Perceval; mother of Major Sir [[Philip Hunloke]], who was the father of Lt.-Col. [[Henry Hunloke|Henry Philip Hunloke]]
* Sophia Philippa Sidney, married Alexander, Graf von Kielmannsegg, a great-grandson of [[Johann Ludwig, Reichsgraf von Wallmoden-Gimborn]] (illegitimate son of [[George II of Great Britain]])
* Philip Sidney, 2nd Baron of De L'Isle and Dudley of Penshurst (1828–1898), grandfather of the [[William Sidney, 1st Viscount De L'Isle|1st Viscount De L'Isle]]

==Later life==
[[File:William IV in 1837 by his daughter Sophia.jpg|thumb|130px|William IV drawn by his daughter Sophia in 1837]]
In May 1831 Sophia, like her sisters, was raised to the status of a daughter of a [[marquess]]. In January 1837, she was appointed State Housekeeper of [[Kensington Palace]] where she died three months later.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=851}} Sophia died in childbirth in 1837, just after drawing a sketch of her ailing father. She was his favourite child and her death caused him intense grief. She was remembered as a woman of great wit, charm and gaiety.

The widowed Sidney died in 1851.{{sfn|Weir|2008|p=304}}

==Ancestry==
{{ahnentafel top|width=100%}}
{{ahnentafel-compact5
|style=font-size: 90%; line-height: 110%;
|border=1
|boxstyle=padding-top: 0; padding-bottom: 0;
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe;
|1= 1. '''Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley'''
|2= 2. [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]
|3= 3. [[Dorothea Jordan|Dorothy Jordan]]
|4= 4. [[George III of the United Kingdom]]
|5= 5. [[Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
|6= 6. Francis Bland
|7= 7. Grace Phillips
|8= 8. [[Frederick, Prince of Wales]]
|9= 9. [[Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha]]
|10= 10. [[Charles Louis Frederick, Duke of Mecklenburg-Mirow]]
|11= 11. [[Princess Elizabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen]]
|12= 12. Nathaniel Bland
|13= 13. Elizabeth Heaton
|16= 16. [[George II of Great Britain]]
|17= 17. [[Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach]]
|18= 18. [[Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg]]
|19= 19. [[Magdalena Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst]]
|20= 20. [[Adolf Frederick II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
|21= 21. Princess Christiane Emilie of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
|22= 22. [[Ernest Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen]]
|23= 23. Sophia Albertine of Erbach-Erbach
|24= 24. James Bland
|25= 25. Lucy Brewster
}}</center>
{{ahnentafel bottom}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

;Works cited
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=PEc7AwAAQBAJ& |title=Royal Bastards |first1=Peter |last1=Beauclerk-Dewar |first2=Roger |last2=Powell |year=2008 |location=Stroud |publisher=The History Press |isbn=9780752473154 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=U2O2gshcuSEC& |title=The Sidneys of Penshurst and the Monarchy, 1500-1700 |first=Michael G. |last=Brennan |year=2006 |publisher=Ashgate Publishing Company |ref=harv}}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Brock|first=Michael |authorlink=Michael Brock |title=William IV (1765–1837) |id=29451 |date=2004 }}
* {{Cite book |url=http://www.questia.com/read/117825946 |title=Before Victoria: Extraordinary Women of the British Romantic Era |first=Elizabeth |last=Campbell Denlinger |year=2005 |location=New York|publisher=Columbia University Press |via=Questia |isbn= |ref=harv}} {{Subscription needed}}
* {{Cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=u6IaAAAAYAAJ& |title=A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage, Volume 42, Part 1 |first=Bernard |last=Burke |publisher=Harrison and Sons |year=1880 |ref=harv}}
*{{cite book|first=Alison|last=Weir|authorlink=Alison Weir|title=Britain's Royal Families, The Complete Genealogy|publisher=Vintage Books|location=London|year=2008|isbn=978-0-09-953973-5 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=gAfVIVra9C4C& |title=The Life and Reign of William the Fourth |last= Wright |first=G.N. |year=1837 |location=London |publisher=Fisher, Son, & Co |ref=harv}}
{{refend}}

{{Persondata 
| NAME = Sidney, Sophia
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = British Baroness
| DATE OF BIRTH = 1796
| PLACE OF BIRTH =
| DATE OF DEATH = 10 April 1837
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sidney, Sophia}}
[[Category:1796 births]]
[[Category:1837 deaths]]
[[Category:British baronesses]]
[[Category:Deaths in childbirth]]
[[Category:FitzClarence family]]
[[Category:Illegitimate children of William IV of the United Kingdom]]

Amelia Cary, Viscountess Falkland

2014-09-13T05:49:37Z

Ruby2010: /* Family */ Change heading

{{Infobox person
|name = [[The Right Honourable]] The Viscountess Falkland
|image = Amelia falkland.PNG
|image_size =
|caption =
|birth_name = Amelia FitzClarence <ref name="burke">{{cite book
| last = Burke
| first = John
| title = A General and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the United Kingdom, for M.D.CCC.XXVI
| publisher = H. Colburn
| year = 1826
| location = London
| pages = 109
| url = http://books.google.com/books?id=qRUYAAAAYAAJ}}</ref>
|birth_date = {{Birth date|1807|03|21|df=y}}
|birth_place =
|death_date = {{Death date and age|1858|07|2|1807|03|21|df=y}}
|death_place = London, England<ref name="peerage 1">{{cite web|url=http://thepeerage.com/p10509.htm#i105083 |title=Amelia Fitz-Clarence |work=The Peerage |last=Lundy|first=Darryl |accessdate=24 January 2014 |date=22 January 2011 }}</ref>
| noble family = [[:Category:FitzClarence family|FitzClarence family]]
| house-type = nobility
|body_discovered =
|death_cause =
|resting_place =
|resting_place_coordinates = 
|residence =
|nationality =
|ethnicity =
|citizenship =
|other_names =
|known_for = illegitimate daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom|William IV]]
|education =
|alma_mater =
|employer =
|occupation =
|years_active =
|home_town =
|salary =
|networth =
|height =
|weight =
|title = Viscountess Falkland
|term =
|predecessor =
|successor =
|party =
|opponents =
|boards =
|religion =
|spouse = [[Lucius Cary, 10th Viscount Falkland]]
|partner =
|children = Lucius Cary, Master of Falkland
|parents = [[William IV of the United Kingdom|William IV]] [[Dorothea Jordan]]
|relations =
|callsign =
|signature =
|website =
|footnotes =
|box_width =
}}
'''Amelia Cary, Viscountess Falkland''' (21 March 1807 – 2 July 1858) was a British noblewoman. Born the fifth illegitimate daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom]] (then Duke of Clarence) by his long-time mistress [[Dorothea Jordan]]. Amelia had four sisters and five brothers all surnamed FitzClarence. Soon after their father became monarch, the FitzClarence children were raised to the ranks of younger children of a [[marquess]]. A granddaughter of [[George III of the United Kingdom|George III]], Amelia was named after her aunt [[Princess Amelia of the United Kingdom|Princess Amelia]].

==Family and early life==
Amelia FitzClarence was the fifth daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom|Prince William, Duke of Clarence]] by his long-time mistress, the famous comic actress [[Dorothea Jordan]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|pp=851–54}}{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} Dorothea was the most successful actress of her day and continued to act on the stage during their relationship.{{sfn|Brock|2004}} Amelia had nine siblings from the relationship, four sisters and five brothers all surnamed FitzClarence.{{sfn|Wright|1837|pp=429, 851–54}} While circumstances prevented the couple from ever marrying, for twenty years William and Dorothea enjoyed domestic stability and were devoted to their children.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Campbell Denlinger|2005|p=81}} In 1797, they moved from Clarence Lodge to Bushy House, residing at the Teddington residence until 1807.{{sfn|Brock|2004}} Amelia was born there.

Amelia's niece [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster|Wilhelmina]] would later write that Bushy was "a happy and beloved home" until it "came to end" upon Prince William's marriage to [[Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen|Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen]] in 1818.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=4}} He and Dorothea had parted ways in December 1811 under a deed of separation, the debt-ridden duke desiring to secure a rich wife.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} Dorothea was granted £4,400 and the task of caring for their daughters; William was permitted to visit them until they turned thirteen.{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} She left Bushy in January 1812. The money was not enough to cover her debts, however. Dorothea continued to act on the stage after his leaving. In 1815, she moved from London to [[Boulogne]], France to evade her creditors.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} On 5 July 1816, she died there alone. She had suffered from ill health and possessed little money, having squandered the bulk of it on her eldest daughter Frances (fathered by another man).{{sfn|Ranger|2004}}

William's new wife, Princess Adelaide, was gentle and loving to the FitzClarence children.{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=146}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=4–5}} In 1818, Amelia and her siblings were granted a pension of £500. In 1819, [[Franz Ludwig von Bibra|Baron Franz Ludwig von Bibra]], a German man with knowledge of the classics and English, was engaged to tutor the two youngest FitzClarence daughters. He left in 1822 upon the completion of their education.{{sfn|Nyman|1996|p=26}} In June 1830, the Duke of Clarence succeeded his brother [[George IV of the United Kingdom|George IV]] as King William IV.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=861}} The following year, he made his eldest son [[George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster|George]] Earl of Munster, and had his issue by Jordan raised to the ranks of younger children of a [[marquess]].{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}{{sfn|Fraser|2004|p=352}} With their father now monarch, the FitzClarences frequently attended court{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=218}} but their presence angered the [[Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld|Duchess of Kent]], who felt that the FitzClarences would be a corrupting influence on her daughter [[Queen Victoria|Princess Victoria]].{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=218}}{{sfn|Vallone|2001|pp=49, 72}} King William loved his children and was aggrieved at their treatment at the hands of the Duchess, who would leave the room whenever they entered.{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=218}}

==Marriage and issue==
She married [[Lucius Cary, 10th Viscount Falkland]] in 1830. They had one son, Lucius William Charles Frederick Cary, Master of Falkland (24 November 1831 – 6 August 1871), who married Sarah Christiana Keighly (d. 4 October 1902). Amelia died in London on 2 July 1858.

==Ancestry==
{{ahnentafel top|width=100%}}
{{ahnentafel-compact5
|style=font-size: 90%; line-height: 110%;
|border=1
|boxstyle=padding-top: 0; padding-bottom: 0;
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe;
|1= 1. '''George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster'''
|2= 2. [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]
|3= 3. [[Dorothea Jordan]]
|4= 4. [[George III of the United Kingdom]]
|5= 5. [[Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
|6= 6. Francis Bland
|7= 7. Grace Phillips
|8= 8. [[Frederick, Prince of Wales]]
|9= 9. [[Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha]]
|10= 10. [[Charles Louis Frederick, Duke of Mecklenburg-Mirow]]
|11= 11. [[Princess Elizabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen]]
|12= 12. Nathaniel Bland
|13= 13. Elizabeth Heaton
|16= 16. [[George II of Great Britain]]
|17= 17. [[Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach]]
|18= 18. [[Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg]]
|19= 19. [[Magdalena Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst]]
|20= 20. [[Adolf Frederick II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
|21= 21. Princess Christiane Emilie of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
|22= 22. [[Ernest Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen]]
|23= 23. Sophia Albertine of Erbach-Erbach
|24= 24. James Bland
|25= 25. Lucy Brewster
|26= 26. Francis Heaton
|27= 27. Elizabeth Curtis
}}</center>
{{ahnentafel bottom}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

;Works cited
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=PEc7AwAAQBAJ& |title=Royal Bastards |first1=Peter |last1=Beauclerk-Dewar |first2=Roger |last2=Powell |year=2008 |location=Stroud |publisher=The History Press |isbn=9780752473154 |ref=harv}}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Brock|first=Michael |authorlink=Michael Brock |title=William IV (1765–1837) |id=29451 |date=2004 }}
* {{Cite book |url=http://www.questia.com/read/117825946 |title=Before Victoria: Extraordinary Women of the British Romantic Era |first=Elizabeth |last=Campbell Denlinger |year=2005 |location=New York|publisher=Columbia University Press |via=Questia |isbn= |ref=harv}} {{Subscription needed}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books/about/My_Memories_and_Miscellanies.html?id=x40xAQAAMAAJ |title=My Memories and Miscellanies |first=Wilhelmina |last=FitzClarence |authorlink=Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster |year=1904 |location=London |publisher=Eveleigh Nash |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|first=Flora|last=Fraser|authorlink=Flora Fraser (writer) |title=Princesses: The Six Daughters of George III |publisher=John Murray |location=London |year=2004 |isbn=0719561094 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://www.vonbibra.net/files/TVBSChapt20001.pdf |title=The Von Bibra Story |first=Lois |last=Nyman |year=1996 |location=Launceston|publisher=Foot & Playsted |isbn=0-9597188-1-8 |ref=harv}}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Ranger|first=Paul|title=Jordan, Dorothy (1761–1816) |id=15119|date=2004 }}
*{{cite book|first=Lynne |last=Vallone |title=Becoming Victoria |publisher=Yale University Press |location=|year=2001 |isbn=978-0-300-08950-9|ref=harv}}
*{{cite book|first=Kate|last=Williams|authorlink=Kate Williams (historian) |title=Becoming Queen Victoria: The Tragic Death of Princess Charlotte and the Unexpected Rise of Britain's Greatest Monarch |publisher=Ballatine Books|location=|year=2010 |isbn=0-345-46195-9 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=gAfVIVra9C4C& |title=The Life and Reign of William the Fourth |last= Wright |first=G.N. |year=1837 |location=London |publisher=Fisher, Son, & Co |ref=harv}}
{{refend}}

{{Persondata 
| NAME = Cary, Amelia
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Viscountess Falkland
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = Illegitimate daughter of William IV
| DATE OF BIRTH = 21 March 1807
| PLACE OF BIRTH =
| DATE OF DEATH = 2 July 1858
| PLACE OF DEATH = London, England
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Falkland, Amelia Carey, Viscountess}}
[[Category:1807 births]]
[[Category:1856 deaths]]
[[Category:Illegitimate children of William IV of the United Kingdom]]

Amelia Cary, Viscountess Falkland

2014-09-13T05:48:08Z

Ruby2010: Remove stub tag

{{Infobox person
|name = [[The Right Honourable]] The Viscountess Falkland
|image = Amelia falkland.PNG
|image_size =
|caption =
|birth_name = Amelia FitzClarence <ref name="burke">{{cite book
| last = Burke
| first = John
| title = A General and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the United Kingdom, for M.D.CCC.XXVI
| publisher = H. Colburn
| year = 1826
| location = London
| pages = 109
| url = http://books.google.com/books?id=qRUYAAAAYAAJ}}</ref>
|birth_date = {{Birth date|1807|03|21|df=y}}
|birth_place =
|death_date = {{Death date and age|1858|07|2|1807|03|21|df=y}}
|death_place = London, England<ref name="peerage 1">{{cite web|url=http://thepeerage.com/p10509.htm#i105083 |title=Amelia Fitz-Clarence |work=The Peerage |last=Lundy|first=Darryl |accessdate=24 January 2014 |date=22 January 2011 }}</ref>
| noble family = [[:Category:FitzClarence family|FitzClarence family]]
| house-type = nobility
|body_discovered =
|death_cause =
|resting_place =
|resting_place_coordinates = 
|residence =
|nationality =
|ethnicity =
|citizenship =
|other_names =
|known_for = illegitimate daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom|William IV]]
|education =
|alma_mater =
|employer =
|occupation =
|years_active =
|home_town =
|salary =
|networth =
|height =
|weight =
|title = Viscountess Falkland
|term =
|predecessor =
|successor =
|party =
|opponents =
|boards =
|religion =
|spouse = [[Lucius Cary, 10th Viscount Falkland]]
|partner =
|children = Lucius Cary, Master of Falkland
|parents = [[William IV of the United Kingdom|William IV]] [[Dorothea Jordan]]
|relations =
|callsign =
|signature =
|website =
|footnotes =
|box_width =
}}
'''Amelia Cary, Viscountess Falkland''' (21 March 1807 – 2 July 1858) was a British noblewoman. Born the fifth illegitimate daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom]] (then Duke of Clarence) by his long-time mistress [[Dorothea Jordan]]. Amelia had four sisters and five brothers all surnamed FitzClarence. Soon after their father became monarch, the FitzClarence children were raised to the ranks of younger children of a [[marquess]]. A granddaughter of [[George III of the United Kingdom|George III]], Amelia was named after her aunt [[Princess Amelia of the United Kingdom|Princess Amelia]].

==Family and early life==
Amelia FitzClarence was the fifth daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom|Prince William, Duke of Clarence]] by his long-time mistress, the famous comic actress [[Dorothea Jordan]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|pp=851–54}}{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} Dorothea was the most successful actress of her day and continued to act on the stage during their relationship.{{sfn|Brock|2004}} Amelia had nine siblings from the relationship, four sisters and five brothers all surnamed FitzClarence.{{sfn|Wright|1837|pp=429, 851–54}} While circumstances prevented the couple from ever marrying, for twenty years William and Dorothea enjoyed domestic stability and were devoted to their children.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Campbell Denlinger|2005|p=81}} In 1797, they moved from Clarence Lodge to Bushy House, residing at the Teddington residence until 1807.{{sfn|Brock|2004}} Amelia was born there.

Amelia's niece [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster|Wilhelmina]] would later write that Bushy was "a happy and beloved home" until it "came to end" upon Prince William's marriage to [[Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen|Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen]] in 1818.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=4}} He and Dorothea had parted ways in December 1811 under a deed of separation, the debt-ridden duke desiring to secure a rich wife.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} Dorothea was granted £4,400 and the task of caring for their daughters; William was permitted to visit them until they turned thirteen.{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} She left Bushy in January 1812. The money was not enough to cover her debts, however. Dorothea continued to act on the stage after his leaving. In 1815, she moved from London to [[Boulogne]], France to evade her creditors.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} On 5 July 1816, she died there alone. She had suffered from ill health and possessed little money, having squandered the bulk of it on her eldest daughter Frances (fathered by another man).{{sfn|Ranger|2004}}

William's new wife, Princess Adelaide, was gentle and loving to the FitzClarence children.{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=146}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=4–5}} In 1818, Amelia and her siblings were granted a pension of £500. In 1819, [[Franz Ludwig von Bibra|Baron Franz Ludwig von Bibra]], a German man with knowledge of the classics and English, was engaged to tutor the two youngest FitzClarence daughters. He left in 1822 upon the completion of their education.{{sfn|Nyman|1996|p=26}} In June 1830, the Duke of Clarence succeeded his brother [[George IV of the United Kingdom|George IV]] as King William IV.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=861}} The following year, he made his eldest son [[George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster|George]] Earl of Munster, and had his issue by Jordan raised to the ranks of younger children of a [[marquess]].{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}{{sfn|Fraser|2004|p=352}} With their father now monarch, the FitzClarences frequently attended court{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=218}} but their presence angered the [[Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld|Duchess of Kent]], who felt that the FitzClarences would be a corrupting influence on her daughter [[Queen Victoria|Princess Victoria]].{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=218}}{{sfn|Vallone|2001|pp=49, 72}} King William loved his children and was aggrieved at their treatment at the hands of the Duchess, who would leave the room whenever they entered.{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=218}}

==Family==
She married [[Lucius Cary, 10th Viscount Falkland]] in 1830. They had one son, Lucius William Charles Frederick Cary, Master of Falkland (24 November 1831 – 6 August 1871), who married Sarah Christiana Keighly (d. 4 October 1902). Amelia died in London on 2 July 1858.

==Ancestry==
{{ahnentafel top|width=100%}}
{{ahnentafel-compact5
|style=font-size: 90%; line-height: 110%;
|border=1
|boxstyle=padding-top: 0; padding-bottom: 0;
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe;
|1= 1. '''George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster'''
|2= 2. [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]
|3= 3. [[Dorothea Jordan]]
|4= 4. [[George III of the United Kingdom]]
|5= 5. [[Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
|6= 6. Francis Bland
|7= 7. Grace Phillips
|8= 8. [[Frederick, Prince of Wales]]
|9= 9. [[Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha]]
|10= 10. [[Charles Louis Frederick, Duke of Mecklenburg-Mirow]]
|11= 11. [[Princess Elizabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen]]
|12= 12. Nathaniel Bland
|13= 13. Elizabeth Heaton
|16= 16. [[George II of Great Britain]]
|17= 17. [[Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach]]
|18= 18. [[Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg]]
|19= 19. [[Magdalena Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst]]
|20= 20. [[Adolf Frederick II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
|21= 21. Princess Christiane Emilie of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
|22= 22. [[Ernest Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen]]
|23= 23. Sophia Albertine of Erbach-Erbach
|24= 24. James Bland
|25= 25. Lucy Brewster
|26= 26. Francis Heaton
|27= 27. Elizabeth Curtis
}}</center>
{{ahnentafel bottom}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

;Works cited
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=PEc7AwAAQBAJ& |title=Royal Bastards |first1=Peter |last1=Beauclerk-Dewar |first2=Roger |last2=Powell |year=2008 |location=Stroud |publisher=The History Press |isbn=9780752473154 |ref=harv}}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Brock|first=Michael |authorlink=Michael Brock |title=William IV (1765–1837) |id=29451 |date=2004 }}
* {{Cite book |url=http://www.questia.com/read/117825946 |title=Before Victoria: Extraordinary Women of the British Romantic Era |first=Elizabeth |last=Campbell Denlinger |year=2005 |location=New York|publisher=Columbia University Press |via=Questia |isbn= |ref=harv}} {{Subscription needed}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books/about/My_Memories_and_Miscellanies.html?id=x40xAQAAMAAJ |title=My Memories and Miscellanies |first=Wilhelmina |last=FitzClarence |authorlink=Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster |year=1904 |location=London |publisher=Eveleigh Nash |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|first=Flora|last=Fraser|authorlink=Flora Fraser (writer) |title=Princesses: The Six Daughters of George III |publisher=John Murray |location=London |year=2004 |isbn=0719561094 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://www.vonbibra.net/files/TVBSChapt20001.pdf |title=The Von Bibra Story |first=Lois |last=Nyman |year=1996 |location=Launceston|publisher=Foot & Playsted |isbn=0-9597188-1-8 |ref=harv}}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Ranger|first=Paul|title=Jordan, Dorothy (1761–1816) |id=15119|date=2004 }}
*{{cite book|first=Lynne |last=Vallone |title=Becoming Victoria |publisher=Yale University Press |location=|year=2001 |isbn=978-0-300-08950-9|ref=harv}}
*{{cite book|first=Kate|last=Williams|authorlink=Kate Williams (historian) |title=Becoming Queen Victoria: The Tragic Death of Princess Charlotte and the Unexpected Rise of Britain's Greatest Monarch |publisher=Ballatine Books|location=|year=2010 |isbn=0-345-46195-9 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=gAfVIVra9C4C& |title=The Life and Reign of William the Fourth |last= Wright |first=G.N. |year=1837 |location=London |publisher=Fisher, Son, & Co |ref=harv}}
{{refend}}

{{Persondata 
| NAME = Cary, Amelia
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Viscountess Falkland
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = Illegitimate daughter of William IV
| DATE OF BIRTH = 21 March 1807
| PLACE OF BIRTH =
| DATE OF DEATH = 2 July 1858
| PLACE OF DEATH = London, England
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Falkland, Amelia Carey, Viscountess}}
[[Category:1807 births]]
[[Category:1856 deaths]]
[[Category:Illegitimate children of William IV of the United Kingdom]]

Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L’Isle and Dudley

2014-09-13T05:40:13Z

Ruby2010: More

{{Infobox noble|type
| name = Sophia FitzClarence
| title = Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley
| image =
| caption =
| alt =
| succession =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| suc-type =
| spouse = [[Philip Sidney, 1st Baron De L'Isle and Dudley]]
| spouse-type = Husband
| issue = Adelaide Sydney Ernestine Sydney Sophia Sydney Philip Sidney, 2nd Baron of De L'Isle and Dudley
| full name =
| styles =
| titles =
| noble family = [[:Category:FitzClarence family|FitzClarence family]]
| house-type = nobility
| father = [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]
| mother = [[Dorothea Jordan]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1795|03|04|df=y}}
| birth_place = Somerset Street, London
| christening_date =
| christening_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1837|04|10|1795|03|04|df=y}}
| death_place =
| burial_date =
| burial_place =
| religion =
| occupation = Noblewoman
}}
'''Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley''' (''née'' '''FitzClarence'''; 4 March 1795 – 10 April 1837) was the eldest daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom]] and his longtime mistress [[Dorothea Jordan]]. She was married to [[Philip Sidney, 1st Baron De L'Isle and Dudley]] and had four surviving children. Shortly before her death in 1837 she served as State Housekeeper in [[Kensington Palace]].

==Family and early life==
Sophia FitzClarence was born on 4 March 1795 on Somerset Street in London, the eldest daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom|Prince William, Duke of Clarence]] by his longtime mistress, the comic actress [[Dorothea Jordan]].{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} Sophia would come to have nine siblings, five brothers and four sisters all surnamed FitzClarence.{{sfn|Wright|1837|pp=429, 851–54}}{{sfn|Weir|2008|p=304}} While circumstances prevented the couple from ever marrying, for twenty years William and Dorothea enjoyed domestic stability and were devoted to their children.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Campbell Denlinger|2005|p=81}} In 1797, they moved from Clarence Lodge to Bushy House, residing at the Teddington residence until 1807.{{sfn|Brock|2004}} The couple separated in 1811 as William sought to produce legitimate issue.{{sfn|Campbell Denlinger|2005|p=84}}

==Marriage and issue==
On 13 August 1825, she married [[Philip Sidney, 1st Baron De L'Isle and Dudley|Philip Sidney]], later an M.P. and the 1st [[Viscount De L'Isle|Baron De L'Isle and Dudley]] of Penshurst in the County of Kent.{{sfn|Weir|2008|p=304}}{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=851}} Sidney was a relation of the [[Romantic poetry|Romantic poet]] and philosopher [[Percy Bysshe Shelley]], though he opted to drop "Shelley" from his surname.{{sfn|Brennan|2006}}

Sophia and her husband had four surviving children, three daughters and a son:{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=851}}{{sfn|Burke|1880|p=353}}

* Adelaide Augusta Willhelmina Sydney, married her first cousin, Frederick Charles George FitzClarence-Hunloke, son of [[George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster]], no issue
* Ernestine Wellington Sidney, married Philip Perceval; mother of Major Sir [[Philip Hunloke]], who was the father of Lt.-Col. [[Henry Hunloke|Henry Philip Hunloke]]
* Sophia Philippa Sidney, married Alexander, Graf von Kielmannsegg, a great-grandson of [[Johann Ludwig, Reichsgraf von Wallmoden-Gimborn]] (illegitimate son of [[George II of Great Britain]])
* Philip Sidney, 2nd Baron of De L'Isle and Dudley of Penshurst (1828–1898), grandfather of the [[William Sidney, 1st Viscount De L'Isle|1st Viscount De L'Isle]]

==Later life==
[[File:William IV in 1837 by his daughter Sophia.jpg|thumb|130px|William IV drawn by his daughter Sophia de L'Isle and Dudley in early 1837]]
In May 1831 Sophia, like her sisters, was raised to the status of a daughter of a [[marquess]]. In January 1837, she was appointed State Housekeeper of [[Kensington Palace]] where she died three months later.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=851}} Sophia died in childbirth in 1837, just after drawing a sketch of her ailing father. She was his favourite child and her death caused him intense grief. She was remembered as a woman of great wit, charm and gaiety.

The widowed Sidney died in 1851.{{sfn|Weir|2008|p=304}}

==Ancestry==
{{ahnentafel top|width=100%}}
{{ahnentafel-compact5
|style=font-size: 90%; line-height: 110%;
|border=1
|boxstyle=padding-top: 0; padding-bottom: 0;
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe;
|1= 1. '''Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley'''
|2= 2. [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]
|3= 3. [[Dorothea Jordan|Dorothy Jordan]]
|4= 4. [[George III of the United Kingdom]]
|5= 5. [[Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
|6= 6. Francis Bland
|7= 7. Grace Phillips
|8= 8. [[Frederick, Prince of Wales]]
|9= 9. [[Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha]]
|10= 10. [[Charles Louis Frederick, Duke of Mecklenburg-Mirow]]
|11= 11. [[Princess Elizabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen]]
|12= 12. Nathaniel Bland
|13= 13. Elizabeth Heaton
|16= 16. [[George II of Great Britain]]
|17= 17. [[Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach]]
|18= 18. [[Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg]]
|19= 19. [[Magdalena Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst]]
|20= 20. [[Adolf Frederick II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
|21= 21. Princess Christiane Emilie of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
|22= 22. [[Ernest Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen]]
|23= 23. Sophia Albertine of Erbach-Erbach
|24= 24. James Bland
|25= 25. Lucy Brewster
}}</center>
{{ahnentafel bottom}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

;Works cited
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=PEc7AwAAQBAJ& |title=Royal Bastards |first1=Peter |last1=Beauclerk-Dewar |first2=Roger |last2=Powell |year=2008 |location=Stroud |publisher=The History Press |isbn=9780752473154 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=U2O2gshcuSEC& |title=The Sidneys of Penshurst and the Monarchy, 1500-1700 |first=Michael G. |last=Brennan |year=2006 |publisher=Ashgate Publishing Company |ref=harv}}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Brock|first=Michael |authorlink=Michael Brock |title=William IV (1765–1837) |id=29451 |date=2004 }}
* {{Cite book |url=http://www.questia.com/read/117825946 |title=Before Victoria: Extraordinary Women of the British Romantic Era |first=Elizabeth |last=Campbell Denlinger |year=2005 |location=New York|publisher=Columbia University Press |via=Questia |isbn= |ref=harv}} {{Subscription needed}}
* {{Cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=u6IaAAAAYAAJ& |title=A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage, Volume 42, Part 1 |first=Bernard |last=Burke |publisher=Harrison and Sons |year=1880 |ref=harv}}
*{{cite book|first=Alison|last=Weir|authorlink=Alison Weir|title=Britain's Royal Families, The Complete Genealogy|publisher=Vintage Books|location=London|year=2008|isbn=978-0-09-953973-5 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=gAfVIVra9C4C& |title=The Life and Reign of William the Fourth |last= Wright |first=G.N. |year=1837 |location=London |publisher=Fisher, Son, & Co |ref=harv}}
{{refend}}

{{Persondata 
| NAME = Sidney, Sophia
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = British Baroness
| DATE OF BIRTH = 1796
| PLACE OF BIRTH =
| DATE OF DEATH = 10 April 1837
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sidney, Sophia}}
[[Category:1796 births]]
[[Category:1837 deaths]]
[[Category:British baronesses]]
[[Category:Deaths in childbirth]]
[[Category:FitzClarence family]]
[[Category:Illegitimate children of William IV of the United Kingdom]]

Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L’Isle and Dudley

2014-09-13T04:58:58Z

Ruby2010: More

{{Infobox noble|type
| name = Sophia FitzClarence
| title = Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley
| image =
| caption =
| alt =
| succession =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| suc-type =
| spouse = [[Philip Sidney, 1st Baron De L'Isle and Dudley]]
| spouse-type = Husband
| issue = Adelaide Sydney Ernestine Sydney Sophia Sydney Philip Sidney, 2nd Baron of De L'Isle and Dudley
| full name =
| styles =
| titles =
| noble family = [[:Category:FitzClarence family|FitzClarence family]]
| house-type = nobility
| father = [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]
| mother = [[Dorothea Jordan]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1795|03|04|df=y}}
| birth_place = Somerset Street, London
| christening_date =
| christening_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1837|04|10|1795|03|04|df=y}}
| death_place =
| burial_date =
| burial_place =
| religion =
| occupation = Noblewoman
}}
'''Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley''' (''née'' '''FitzClarence'''; 4 March 1795 – 10 April 1837) was the eldest daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom]] and his longtime mistress [[Dorothea Jordan]].

==Family and early life==
Sophia FitzClarence was born on 4 March 1795 on Somerset Street in London, the eldest daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom|Prince William, Duke of Clarence]] by his longtime mistress, the comic actress [[Dorothea Jordan]].{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} Sophia would come to have nine siblings, five brothers and four sisters.{{sfn|Weir|2008|p=304}}

==Marriage and issue==
On 13 August 1825, she married [[Philip Sidney, 1st Baron De L'Isle and Dudley|Philip Sidney]], later an M.P. and the 1st [[Viscount De L'Isle|Baron De L'Isle and Dudley]] of Penshurst in the County of Kent.{{sfn|Weir|2008|p=304}}{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=851}} Sidney was a relation of the [[Romantic poetry|Romantic poet]] and philosopher [[Percy Bysshe Shelley]], though he opted to drop "Shelley" from his surname.{{sfn|Brennan|2006}}

Sophia and her husband had four surviving children, three daughters and a son:{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=851}}{{sfn|Burke|1880|p=353}}

* Adelaide Augusta Willhelmina Sydney, married her first cousin, Frederick Charles George FitzClarence-Hunloke, son of [[George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster]], no issue
* Ernestine Wellington Sidney, married Philip Perceval; mother of Major Sir [[Philip Hunloke]], who was the father of Lt.-Col. [[Henry Hunloke|Henry Philip Hunloke]]
* Sophia Philippa Sidney, married Alexander, Graf von Kielmannsegg, a great-grandson of [[Johann Ludwig, Reichsgraf von Wallmoden-Gimborn]] (illegitimate son of George II of Great Britain)
* Philip Sidney, 2nd Baron of De L'Isle and Dudley of Penshurst (1828–1898), grandfather of the [[William Sidney, 1st Viscount De L'Isle|1st Viscount De L'Isle]]

==Later life==
[[File:William IV in 1837 by his daughter Sophia.jpg|thumb|130px|William IV drawn by his daughter Sophia de L'Isle and Dudley in early 1837]]
In May 1831 Sophia, like her sisters, was raised to the status of a daughter of a [[marquess]]. In January 1837, she was appointed State Housekeeper of [[Kensington Palace]] where she died three months later.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=851}} Sophia died in childbirth in 1837, just after drawing a sketch of her ailing father. She was his favourite child and her death caused him intense grief. She was remembered as a woman of great wit, charm and gaiety.

The widowed Sidney died in 1851.{{sfn|Weir|2008|p=304}}

==Ancestry==
{{ahnentafel top|width=100%}}
{{ahnentafel-compact5
|style=font-size: 90%; line-height: 110%;
|border=1
|boxstyle=padding-top: 0; padding-bottom: 0;
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe;
|1= 1. '''Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley'''
|2= 2. [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]
|3= 3. [[Dorothea Jordan|Dorothy Jordan]]
|4= 4. [[George III of the United Kingdom]]
|5= 5. [[Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
|6= 6. Francis Bland
|7= 7. Grace Phillips
|8= 8. [[Frederick, Prince of Wales]]
|9= 9. [[Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha]]
|10= 10. [[Charles Louis Frederick, Duke of Mecklenburg-Mirow]]
|11= 11. [[Princess Elizabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen]]
|12= 12. Nathaniel Bland
|13= 13. Elizabeth Heaton
|16= 16. [[George II of Great Britain]]
|17= 17. [[Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach]]
|18= 18. [[Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg]]
|19= 19. [[Magdalena Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst]]
|20= 20. [[Adolf Frederick II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
|21= 21. Princess Christiane Emilie of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
|22= 22. [[Ernest Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen]]
|23= 23. Sophia Albertine of Erbach-Erbach
|24= 24. James Bland
|25= 25. Lucy Brewster
}}</center>
{{ahnentafel bottom}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

;Works cited
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=PEc7AwAAQBAJ& |title=Royal Bastards |first1=Peter |last1=Beauclerk-Dewar |first2=Roger |last2=Powell |year=2008 |location=Stroud |publisher=The History Press |isbn=9780752473154 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=U2O2gshcuSEC& |title=The Sidneys of Penshurst and the Monarchy, 1500-1700 |first=Michael G. |last=Brennan |year=2006 |publisher=Ashgate Publishing Company |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=u6IaAAAAYAAJ& |title=A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage, Volume 42, Part 1 |first=Bernard |last=Burke |publisher=Harrison and Sons |year=1880 |ref=harv}}
*{{cite book|first=Alison|last=Weir|authorlink=Alison Weir|title=Britain's Royal Families, The Complete Genealogy|publisher=Vintage Books|location=London|year=2008|isbn=978-0-09-953973-5 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=gAfVIVra9C4C& |title=The Life and Reign of William the Fourth |last= Wright |first=G.N. |year=1837 |location=London |publisher=Fisher, Son, & Co |ref=harv}}
{{refend}}

{{Persondata 
| NAME = Sidney, Sophia
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = British Baroness
| DATE OF BIRTH = 1796
| PLACE OF BIRTH =
| DATE OF DEATH = 10 April 1837
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sidney, Sophia}}
[[Category:1796 births]]
[[Category:1837 deaths]]
[[Category:British baronesses]]
[[Category:Deaths in childbirth]]
[[Category:FitzClarence family]]
[[Category:Illegitimate children of William IV of the United Kingdom]]

Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L’Isle and Dudley

2014-09-13T04:51:47Z

Ruby2010: Expanding article with reliable sources, destubbing article

{{Infobox noble|type
| name = Sophia FitzClarence
| title = Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley
| image =
| caption =
| alt =
| succession =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| suc-type =
| spouse = [[Philip Sidney, 1st Baron De L'Isle and Dudley]]
| spouse-type = Husband
| issue = Adelaide Sydney Ernestine Sydney Sophia Sydney Philip Sidney, 2nd Baron of De L'Isle and Dudley
| full name =
| styles =
| titles =
| noble family = [[:Category:FitzClarence family|FitzClarence family]]
| house-type = nobility
| father = [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]
| mother = [[Dorothea Jordan]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1795|03|04|df=y}}
| birth_place = Somerset Street, London
| christening_date =
| christening_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1837|04|10|1795|03|04|df=y}}
| death_place =
| burial_date =
| burial_place =
| religion =
| occupation = Noblewoman
}}
'''Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley''' (''née'' '''FitzClarence'''; 4 March 1795 – 10 April 1837) was the eldest daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom]] and his longtime mistress [[Dorothea Jordan]].

==Family and early life==
Sophia FitzClarence was born on 4 March 1795 on Somerset Street in London, the eldest daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom|Prince William, Duke of Clarence]] by his longtime mistress, the comic actress [[Dorothea Jordan]].{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} Sophia would come to have nine siblings, five brothers and four sisters.{{sfn|Weir|2008|p=304}}

==Marriage and issue==
On 13 August 1825, she married [[Philip Sidney, 1st Baron De L'Isle and Dudley|Philip Sidney]], later an M.P. and the 1st [[Viscount De L'Isle|Baron De L'Isle and Dudley]] of Penshurst in the County of Kent.{{sfn|Weir|2008|p=304}}{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=851}} Sidney was a relation of the [[Romantic poetry|Romantic poet]] and philosopher [[Percy Bysshe Shelley]], though he opted to drop "Shelley" from his surname.{{sfn|Brennan|2006}}

Sophia and her husband had four surviving children, three daughters and a son:{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=851}}

* Adelaide Augusta Willhelmina Sydney, married her first cousin, Frederick Charles George FitzClarence-Hunloke, son of [[George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster]], no issue
* Ernestine Wellington Sidney, married Philip Perceval; mother of Major Sir [[Philip Hunloke]], who was the father of Lt.-Col. [[Henry Hunloke|Henry Philip Hunloke]]
* Sophia Philippa Sidney, married Alexander, Graf von Kielmannsegg, a great-grandson of [[Johann Ludwig, Reichsgraf von Wallmoden-Gimborn]] (illegitimate son of George II of Great Britain)
* Philip Sidney, 2nd Baron of De L'Isle and Dudley of Penshurst (1828–1898), grandfather of the [[William Sidney, 1st Viscount De L'Isle|1st Viscount De L'Isle]]

==Later life==
[[File:William IV in 1837 by his daughter Sophia.jpg|thumb|130px|William IV drawn by his daughter Sophia de L'Isle and Dudley in early 1837]]
In May 1831 Sophia, like her sisters, was raised to the status of a daughter of a [[marquess]]. In January 1837, she was appointed State Housekeeper of [[Kensington Palace, where she died three months later.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=851}} Sophia died in childbirth in 1837, just after drawing a sketch of her ailing father. She was his favourite child and her death caused him intense grief. She was remembered as a woman of great wit, charm and gaiety.

The widowed Sidney died in 1851.{{sfn|Weir|2008|p=304}}

==Ancestry==
{{ahnentafel top|width=100%}}
{{ahnentafel-compact5
|style=font-size: 90%; line-height: 110%;
|border=1
|boxstyle=padding-top: 0; padding-bottom: 0;
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe;
|1= 1. '''Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley'''
|2= 2. [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]
|3= 3. [[Dorothea Jordan|Dorothy Jordan]]
|4= 4. [[George III of the United Kingdom]]
|5= 5. [[Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
|6= 6. Francis Bland
|7= 7. Grace Phillips
|8= 8. [[Frederick, Prince of Wales]]
|9= 9. [[Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha]]
|10= 10. [[Charles Louis Frederick, Duke of Mecklenburg-Mirow]]
|11= 11. [[Princess Elizabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen]]
|12= 12. Nathaniel Bland
|13= 13. Elizabeth Heaton
|16= 16. [[George II of Great Britain]]
|17= 17. [[Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach]]
|18= 18. [[Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg]]
|19= 19. [[Magdalena Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst]]
|20= 20. [[Adolf Frederick II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
|21= 21. Princess Christiane Emilie of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
|22= 22. [[Ernest Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen]]
|23= 23. Sophia Albertine of Erbach-Erbach
|24= 24. James Bland
|25= 25. Lucy Brewster
}}</center>
{{ahnentafel bottom}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

;Works cited
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=PEc7AwAAQBAJ& |title=Royal Bastards |first1=Peter |last1=Beauclerk-Dewar |first2=Roger |last2=Powell |year=2008 |location=Stroud |publisher=The History Press |isbn=9780752473154 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=U2O2gshcuSEC& |title=The Sidneys of Penshurst and the Monarchy, 1500-1700 |first=Michael G. |last=Brennan |year=2006 |publisher=Ashgate Publishing Company |ref=harv}}
*{{cite book|first=Alison|last=Weir|authorlink=Alison Weir|title=Britain's Royal Families, The Complete Genealogy|publisher=Vintage Books|location=London|year=2008|isbn=978-0-09-953973-5 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=gAfVIVra9C4C& |title=The Life and Reign of William the Fourth |last= Wright |first=G.N. |year=1837 |location=London |publisher=Fisher, Son, & Co |ref=harv}}
{{refend}}

{{Persondata 
| NAME = Sidney, Sophia
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = British Baroness
| DATE OF BIRTH = 1796
| PLACE OF BIRTH =
| DATE OF DEATH = 10 April 1837
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sidney, Sophia}}
[[Category:1796 births]]
[[Category:1837 deaths]]
[[Category:British baronesses]]
[[Category:Deaths in childbirth]]
[[Category:FitzClarence family]]
[[Category:Illegitimate children of William IV of the United Kingdom]]

Augusta Gordon

2014-06-29T17:12:55Z

Ruby2010: tweaks to lead

{{EngvarB|date=June 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2014}}
{{Infobox noble|type
| name = Lady Augusta FitzClarence
| title =
| image = [[File:Lady Augusta FitzClarence and children.jpg|230px]]
| caption = Lady Augusta with her three children
| alt =
| CoA =
| more = no
| succession =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| suc-type =
| spouse = Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton]]
| spouse-type = Husband
| issue = William Henry Kennedy-Erskine [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster]] Millicent Wemyss
| full name =
| styles =
| titles =
| noble family = [[:Category:FitzClarence family|FitzClarence family]]
| house-type = nobility
| father = [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]
| mother = [[Dorothea Jordan]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1803|11|17|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]]
| christening_date =
| christening_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1865|12|08|1803|11|17|df=y}}
| death_place =
| burial_date =
| burial_place =
| religion =
| occupation = Noblewoman
}}
'''Lady Augusta Gordon''' (''née'' '''FitzClarence'''; 17 November 1803 – 8 December 1865) was a British noblewoman. Born the fourth illegitimate daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom]] (then Duke of Clarence) by his long-time mistress [[Dorothea Jordan]], she grew up at their [[Bushy House]] residence in [[Teddington]]. Augusta had four sisters and five brothers all surnamed FitzClarence. Soon after their father became monarch, the FitzClarence children were raised to the ranks of younger children of a [[marquess]].

In 1827, Augusta married the Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine, a younger son of the [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa|13th Earl of Cassilis]]. They had three children before he died in 1831. Five years later, she married [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton|Lord Frederick Gordon]], the third son of the [[George Gordon, 9th Marquess of Huntly|9th Marquess of Huntly]]. After the death of her sister [[Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley|Sophia]] in 1837, Augusta was appointed State Housekeeper of [[Kensington Palace]] by her father. She was the mother of the novelist [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster]].

==Family and early life==
Augusta FitzClarence was born at [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]] on 17 November 1803 as the fourth daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom|Prince William, Duke of Clarence]] by his long-time mistress, the famous comic actress [[Dorothea Jordan]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|pp=851–54}}{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} Dorothea was the most successful actress of her day and continued to act on the stage during their relationship.{{sfn|Brock|2004}} Augusta had nine siblings from the relationship, four sisters and five brothers all surnamed FitzClarence.{{sfn|Wright|1837|pp=429, 851–54}} While circumstances prevented the couple from ever marrying, for twenty years William and Dorothea enjoyed domestic stability and were devoted to their children.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Campbell Denlinger|2005|p=81}} In 1797, they moved from Clarence Lodge to Bushy House, residing at the Teddington residence until 1807.{{sfn|Brock|2004}} Augusta was born there.

Augusta's daughter [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster|Wilhelmina]] would later write that Bushy was "a happy and beloved home" until it "came to end" upon her father's marriage to [[Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen|Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen]] in 1818.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=4}} He and Dorothea had parted ways in December 1811 under a deed of separation, the debt-ridden duke desiring to secure a rich wife.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} Dorothea was granted £4,400 and the task of caring for their daughters; William was permitted to visit them until they turned thirteen.{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} She left Bushy in January 1812. The money was not enough to cover her debts, however. Dorothea continued to act on the stage after his leaving. In 1815, she moved from London to [[Boulogne]], France to evade her creditors.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} On 5 July 1816, she died there alone. She had suffered from ill health and possessed little money, having squandered the bulk of it on her eldest daughter Frances (fathered by another man).{{sfn|Ranger|2004}}

William's new wife, Princess Adelaide, was gentle and loving to the FitzClarence children.{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=146}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=4–5}} In 1818, Augusta and her siblings were granted a pension of £500, and Augusta was given her own version of the [[English heraldry|Royal Arms]] featuring a "baton sinister azure charged with an anchor between two roses or".{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} In 1819, [[Franz Ludwig von Bibra|Baron Franz Ludwig von Bibra]], a German man with knowledge of the classics and English, was engaged to tutor the two youngest FitzClarence daughters. He left in 1822 upon the completion of their education.{{sfn|Nyman|1996|p=26}} In June 1830, the Duke of Clarence succeeded his brother [[George IV of the United Kingdom|George IV]] as King William IV.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=861}} The following year, he made his eldest son [[George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster|George]] Earl of Munster, and had his issue by Jordan raised to the ranks of younger children of a [[marquess]].{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}{{sfn|Fraser|2004|p=352}} With their father now monarch, the FitzClarences frequently attended court{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=218}} but their presence angered the [[Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld|Duchess of Kent]], who felt that the FitzClarences would be a corrupting influence on her daughter [[Queen Victoria|Princess Victoria]].{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=218}}{{sfn|Vallone|2001|pp=49, 72}} King William loved his children and was aggrieved at their treatment at the hands of the Duchess, who would leave the room whenever they entered.{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=218}}

==Marriage to Kennedy-Erskine==
On 5 July 1827, Augusta married the Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine, a younger son of the [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa|13th Earl of Cassilis]]. Kennedy-Erskine served as a captain with the [[16th The Queen's Lancers|16th Lancers]], and was made an [[equerry]] to King William in 1830.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} They had three children:
* William Henry Kennedy-Erskine (1 July 1828 – 5 September 1870); married Catherine Jones in 1862 and had issue including the Scottish writer [[Violet Jacob]]
* [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster|Wilhelmina '''"Mina"''' Kennedy-Erskine]] (27 June 1830{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=3}} – 9 October 1906); married [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]] in 1855 and had issue
* Augusta Anne '''Millicent''' Kennedy-Erskine (11 May 1831 – 11 February 1895); married [[James Hay Erskine Wemyss]] in 1855 and had issue

Augusta enjoyed botany and needlework.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} John inherited his maternal grandfather's estate of Dun in [[Forfarshire]], and as its [[châtelain]]e, Augusta was featured in [[Hugh Massingberd]]'s ''Great Houses of Scotland''.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} John died on 6 March 1831.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} Her youngest daughter Millicent was born posthumously, as John died several months before her birth.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} In an act considered scandalous King William, still early in his reign, publicly mourned the death of his son-in-law.{{sfn|Fraser|2004|p=352}}

Now widowed, Lady Augusta and her children lived in a "charming brickhouse" at Railshead on the [[River Thames]]. King William often visited his daughter and grandchildren there, at one point coming to comfort Augusta when her young daughter Wilhelmina fell ill with a fever. They would often visit the king at [[Windsor Castle]] as well. They also had a house in Brighton.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=5–9, 28, 34}}

==Marriage to Gordon==
On 24 August 1836, Lady Augusta married [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton|Lord Frederick Gordon]], the third son of [[George Gordon, 9th Marquess of Huntly]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} Gordon was a professional sailor, and would become Admiral of the Navy in 1868. He and Augusta had no surviving children together.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}

Their Railshead residence had been situated next to a house owned by John's parents, who were angered by Augusta's second marriage and forced Augusta and Frederick to leave.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=28, 34, 40}} Augusta turned to her father for help, and he granted her apartments in [[Kensington Palace]] and the position of State Housekeeper (replacing her recently deceased sister [[Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley|Sophia]]).{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=42}} They lived there for many years.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=50}} In 1847, they embarked on a three-year trip to the continent, visiting Germany, France, and Italy. In 1850, they returned to Kensington Palace and Augusta's daughters [[Season (society)|came out in society]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=83, 129–44}} Both daughters married in 1855 in a double wedding, Wilhelmina to the [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster|2nd Earl of Munster]] and Millicent to [[James Hay Erskine Wemyss]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=152}}

Augusta died in 1865. Her husband survived Augusta by twelve years.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

;Works cited
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=PEc7AwAAQBAJ& |title=Royal Bastards |first1=Peter |last1=Beauclerk-Dewar |first2=Roger |last2=Powell |year=2008 |location=Stroud |publisher=The History Press |isbn=9780752473154 |ref=harv}}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Brock|first=Michael |authorlink=Michael Brock |title=William IV (1765–1837) |id=29451 |date=2004 }}
* {{Cite book |url=http://www.questia.com/read/117825946 |title=Before Victoria: Extraordinary Women of the British Romantic Era |first=Elizabeth |last=Campbell Denlinger |year=2005 |location=New York|publisher=Columbia University Press |via=Questia |isbn= |ref=harv}} {{Subscription needed}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books/about/My_Memories_and_Miscellanies.html?id=x40xAQAAMAAJ |title=My Memories and Miscellanies |first=Wilhelmina |last=FitzClarence |authorlink=Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster |year=1904 |location=London |publisher=Eveleigh Nash |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|first=Flora|last=Fraser|authorlink=Flora Fraser (writer) |title=Princesses: The Six Daughters of George III |publisher=John Murray |location=London |year=2004 |isbn=0719561094 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://www.vonbibra.net/files/TVBSChapt20001.pdf |title=The Von Bibra Story |first=Lois |last=Nyman |year=1996 |location=Launceston|publisher=Foot & Playsted |isbn=0-9597188-1-8 |ref=harv}}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Ranger|first=Paul|title=Jordan, Dorothy (1761–1816) |id=15119|date=2004 }}
*{{cite book|first=Lynne |last=Vallone |title=Becoming Victoria |publisher=Yale University Press |location=|year=2001 |isbn=978-0-300-08950-9|ref=harv}}
*{{cite book|first=Kate|last=Williams|authorlink=Kate Williams (historian) |title=Becoming Queen Victoria: The Tragic Death of Princess Charlotte and the Unexpected Rise of Britain's Greatest Monarch |publisher=Ballatine Books|location=|year=2010 |isbn=0-345-46195-9 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=gAfVIVra9C4C& |title=The Life and Reign of William the Fourth |last= Wright |first=G.N. |year=1837 |location=London |publisher=Fisher, Son, & Co |ref=harv}}
{{refend}}

[[Category:Articles created via the Article Wizard]]
[[Category:1803 births]]
[[Category:1865 deaths]]
[[Category:People from London]]
[[Category:FitzClarence family]]

White savior

2014-06-21T18:04:14Z

Ruby2010: Further reading below references section per WP:ORDER

In film, the '''white savior narrative''' means that a [[white people|white]] character rescues [[person of color|people of color]] from their plight. David Sirota at ''[[Salon.com]]'' said, "These story lines insinuate that people of color have no ability to rescue themselves. This both makes white audiences feel good about themselves by portraying them as benevolent messiahs (rather than hegemonic conquerors), and also depicts people of color as helpless weaklings — all while wrapping such tripe in the cinematic argot of liberation."<ref name="sirota" /> Noah Berlatsky in ''[[The Atlantic]]'' said the narrative varies from film to film, though slavery films, including award-winning ones, lack range in theme. He wrote, "All of these critically acclaimed films use variations on a single narrative: Black people are oppressed by bad white people. They achieve freedom through the offices of good white people."<ref name="berlatsky" /> The white savior narrative is considered a cliché in [[cinema of the United States]]; the narrative is especially common in films about white teachers in [[inner cities]].<ref name="goff" />

==List of films==


{| class="wikitable sortable" border="1"
|-
! scope="col" | Film
! scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" class="unsortable" style=white-space:nowrap | Ref.
|-
| ''[[12 Years a Slave (film)|12 Years a Slave]]'' || 2013 || <ref name="goff" />
|-
| ''{{sortname|The|Air Up There}}'' || 1994 || <ref name="goff" />
|-
| ''[[Amistad (film)|Amistad]]'' || 1997 || <ref name="berlatsky" />
|-
| ''[[Avatar (2009 film)|Avatar]]'' || 2009 || <ref name="sirota" />
|-
| ''{{sortname|The|Blind Side|dab=film}}'' || 2009 || <ref name="goff" />
|-
| ''[[City of Joy (film)|City of Joy]]'' || 1992 || <ref name="vera" />
|-
| ''[[Conrack]]'' || 1974 || <ref name="hughey" />
|-
| ''[[Cool Runnings]]'' || 1993 || <ref name="goff" />
|-
| ''[[Cry Freedom]]'' || 1987 || <ref name="sirota" />
|-
| ''[[Dances with Wolves]]'' || 1990 || <ref name="goff" />
|-
| ''[[Dangerous Minds]]'' || 1995 || <ref name="goff" />
|-
| ''[[District 9]]'' || 2009 || <ref name="sirota" />
|-
| ''[[Django Unchained]]'' || 2012 || <ref name="berlatsky" />
|-
| ''[[Finding Forrester]]'' || 2000 || <ref name="barber" />
|-
| ''[[Freedom Writers]]'' || 2007 || <ref name="barone" />
|-
| ''[[Glory (1989 film)|Glory]]'' || 1989 || <ref name="berlatsky" />
|-
| ''[[Gran Torino]]'' || 2008 || <ref name="sirota" />
|-
| ''{{sortname|The|Green Berets|dab=film}}'' || 1968 || <ref name="vera" />
|-
| ''[[Half Nelson (film)|Half Nelson]]'' || 2006 || <ref name="hughey" />
|-
| ''[[Hardball (film)|Hardball]]'' || 2001 || <ref name="barone" />
|-
| ''{{sortname|The|Help|dab=film}}'' || 2011 || <ref name="goff" />
|-
| ''[[Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom]]'' || 1984 || <ref name="vera" />
|-
| ''{{sortname|The|Last Samurai}}'' || 2003 || <ref name="goff" />
|-
| ''[[Lawrence of Arabia (film)|Lawrence of Arabia]]'' || 1962 || <ref name="gehlawat" />
|-
| ''[[Lincoln (2012 film)|Lincoln]]'' || 2012 || <ref name="berlatsky" />
|-
| ''[[Machine Gun Preacher]]'' || 2011 || <ref name="barone" />
|-
| ''{{sortname|The|Man Who Would Be King|dab=film}}'' || 1975 || <ref name="vera" />
|-
| ''{{sortname|The|Matrix}}'' || 1999 || <ref name="vera" />
|-
| ''[[Mississippi Burning]]'' || 1988 || <ref name="sirota" />
|-
| ''[[Music of the Heart]]'' || 1999 || <ref name="goff" />
|-
| ''[[One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (film)|One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest]]'' || 1975 || <ref name="vera" />
|-
| ''{{sortname|The|Principal}}'' || 1987 || <ref name="goff" />
|-
| ''[[Radio (2003 film)|Radio]]'' || 2003 || <ref name="barone" />
|-
| ''{{sortname|The|Ron Clark Story}}'' || 2006 || <ref name="kivel" />
|-
| ''{{sortname|The|Soloist}}'' || 2009 || <ref name="barone" />
|-
| ''[[Stargate (film)|Stargate]]'' || 1994 || <ref name="vera" />
|-
| ''[[Sunset Park (film)|Sunset Park]]'' || 1996 || <ref name="hughey" />
|-
| ''[[Three Kings (1999 film)|Three Kings]]'' || 1999 || <ref name="vera" />
|-
| ''[[To Kill a Mockingbird (film)|To Kill a Mockingbird]]'' || 1962 || <ref name="barber" />
|-
| ''[[Wildcats (film)|Wildcats]]'' || 1986 || <ref name="goff" />
|}

==See also==

* [[Magical Negro]]
* [[List of Magical Negro occurrences in fiction]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em|refs=
<ref name="barber">{{cite news | last=Barber | first=Mike | url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-barber/white-mans-burden-redux-t_b_378644.html | title=White Man's Burden Redux: The Movie! | work=[[The Huffington Post]] | date=December 3, 2009 | accessdate=May 14, 2014 }}</ref>
<ref name="barone">{{cite news | last=Barone | first=Matt | url=http://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2011/09/the-10-lamest-white-savior-movies/ | title=The 10 Lamest White Savior Movies | work=Complex.com | publisher=Complex Media | date=September 20, 2011 | accessdate=May 14, 2014 }}</ref>
<ref name="berlatsky">{{cite news | last=Berlatsky | first=Noah | url=http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/01/-em-12-years-a-slave-em-yet-another-oscar-nominated-white-savior-story/283142/ | title=''12 Years a Slave'': Yet Another Oscar-Nominated 'White Savior' Story | work=[[The Atlantic]] | date=January 17, 2014 | accessdate=May 14, 2014 }}</ref>
<ref name="gehlawat">{{cite book | last=Gehlawat | first=Ajay | year=2013 | title=The Slumdog Phenomenon: A Critical Anthology | publisher=Anthem Press | isbn=978-0-85728-001-5 | page=83 }}</ref>
<ref name="goff">{{cite news | last=Goff | first=Keli | url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/05/04/can-belle-end-hollywood-s-obsession-with-the-white-savior.html | title=Can 'Belle' End Hollywood's Obsession with the White Savior? | work=[[The Daily Beast]] | date=May 4, 2014 | accessdate=May 14, 2014 }}</ref>
<ref name="hughey">{{cite journal | last=Hughey | first=Matthew W. | month=Summer | year=2010 | title=The White Savior Film and Reviewers' Reception | journal=Symbolic Interaction | volume=33 | issue=3 | pages=475–496 }}</ref>
<ref name="kivel">{{cite book | last=Kivel | first=Paul | year=2013 | title=Living in the Shadow of the Cross: Understanding and Resisting the Power and Privilege of Christian Hegemony | publisher=New Society Publishers | isbn=978-1-55092-541-8 }}</ref>
<ref name="sirota">{{cite news | last=Sirota | first=David | url=http://www.salon.com/2013/02/21/oscar_loves_a_white_savior/ | title=Oscar loves a white savior | work=[[Salon.com]] | date=February 21, 2013 | accessdate=May 14, 2014 }}</ref>
<ref name="vera">{{cite book | last1=Vera | first1=Hernán | last2=Gordon | first2=Andrew M. | year=2003 | chapter=The Beautiful White American: Sincere Fictions of the Savior | title=Screen Saviors: Hollywood Fictions of Whiteness | publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers | isbn=978-1-4616-4286-2 | page=33 }}</ref>
}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book | last=Hughey | first=Matthew | year=2014 | title=The White Savior Film: Content, Critics, and Consumption | publisher=Temple University Press | isbn=978-1-4399-1001-6 }}

[[Category:Films about race and ethnicity]]
[[Category:Lists of films by common content]]

Augusta Gordon

2014-06-18T00:15:03Z

Ruby2010: Tweaked Nyman content and citation

{{Infobox noble|type
| name = Lady Augusta FitzClarence
| title =
| image = [[File:Lady Augusta FitzClarence and children.jpg|230px]]
| caption = Lady Augusta with her three children
| alt =
| CoA =
| more = no
| succession =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| suc-type =
| spouse = Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton]]
| spouse-type = Husband
| issue = William Henry Kennedy-Erskine [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster]] Millicent Wemyss
| full name =
| styles =
| titles =
| noble family = [[:Category:FitzClarence family|FitzClarence family]]
| house-type = nobility
| father = [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]
| mother = [[Dorothea Jordan]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1803|11|17|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]]
| christening_date =
| christening_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1865|12|08|1803|11|17|df=y}}
| death_place =
| burial_date =
| burial_place =
| religion =
| occupation = Noblewoman
}}
'''Lady Augusta Gordon''' (''née'' '''FitzClarence'''; 17 November 1803 – 8 December 1865) was a British noblewoman. Born the fourth illegitimate daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom]] (then Duke of Clarence) by his long-time mistress [[Dorothea Jordan]], she grew up at their residence of [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]]. Augusta had four sisters and five brothers all surnamed FitzClarence. Soon after their father became monarch, the Fitzclarence children were raised to the ranks of younger children of a [[marquess]].

In 1827, Augusta married Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine, a younger son of the [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa|13th Earl of Cassilis]]. They had three children before he died in 1831. Five years later, she married [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton|Lord Frederick Gordon]], the third son of [[George Gordon, 9th Marquess of Huntly]]. After the death of her sister [[Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley|Sophia]] in 1837, Augusta was appointed State Housekeeper of [[Kensington Palace]] by her father.

==Family and early life==
Augusta FitzClarence was born at [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]] on 17 November 1803 as the fourth daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom|Prince William, Duke of Clarence]] by his long-time mistress, the famous comic actress [[Dorothea Jordan]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|pp=851–54}}{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} Dorothea was the most successful actress of her day and continued to act on the stage during their relationship.{{sfn|Brock|2004}} Augusta had nine siblings from the relationship, four sisters and five brothers all surnamed FitzClarence.{{sfn|Wright|1837|pp=429, 851–54}} While circumstances prevented the couple from ever marrying, for twenty years William and Dorothea enjoyed domestic stability and were devoted to their children.{{sfn|Campbell Denlinger|2005|p=81}}{{sfn|Brock|2004}} In 1797, they moved from Clarence Lodge to Bushy House, residing at the Teddington residence until 1807.{{sfn|Brock|2004}} Augusta was born there.

Augusta's daughter [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster|Wilhelmina]] would later write that Bushy was "a happy and beloved home" until it "came to end" upon her father's marriage to [[Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen|Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen]] in 1818.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=4}} He and Dorothea had parted ways in December 1811 under a deed of separation, the debt-ridden duke desiring to secure a rich wife.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} Dorothea was granted £4,400 and the task of caring for their daughters; William was permitted to visit them until they turned thirteen.{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} She left Bushy in January 1812. The money was not enough to cover her debts, however. Dorothea continued to act on the stage after his leaving. In 1815, she moved from London to [[Boulogne]], France to evade her creditors.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} On 5 July 1816, she died there alone. She had suffered from ill health and possessed little money, having squandered the bulk of it on her eldest daughter Frances (fathered by another man).{{sfn|Ranger|2004}}

William's new wife, Princess Adelaide, was gentle and loving to the FitzClarence children.{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=146}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=4–5}} In 1818, Augusta and her siblings were granted a pension of £500, and Augusta was given her own version of the [[English heraldry|Royal Arms]] featuring a "baton sinister azure charged with an anchor between two roses or".{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} In 1819, [[Franz Ludwig von Bibra|Baron Franz Ludwig von Bibra]], a German man with knowledge of the classics and English, was engaged to tutor the two youngest FitzClarence daughters. He left in 1822 upon the completion of their educations.{{sfn|Nyman|1996|p=26}} In June 1830, the Duke of Clarence succeeded his brother [[George IV of the United Kingdom|George IV]] as King William IV.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=861}} The following year, he made his eldest son [[George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster|George]] Earl of Munster, and had his issue by Jordan raised to the ranks of younger children of a [[marquess]].{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}{{sfn|Fraser|2004|p=352}} With their father now monarch, the FitzClarences frequently attended court{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=218}} but their presence angered the [[Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld|Duchess of Kent]], who felt that the FitzClarences would be a corrupting influence on her daughter [[Queen Victoria|Princess Victoria]].{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=218}}{{sfn|Vallone|2001|pp=49, 72}} King William loved his children and was aggrieved at their treatment at the hands of the Duchess, who would leave the room whenever they entered.{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=218}}

==Marriage to Kennedy-Erskine==
On 5 July 1827, Augusta married the Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine, a younger son of the [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa|13th Earl of Cassilis]]. Kennedy-Erskine served as a captain with the [[16th The Queen's Lancers|16th Lancers]], and was made an [[equerry]] to King William in 1830.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} They had three children:
* William Henry Kennedy-Erskine (1 July 1828 – 5 September 1870); married Catherine Jones in 1862 and had issue including the Scottish writer [[Violet Jacob]]
* [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster|Wilhelmina '''"Mina"''' Kennedy-Erskine]] (27 June 1830{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=3}} – 9 October 1906); married [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]] in 1855 and had issue
* Augusta Anne '''Millicent''' Kennedy-Erskine (11 May 1831 – 11 February 1895); married [[James Hay Erskine Wemyss]] in 1855 and had issue

Augusta enjoyed botany and needlework.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} John inherited his maternal grandfather's estate of Dun in [[Forfarshire]], and as its [[chatelaine]], Augusta was featured in [[Hugh Massingberd]]'s ''Great Houses of Scotland''.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} John died on 6 March 1831.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} Her youngest daughter Millicent was born posthumously, as John died several months before her birth.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} In an act considered scandalous King William, still early in his reign, publicly mourned the death of his son-in-law.{{sfn|Fraser|2004|p=352}}

Now widowed, Lady Augusta and her children lived in a "charming brickhouse" at Railshead on the [[River Thames]]. King William often visited his daughter and grandchildren there, at one point coming to comfort Augusta when her young daughter Wilhelmina fell ill with a fever. They would often visit the king at [[Windsor Castle]] as well. They also had a house in Brighton.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=5–9, 28, 34}}

==Marriage to Gordon==
On 24 August 1836, Lady Augusta married [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton|Lord Frederick Gordon]], the third son of [[George Gordon, 9th Marquess of Huntly]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} Gordon was a professional sailor, and would become Admiral of the Navy in 1868. He and Augusta had no surviving children together.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}

Railshead had been situated next to a house owned by John's parents, but Augusta's second marriage angered them and forced their leaving.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=28, 34, 40}} Augusta turned to her father for help, and he granted her apartments in [[Kensington Palace]] and the position State Housekeeper (replacing her recently deceased sister [[Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley|Sophia]]).{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=42}}{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} They lived there for many years.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=50}} In 1847, they embarked on a three year trip to the continent, visiting Germany, France, and Italy. In 1850, they returned to Kensington Palace and Augusta's daughters [[Season (society)|came out in society]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=83, 129–44}} Both daughters married in 1855 in a double wedding, Wilhelmina to the [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster|2nd Earl of Munster]] and Millicent to [[James Hay Erskine Wemyss]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=152}}

Augusta died in 1865. Her husband survived Augusta by twelve years.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

;Works cited
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=PEc7AwAAQBAJ& |title=Royal Bastards |first1=Peter |last1=Beauclerk-Dewar |first2=Roger |last2=Powell |year=2008 |location=Stroud |publisher=The History Press |isbn=9780752473154 |ref=harv}}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Brock|first=Michael |authorlink=Michael Brock |title=William IV (1765–1837) |id=29451 |date=2004 }}
* {{Cite book |url=http://www.questia.com/read/117825946 |title=Before Victoria: Extraordinary Women of the British Romantic Era |first=Elizabeth |last=Campbell Denlinger |year=2005 |location=New York|publisher=Columbia University Press |via=Questia |isbn= |ref=harv}} {{Subscription needed}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books/about/My_Memories_and_Miscellanies.html?id=x40xAQAAMAAJ |title=My Memories and Miscellanies |first=Wilhelmina |last=FitzClarence |authorlink=Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster |year=1904 |location=London |publisher=Eveleigh Nash |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|first=Flora|last=Fraser|authorlink=Flora Fraser (writer) |title=Princesses: The Six Daughters of George III |publisher=John Murray |location=London |year=2004 |isbn=0719561094 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://www.vonbibra.net/files/TVBSChapt20001.pdf |title=The Von Bibra Story |first=Lois |last=Nyman |year=1996 |location=Launceston|publisher=Foot & Playsted |isbn=0-9597188-1-8 |ref=harv}}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Ranger|first=Paul|title=Jordan, Dorothy (1761–1816) |id=15119|date=2004 }}
*{{cite book|first=Lynne |last=Vallone |title=Becoming Victoria |publisher=Yale University Press |location=|year=2001 |isbn=978-0-300-08950-9|ref=harv}}
*{{cite book|first=Kate|last=Williams|authorlink=Kate Williams (historian) |title=Becoming Queen Victoria: The Tragic Death of Princess Charlotte and the Unexpected Rise of Britain's Greatest Monarch |publisher=Ballatine Books|location=|year=2010 |isbn=0-345-46195-9 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=gAfVIVra9C4C& |title=The Life and Reign of William the Fourth |last= Wright |first=G.N. |year=1837 |location=London |publisher=Fisher, Son, & Co |ref=harv}}
{{refend}}

[[Category:Articles created via the Article Wizard]]
[[Category:1803 births]]
[[Category:1865 deaths]]
[[Category:FitzClarence family]]

Augusta Gordon

2014-06-17T01:01:00Z

Ruby2010: /* Family and early life */ context

{{Infobox noble|type
| name = Lady Augusta FitzClarence
| title =
| image = [[File:Lady Augusta FitzClarence and children.jpg|230px]]
| caption = Lady Augusta with her three children
| alt =
| CoA =
| more = no
| succession =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| suc-type =
| spouse = Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton]]
| spouse-type = Husband
| issue = William Henry Kennedy-Erskine [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster]] Millicent Wemyss
| full name =
| styles =
| titles =
| noble family = [[:Category:FitzClarence family|FitzClarence family]]
| house-type = nobility
| father = [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]
| mother = [[Dorothea Jordan]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1803|11|17|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]]
| christening_date =
| christening_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1865|12|08|1803|11|17|df=y}}
| death_place =
| burial_date =
| burial_place =
| religion =
| occupation = Noblewoman
}}
'''Lady Augusta Gordon''' (''née'' '''FitzClarence'''; 17 November 1803 – 8 December 1865) was a British noblewoman. Born the fourth illegitimate daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom]] (then Duke of Clarence) by his long-time mistress [[Dorothea Jordan]], she grew up at their residence of [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]]. Augusta had four sisters and five brothers all surnamed FitzClarence. Soon after their father became monarch, the Fitzclarence children were raised to the ranks of younger children of a [[marquess]].

In 1827, Augusta married Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine, a younger son of the [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa|13th Earl of Cassilis]]. They had three children before he died in 1831. Five years later, she married [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton|Lord Frederick Gordon]], the third son of [[George Gordon, 9th Marquess of Huntly]]. After the death of her sister [[Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley|Sophia]] in 1837, Augusta was appointed State Housekeeper of [[Kensington Palace]] by her father.

==Family and early life==
Augusta FitzClarence was born at [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]] on 17 November 1803 as the fourth daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom|Prince William, Duke of Clarence]] by his long-time mistress, the famous comic actress [[Dorothea Jordan]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|pp=851–54}}{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} Dorothea was the most successful actress of her day and continued to act on the stage during their relationship.{{sfn|Brock|2004}} Augusta had nine siblings from the relationship, four sisters and five brothers all surnamed FitzClarence.{{sfn|Wright|1837|pp=429, 851–54}} While circumstances prevented the couple from ever marrying, for twenty years William and Dorothea enjoyed domestic stability and were devoted to their children.{{sfn|Campbell Denlinger|2005|p=81}}{{sfn|Brock|2004}} In 1797, they moved from Clarence Lodge to Bushy House, residing at the Teddington residence until 1807.{{sfn|Brock|2004}} Augusta was born there.

Augusta's daughter [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster|Wilhelmina]] would later write that Bushy was "a happy and beloved home" until it "came to end" upon her father's marriage to [[Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen|Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen]] in 1818.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=4}} He and Dorothea had parted ways in December 1811 under a deed of separation, the debt-ridden duke desiring to secure a rich wife.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} Dorothea was granted £4,400 and the task of caring for their daughters; William was permitted to visit them until they turned thirteen.{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} She left Bushy in January 1812. The money was not enough to cover her debts, however. Dorothea continued to act on the stage after his leaving. In 1815, she moved from London to [[Boulogne]], France to evade her creditors.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} On 5 July 1816, she died there alone. She had suffered from ill health and possessed little money, having squandered the bulk of it on her eldest daughter Frances (fathered by another man).{{sfn|Ranger|2004}}

William's new wife, Princess Adelaide, was gentle and loving to the FitzClarence children.{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=146}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=4–5}} In 1818, Augusta and her siblings were granted a pension of £500, and Augusta was given her own version of the [[English heraldry|Royal Arms]] featuring a "baton sinister azure charged with an anchor between two roses or".{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} In June 1830, the Duke of Clarence succeeded his brother [[George IV of the United Kingdom|George IV]] as King William IV.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=861}} The following year, he made his eldest son [[George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster|George]] Earl of Munster, and had his issue by Jordan raised to the ranks of younger children of a [[marquess]].{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}{{sfn|Fraser|2004|p=352}} With their father now monarch, the FitzClarences frequently attended court{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=218}} but their presence angered the [[Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld|Duchess of Kent]], who felt that the FitzClarences would be a corrupting influence on her daughter [[Queen Victoria|Princess Victoria]].{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=218}}{{sfn|Vallone|2001|pp=49, 72}} King William loved his children and was aggrieved at their treatment at the hands of the Duchess, who would leave the room whenever they entered.{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=218}}

==Marriage to Kennedy-Erskine==
On 5 July 1827, Augusta married the Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine, a younger son of the [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa|13th Earl of Cassilis]]. Kennedy-Erskine served as a captain with the [[16th The Queen's Lancers|16th Lancers]], and was made an [[equerry]] to King William in 1830.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} They had three children:
* William Henry Kennedy-Erskine (1 July 1828 – 5 September 1870); married Catherine Jones in 1862 and had issue including the Scottish writer [[Violet Jacob]]
* [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster|Wilhelmina '''"Mina"''' Kennedy-Erskine]] (27 June 1830{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=3}} – 9 October 1906); married [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]] in 1855 and had issue
* Augusta Anne '''Millicent''' Kennedy-Erskine (11 May 1831 – 11 February 1895); married [[James Hay Erskine Wemyss]] in 1855 and had issue

Augusta enjoyed botany and needlework.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} John inherited his maternal grandfather's estate of Dun in [[Forfarshire]], and as its [[chatelaine]], Augusta was featured in [[Hugh Massingberd]]'s ''Great Houses of Scotland''.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} John died on 6 March 1831.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} Her youngest daughter Millicent was born posthumously, as John died several months before her birth.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} In an act considered scandalous King William, still early in his reign, publicly mourned the death of his son-in-law.{{sfn|Fraser|2004|p=352}}

Now widowed, Lady Augusta and her children lived in a "charming brickhouse" at Railshead on the [[River Thames]]. King William often visited his daughter and grandchildren there, at one point coming to comfort Augusta when her young daughter Wilhelmina fell ill with a fever. They would often visit the king at [[Windsor Castle]] as well. They also had a house in Brighton.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=5–9, 28, 34}}

==Marriage to Gordon==
On 24 August 1836, Lady Augusta married [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton|Lord Frederick Gordon]], the third son of [[George Gordon, 9th Marquess of Huntly]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} Gordon was a professional sailor, and would become Admiral of the Navy in 1868. He and Augusta had no surviving children together.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}

Railshead had been situated next to a house owned by John's parents, but Augusta's second marriage angered them and forced their leaving.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=28, 34, 40}} Augusta turned to her father for help, and he granted her apartments in [[Kensington Palace]] and the position State Housekeeper (replacing her recently deceased sister [[Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley|Sophia]]).{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=42}}{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} They lived there for many years.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=50}} In 1847, they embarked on a three year trip to the continent, visiting Germany, France, and Italy. In 1850, they returned to Kensington Palace and Augusta's daughters [[Season (society)|came out in society]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=83, 129–44}} Both daughters married in 1855 in a double wedding, Wilhelmina to the [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster|2nd Earl of Munster]] and Millicent to [[James Hay Erskine Wemyss]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=152}}

Augusta died in 1865. Her husband survived Augusta by twelve years.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

;Works cited
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=PEc7AwAAQBAJ& |title=Royal Bastards |first1=Peter |last1=Beauclerk-Dewar |first2=Roger |last2=Powell |year=2008 |location=Stroud |publisher=The History Press |isbn=9780752473154 |ref=harv}}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Brock|first=Michael |authorlink=Michael Brock |title=William IV (1765–1837) |id=29451 |date=2004 }}
* {{Cite book |url=http://www.questia.com/read/117825946 |title=Before Victoria: Extraordinary Women of the British Romantic Era |first=Elizabeth |last=Campbell Denlinger |year=2005 |location=New York|publisher=Columbia University Press |via=Questia |isbn= |ref=harv}} {{Subscription needed}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books/about/My_Memories_and_Miscellanies.html?id=x40xAQAAMAAJ |title=My Memories and Miscellanies |first=Wilhelmina |last=FitzClarence |authorlink=Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster |year=1904 |location=London |publisher=Eveleigh Nash |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|first=Flora|last=Fraser|authorlink=Flora Fraser (writer) |title=Princesses: The Six Daughters of George III |publisher=John Murray |location=London |year=2004 |isbn=0719561094 |ref=harv}}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Ranger|first=Paul|title=Jordan, Dorothy (1761–1816) |id=15119|date=2004 }}
*{{cite book|first=Lynne |last=Vallone |title=Becoming Victoria |publisher=Yale University Press |location=|year=2001 |isbn=978-0-300-08950-9|ref=harv}}
*{{cite book|first=Kate|last=Williams|authorlink=Kate Williams (historian) |title=Becoming Queen Victoria: The Tragic Death of Princess Charlotte and the Unexpected Rise of Britain's Greatest Monarch |publisher=Ballatine Books|location=|year=2010 |isbn=0-345-46195-9 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=gAfVIVra9C4C& |title=The Life and Reign of William the Fourth |last= Wright |first=G.N. |year=1837 |location=London |publisher=Fisher, Son, & Co |ref=harv}}
{{refend}}

[[Category:Articles created via the Article Wizard]]
[[Category:1803 births]]
[[Category:1865 deaths]]
[[Category:FitzClarence family]]

Augusta Gordon

2014-06-17T00:47:58Z

Ruby2010: /* Marriage to Kennedy-Erskine */

{{Infobox noble|type
| name = Lady Augusta FitzClarence
| title =
| image = [[File:Lady Augusta FitzClarence and children.jpg|230px]]
| caption = Lady Augusta with her three children
| alt =
| CoA =
| more = no
| succession =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| suc-type =
| spouse = Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton]]
| spouse-type = Husband
| issue = William Henry Kennedy-Erskine [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster]] Millicent Wemyss
| full name =
| styles =
| titles =
| noble family = [[:Category:FitzClarence family|FitzClarence family]]
| house-type = nobility
| father = [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]
| mother = [[Dorothea Jordan]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1803|11|17|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]]
| christening_date =
| christening_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1865|12|08|1803|11|17|df=y}}
| death_place =
| burial_date =
| burial_place =
| religion =
| occupation = Noblewoman
}}
'''Lady Augusta Gordon''' (''née'' '''FitzClarence'''; 17 November 1803 – 8 December 1865) was a British noblewoman. Born the fourth illegitimate daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom]] (then Duke of Clarence) by his long-time mistress [[Dorothea Jordan]], she grew up at their residence of [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]]. Augusta had four sisters and five brothers all surnamed FitzClarence. Soon after their father became monarch, the Fitzclarence children were raised to the ranks of younger children of a [[marquess]].

In 1827, Augusta married Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine, a younger son of the [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa|13th Earl of Cassilis]]. They had three children before he died in 1831. Five years later, she married [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton|Lord Frederick Gordon]], the third son of [[George Gordon, 9th Marquess of Huntly]]. After the death of her sister [[Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley|Sophia]] in 1837, Augusta was appointed State Housekeeper of [[Kensington Palace]] by her father.

==Family and early life==
Augusta FitzClarence was born at [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]] on 17 November 1803 as the fourth daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom|Prince William, Duke of Clarence]] by his long-time mistress, the famous comic actress [[Dorothea Jordan]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|pp=851–54}}{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} Dorothea was the most successful actress of her day and continued to act on the stage during their relationship.{{sfn|Brock|2004}} Augusta had nine siblings from the relationship, four sisters and five brothers all surnamed FitzClarence.{{sfn|Wright|1837|pp=429, 851–54}} While circumstances prevented the couple from ever marrying, for twenty years William and Dorothea enjoyed domestic stability and were devoted to their children.{{sfn|Campbell Denlinger|2005|p=81}}{{sfn|Brock|2004}} In 1797, they moved from Clarence Lodge to Bushy House, residing at the Teddington residence until 1807.{{sfn|Brock|2004}} Augusta was born there.

Augusta's daughter [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster|Wilhelmina]] would later write that Bushy was "a happy and beloved home" until it "came to end" upon her father's marriage to [[Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen|Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=4}} He and Dorothea had parted ways in December 1811 under a deed of separation, the debt-ridden duke desiring to secure a rich wife.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} Dorothea was granted £4,400 and the task of caring for their daughters; William was permitted to visit them until they turned thirteen.{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} She left Bushy in January 1812. The money was not enough to cover her debts, however. Dorothea continued to act on the stage after his leaving. In 1815, she moved from London to [[Boulogne]], France to evade her creditors.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} On 5 July 1816, she died there alone. She had suffered from ill health and possessed little money, having squandered the bulk of it on her eldest daughter Frances (fathered by another man).{{sfn|Ranger|2004}}

William's new wife, Princess Adelaide, was gentle and loving to the FitzClarence children.{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=146}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=4–5}} In 1818, Augusta and her siblings were granted a pension of £500, and Augusta was given her own version of the [[English heraldry|Royal Arms]] featuring a "baton sinister azure charged with an anchor between two roses or".{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} In June 1830, the Duke of Clarence succeeded his brother [[George IV of the United Kingdom|George IV]] as King William IV.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=861}} The following year, he made his eldest son [[George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster|George]] Earl of Munster, and had his issue by Jordan raised to the ranks of younger children of a [[marquess]].{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}{{sfn|Fraser|2004|p=352}} With their father now monarch, the FitzClarences frequently attended court{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=218}} but their presence angered the [[Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld|Duchess of Kent]], who felt that the FitzClarences would be a corrupting influence on her daughter [[Queen Victoria|Princess Victoria]].{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=218}}{{sfn|Vallone|2001|pp=49, 72}} King William loved his children and was aggrieved at their treatment at the hands of the Duchess, who would leave the room whenever they entered.{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=218}}

==Marriage to Kennedy-Erskine==
On 5 July 1827, Augusta married the Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine, a younger son of the [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa|13th Earl of Cassilis]]. Kennedy-Erskine served as a captain with the [[16th The Queen's Lancers|16th Lancers]], and was made an [[equerry]] to King William in 1830.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} They had three children:
* William Henry Kennedy-Erskine (1 July 1828 – 5 September 1870); married Catherine Jones in 1862 and had issue including the Scottish writer [[Violet Jacob]]
* [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster|Wilhelmina '''"Mina"''' Kennedy-Erskine]] (27 June 1830{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=3}} – 9 October 1906); married [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]] in 1855 and had issue
* Augusta Anne '''Millicent''' Kennedy-Erskine (11 May 1831 – 11 February 1895); married [[James Hay Erskine Wemyss]] in 1855 and had issue

Augusta enjoyed botany and needlework.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} John inherited his maternal grandfather's estate of Dun in [[Forfarshire]], and as its [[chatelaine]], Augusta was featured in [[Hugh Massingberd]]'s ''Great Houses of Scotland''.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} John died on 6 March 1831.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} Her youngest daughter Millicent was born posthumously, as John died several months before her birth.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} In an act considered scandalous King William, still early in his reign, publicly mourned the death of his son-in-law.{{sfn|Fraser|2004|p=352}}

Now widowed, Lady Augusta and her children lived in a "charming brickhouse" at Railshead on the [[River Thames]]. King William often visited his daughter and grandchildren there, at one point coming to comfort Augusta when her young daughter Wilhelmina fell ill with a fever. They would often visit the king at [[Windsor Castle]] as well. They also had a house in Brighton.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=5–9, 28, 34}}

==Marriage to Gordon==
On 24 August 1836, Lady Augusta married [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton|Lord Frederick Gordon]], the third son of [[George Gordon, 9th Marquess of Huntly]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} Gordon was a professional sailor, and would become Admiral of the Navy in 1868. He and Augusta had no surviving children together.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}

Railshead had been situated next to a house owned by John's parents, but Augusta's second marriage angered them and forced their leaving.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=28, 34, 40}} Augusta turned to her father for help, and he granted her apartments in [[Kensington Palace]] and the position State Housekeeper (replacing her recently deceased sister [[Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley|Sophia]]).{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=42}}{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} They lived there for many years.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=50}} In 1847, they embarked on a three year trip to the continent, visiting Germany, France, and Italy. In 1850, they returned to Kensington Palace and Augusta's daughters [[Season (society)|came out in society]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=83, 129–44}} Both daughters married in 1855 in a double wedding, Wilhelmina to the [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster|2nd Earl of Munster]] and Millicent to [[James Hay Erskine Wemyss]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=152}}

Augusta died in 1865. Her husband survived Augusta by twelve years.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

;Works cited
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=PEc7AwAAQBAJ& |title=Royal Bastards |first1=Peter |last1=Beauclerk-Dewar |first2=Roger |last2=Powell |year=2008 |location=Stroud |publisher=The History Press |isbn=9780752473154 |ref=harv}}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Brock|first=Michael |authorlink=Michael Brock |title=William IV (1765–1837) |id=29451 |date=2004 }}
* {{Cite book |url=http://www.questia.com/read/117825946 |title=Before Victoria: Extraordinary Women of the British Romantic Era |first=Elizabeth |last=Campbell Denlinger |year=2005 |location=New York|publisher=Columbia University Press |via=Questia |isbn= |ref=harv}} {{Subscription needed}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books/about/My_Memories_and_Miscellanies.html?id=x40xAQAAMAAJ |title=My Memories and Miscellanies |first=Wilhelmina |last=FitzClarence |authorlink=Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster |year=1904 |location=London |publisher=Eveleigh Nash |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|first=Flora|last=Fraser|authorlink=Flora Fraser (writer) |title=Princesses: The Six Daughters of George III |publisher=John Murray |location=London |year=2004 |isbn=0719561094 |ref=harv}}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Ranger|first=Paul|title=Jordan, Dorothy (1761–1816) |id=15119|date=2004 }}
*{{cite book|first=Lynne |last=Vallone |title=Becoming Victoria |publisher=Yale University Press |location=|year=2001 |isbn=978-0-300-08950-9|ref=harv}}
*{{cite book|first=Kate|last=Williams|authorlink=Kate Williams (historian) |title=Becoming Queen Victoria: The Tragic Death of Princess Charlotte and the Unexpected Rise of Britain's Greatest Monarch |publisher=Ballatine Books|location=|year=2010 |isbn=0-345-46195-9 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=gAfVIVra9C4C& |title=The Life and Reign of William the Fourth |last= Wright |first=G.N. |year=1837 |location=London |publisher=Fisher, Son, & Co |ref=harv}}
{{refend}}

[[Category:Articles created via the Article Wizard]]
[[Category:1803 births]]
[[Category:1865 deaths]]
[[Category:FitzClarence family]]

Augusta Gordon

2014-06-17T00:31:29Z

Ruby2010: +Category:1803 births; +Category:1865 deaths; +Category:FitzClarence family using HotCat

{{Infobox noble|type
| name = Lady Augusta FitzClarence
| title =
| image = [[File:Lady Augusta FitzClarence and children.jpg|230px]]
| caption = Lady Augusta with her three children
| alt =
| CoA =
| more = no
| succession =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| suc-type =
| spouse = Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton]]
| spouse-type = Husband
| issue = William Henry Kennedy-Erskine [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster]] Millicent Wemyss
| full name =
| styles =
| titles =
| noble family = [[:Category:FitzClarence family|FitzClarence family]]
| house-type = nobility
| father = [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]
| mother = [[Dorothea Jordan]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1803|11|17|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]]
| christening_date =
| christening_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1865|12|08|1803|11|17|df=y}}
| death_place =
| burial_date =
| burial_place =
| religion =
| occupation = Noblewoman
}}
'''Lady Augusta Gordon''' (''née'' '''FitzClarence'''; 17 November 1803 – 8 December 1865) was a British noblewoman. Born the fourth illegitimate daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom]] (then Duke of Clarence) by his long-time mistress [[Dorothea Jordan]], she grew up at their residence of [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]]. Augusta had four sisters and five brothers all surnamed FitzClarence. Soon after their father became monarch, the Fitzclarence children were raised to the ranks of younger children of a [[marquess]].

In 1827, Augusta married Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine, a younger son of the [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa|13th Earl of Cassilis]]. They had three children before he died in 1831. Five years later, she married [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton|Lord Frederick Gordon]], the third son of [[George Gordon, 9th Marquess of Huntly]]. After the death of her sister [[Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley|Sophia]] in 1837, Augusta was appointed State Housekeeper of [[Kensington Palace]] by her father.

==Family and early life==
Augusta FitzClarence was born at [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]] on 17 November 1803 as the fourth daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom|Prince William, Duke of Clarence]] by his long-time mistress, the famous comic actress [[Dorothea Jordan]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|pp=851–54}}{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} Dorothea was the most successful actress of her day and continued to act on the stage during their relationship.{{sfn|Brock|2004}} Augusta had nine siblings from the relationship, four sisters and five brothers all surnamed FitzClarence.{{sfn|Wright|1837|pp=429, 851–54}} While circumstances prevented the couple from ever marrying, for twenty years William and Dorothea enjoyed domestic stability and were devoted to their children.{{sfn|Campbell Denlinger|2005|p=81}}{{sfn|Brock|2004}} In 1797, they moved from Clarence Lodge to Bushy House, residing at the Teddington residence until 1807.{{sfn|Brock|2004}} Augusta was born there.

Augusta's daughter [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster|Wilhelmina]] would later write that Bushy was "a happy and beloved home" until it "came to end" upon her father's marriage to [[Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen|Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=4}} He and Dorothea had parted ways in December 1811 under a deed of separation, the debt-ridden duke desiring to secure a rich wife.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} Dorothea was granted £4,400 and the task of caring for their daughters; William was permitted to visit them until they turned thirteen.{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} She left Bushy in January 1812. The money was not enough to cover her debts, however. Dorothea continued to act on the stage after his leaving. In 1815, she moved from London to [[Boulogne]], France to evade her creditors.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} On 5 July 1816, she died there alone. She had suffered from ill health and possessed little money, having squandered the bulk of it on her eldest daughter Frances (fathered by another man).{{sfn|Ranger|2004}}

William's new wife, Princess Adelaide, was gentle and loving to the FitzClarence children.{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=146}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=4–5}} In 1818, Augusta and her siblings were granted a pension of £500, and Augusta was given her own version of the [[English heraldry|Royal Arms]] featuring a "baton sinister azure charged with an anchor between two roses or".{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} In June 1830, the Duke of Clarence succeeded his brother [[George IV of the United Kingdom|George IV]] as King William IV.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=861}} The following year, he made his eldest son [[George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster|George]] Earl of Munster, and had his issue by Jordan raised to the ranks of younger children of a [[marquess]].{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}{{sfn|Fraser|2004|p=352}} With their father now monarch, the FitzClarences frequently attended court{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=218}} but their presence angered the [[Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld|Duchess of Kent]], who felt that the FitzClarences would be a corrupting influence on her daughter [[Queen Victoria|Princess Victoria]].{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=218}}{{sfn|Vallone|2001|pp=49, 72}} King William loved his children and was aggrieved at their treatment at the hands of the Duchess, who would leave the room whenever they entered.{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=218}}

==Marriage to Kennedy-Erskine==
On 5 July 1827, Augusta married the Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine, a younger son of the [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa|13th Earl of Cassilis]]. Kennedy-Erskine served as a captain with the [[16th The Queen's Lancers|16th Lancers]], and was made an [[equerry]] to King William in 1830.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} They had three children:
* William Henry Kennedy-Erskine (1 July 1828 – 5 September 1870); married Catherine Jones in 1862 and had issue including the Scottish writer [[Violet Jacob]]
* [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster|Wilhelmina '''"Mina"''' Kennedy-Erskine]] (27 June 1830{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=3}} – 9 October 1906); married [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]] in 1855 and had issue
* Augusta Anne '''Millicent''' Kennedy-Erskine (11 May 1831 – 11 February 1895); married [[James Hay Erskine Wemyss]] in 1855 and had issue

Augusta enjoyed botany and needlework.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} John inherited his maternal grandfather's estate of Dun in [[Forfarshire]], and as its [[chatelaine]], Augusta was featured in [[Hugh Massingberd]]'s ''Great Houses of Scotland''.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} John died 6 March 1831.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} Her youngest daughter Millicent was born posthumously, as John died several months before her birth.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} In an act considered scandalous King William, still early in his reign, publicly mourned the death of his son-in-law.{{sfn|Fraser|2004|p=352}}

Now widowed, Lady Augusta and her children lived in a "charming brickhouse" at Railshead on the [[River Thames]]. King William often visited his daughter and grandchildren there, at one point coming to comfort Augusta when her young daughter Wilhelmina fell ill with a fever. They would often visit the king at [[Windsor Castle]] as well. They also had a house in Brighton.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=5–9, 28, 34}}

==Marriage to Gordon==
On 24 August 1836, Lady Augusta married [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton|Lord Frederick Gordon]], the third son of [[George Gordon, 9th Marquess of Huntly]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} Gordon was a professional sailor, and would become Admiral of the Navy in 1868. He and Augusta had no surviving children together.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}

Railshead had been situated next to a house owned by John's parents, but Augusta's second marriage angered them and forced their leaving.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=28, 34, 40}} Augusta turned to her father for help, and he granted her apartments in [[Kensington Palace]] and the position State Housekeeper (replacing her recently deceased sister [[Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley|Sophia]]).{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=42}}{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} They lived there for many years.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=50}} In 1847, they embarked on a three year trip to the continent, visiting Germany, France, and Italy. In 1850, they returned to Kensington Palace and Augusta's daughters [[Season (society)|came out in society]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=83, 129–44}} Both daughters married in 1855 in a double wedding, Wilhelmina to the [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster|2nd Earl of Munster]] and Millicent to [[James Hay Erskine Wemyss]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=152}}

Augusta died in 1865. Her husband survived Augusta by twelve years.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

;Works cited
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=PEc7AwAAQBAJ& |title=Royal Bastards |first1=Peter |last1=Beauclerk-Dewar |first2=Roger |last2=Powell |year=2008 |location=Stroud |publisher=The History Press |isbn=9780752473154 |ref=harv}}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Brock|first=Michael |authorlink=Michael Brock |title=William IV (1765–1837) |id=29451 |date=2004 }}
* {{Cite book |url=http://www.questia.com/read/117825946 |title=Before Victoria: Extraordinary Women of the British Romantic Era |first=Elizabeth |last=Campbell Denlinger |year=2005 |location=New York|publisher=Columbia University Press |via=Questia |isbn= |ref=harv}} {{Subscription needed}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books/about/My_Memories_and_Miscellanies.html?id=x40xAQAAMAAJ |title=My Memories and Miscellanies |first=Wilhelmina |last=FitzClarence |authorlink=Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster |year=1904 |location=London |publisher=Eveleigh Nash |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|first=Flora|last=Fraser|authorlink=Flora Fraser (writer) |title=Princesses: The Six Daughters of George III |publisher=John Murray |location=London |year=2004 |isbn=0719561094 |ref=harv}}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Ranger|first=Paul|title=Jordan, Dorothy (1761–1816) |id=15119|date=2004 }}
*{{cite book|first=Lynne |last=Vallone |title=Becoming Victoria |publisher=Yale University Press |location=|year=2001 |isbn=978-0-300-08950-9|ref=harv}}
*{{cite book|first=Kate|last=Williams|authorlink=Kate Williams (historian) |title=Becoming Queen Victoria: The Tragic Death of Princess Charlotte and the Unexpected Rise of Britain's Greatest Monarch |publisher=Ballatine Books|location=|year=2010 |isbn=0-345-46195-9 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=gAfVIVra9C4C& |title=The Life and Reign of William the Fourth |last= Wright |first=G.N. |year=1837 |location=London |publisher=Fisher, Son, & Co |ref=harv}}
{{refend}}

[[Category:Articles created via the Article Wizard]]
[[Category:1803 births]]
[[Category:1865 deaths]]
[[Category:FitzClarence family]]

Augusta Gordon

2014-06-17T00:30:37Z

Ruby2010: Ruby2010 moved page User:Ruby2010/Lady Augusta FitzClarence to Lady Augusta Gordon: New article, moving from userspace

{{Infobox noble|type
| name = Lady Augusta FitzClarence
| title =
| image = [[File:Lady Augusta FitzClarence and children.jpg|230px]]
| caption = Lady Augusta with her three children
| alt =
| CoA =
| more = no
| succession =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| suc-type =
| spouse = Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton]]
| spouse-type = Husband
| issue = William Henry Kennedy-Erskine [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster]] Millicent Wemyss
| full name =
| styles =
| titles =
| noble family = [[:Category:FitzClarence family|FitzClarence family]]
| house-type = nobility
| father = [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]
| mother = [[Dorothea Jordan]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1803|11|17|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]]
| christening_date =
| christening_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1865|12|08|1803|11|17|df=y}}
| death_place =
| burial_date =
| burial_place =
| religion =
| occupation = Noblewoman
}}
'''Lady Augusta Gordon''' (''née'' '''FitzClarence'''; 17 November 1803 – 8 December 1865) was a British noblewoman. Born the fourth illegitimate daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom]] (then Duke of Clarence) by his long-time mistress [[Dorothea Jordan]], she grew up at their residence of [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]]. Augusta had four sisters and five brothers all surnamed FitzClarence. Soon after their father became monarch, the Fitzclarence children were raised to the ranks of younger children of a [[marquess]].

In 1827, Augusta married Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine, a younger son of the [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa|13th Earl of Cassilis]]. They had three children before he died in 1831. Five years later, she married [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton|Lord Frederick Gordon]], the third son of [[George Gordon, 9th Marquess of Huntly]]. After the death of her sister [[Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley|Sophia]] in 1837, Augusta was appointed State Housekeeper of [[Kensington Palace]] by her father.

==Family and early life==
Augusta FitzClarence was born at [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]] on 17 November 1803 as the fourth daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom|Prince William, Duke of Clarence]] by his long-time mistress, the famous comic actress [[Dorothea Jordan]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|pp=851–54}}{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} Dorothea was the most successful actress of her day and continued to act on the stage during their relationship.{{sfn|Brock|2004}} Augusta had nine siblings from the relationship, four sisters and five brothers all surnamed FitzClarence.{{sfn|Wright|1837|pp=429, 851–54}} While circumstances prevented the couple from ever marrying, for twenty years William and Dorothea enjoyed domestic stability and were devoted to their children.{{sfn|Campbell Denlinger|2005|p=81}}{{sfn|Brock|2004}} In 1797, they moved from Clarence Lodge to Bushy House, residing at the Teddington residence until 1807.{{sfn|Brock|2004}} Augusta was born there.

Augusta's daughter [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster|Wilhelmina]] would later write that Bushy was "a happy and beloved home" until it "came to end" upon her father's marriage to [[Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen|Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=4}} He and Dorothea had parted ways in December 1811 under a deed of separation, the debt-ridden duke desiring to secure a rich wife.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} Dorothea was granted £4,400 and the task of caring for their daughters; William was permitted to visit them until they turned thirteen.{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} She left Bushy in January 1812. The money was not enough to cover her debts, however. Dorothea continued to act on the stage after his leaving. In 1815, she moved from London to [[Boulogne]], France to evade her creditors.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} On 5 July 1816, she died there alone. She had suffered from ill health and possessed little money, having squandered the bulk of it on her eldest daughter Frances (fathered by another man).{{sfn|Ranger|2004}}

William's new wife, Princess Adelaide, was gentle and loving to the FitzClarence children.{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=146}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=4–5}} In 1818, Augusta and her siblings were granted a pension of £500, and Augusta was given her own version of the [[English heraldry|Royal Arms]] featuring a "baton sinister azure charged with an anchor between two roses or".{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} In June 1830, the Duke of Clarence succeeded his brother [[George IV of the United Kingdom|George IV]] as King William IV.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=861}} The following year, he made his eldest son [[George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster|George]] Earl of Munster, and had his issue by Jordan raised to the ranks of younger children of a [[marquess]].{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}{{sfn|Fraser|2004|p=352}} With their father now monarch, the FitzClarences frequently attended court{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=218}} but their presence angered the [[Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld|Duchess of Kent]], who felt that the FitzClarences would be a corrupting influence on her daughter [[Queen Victoria|Princess Victoria]].{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=218}}{{sfn|Vallone|2001|pp=49, 72}} King William loved his children and was aggrieved at their treatment at the hands of the Duchess, who would leave the room whenever they entered.{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=218}}

==Marriage to Kennedy-Erskine==
On 5 July 1827, Augusta married the Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine, a younger son of the [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa|13th Earl of Cassilis]]. Kennedy-Erskine served as a captain with the [[16th The Queen's Lancers|16th Lancers]], and was made an [[equerry]] to King William in 1830.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} They had three children:
* William Henry Kennedy-Erskine (1 July 1828 – 5 September 1870); married Catherine Jones in 1862 and had issue including the Scottish writer [[Violet Jacob]]
* [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster|Wilhelmina '''"Mina"''' Kennedy-Erskine]] (27 June 1830{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=3}} – 9 October 1906); married [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]] in 1855 and had issue
* Augusta Anne '''Millicent''' Kennedy-Erskine (11 May 1831 – 11 February 1895); married [[James Hay Erskine Wemyss]] in 1855 and had issue

Augusta enjoyed botany and needlework.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} John inherited his maternal grandfather's estate of Dun in [[Forfarshire]], and as its [[chatelaine]], Augusta was featured in [[Hugh Massingberd]]'s ''Great Houses of Scotland''.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} John died 6 March 1831.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} Her youngest daughter Millicent was born posthumously, as John died several months before her birth.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} In an act considered scandalous King William, still early in his reign, publicly mourned the death of his son-in-law.{{sfn|Fraser|2004|p=352}}

Now widowed, Lady Augusta and her children lived in a "charming brickhouse" at Railshead on the [[River Thames]]. King William often visited his daughter and grandchildren there, at one point coming to comfort Augusta when her young daughter Wilhelmina fell ill with a fever. They would often visit the king at [[Windsor Castle]] as well. They also had a house in Brighton.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=5–9, 28, 34}}

==Marriage to Gordon==
On 24 August 1836, Lady Augusta married [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton|Lord Frederick Gordon]], the third son of [[George Gordon, 9th Marquess of Huntly]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} Gordon was a professional sailor, and would become Admiral of the Navy in 1868. He and Augusta had no surviving children together.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}

Railshead had been situated next to a house owned by John's parents, but Augusta's second marriage angered them and forced their leaving.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=28, 34, 40}} Augusta turned to her father for help, and he granted her apartments in [[Kensington Palace]] and the position State Housekeeper (replacing her recently deceased sister [[Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley|Sophia]]).{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=42}}{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} They lived there for many years.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=50}} In 1847, they embarked on a three year trip to the continent, visiting Germany, France, and Italy. In 1850, they returned to Kensington Palace and Augusta's daughters [[Season (society)|came out in society]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=83, 129–44}} Both daughters married in 1855 in a double wedding, Wilhelmina to the [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster|2nd Earl of Munster]] and Millicent to [[James Hay Erskine Wemyss]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=152}}

Augusta died in 1865. Her husband survived Augusta by twelve years.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

;Works cited
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=PEc7AwAAQBAJ& |title=Royal Bastards |first1=Peter |last1=Beauclerk-Dewar |first2=Roger |last2=Powell |year=2008 |location=Stroud |publisher=The History Press |isbn=9780752473154 |ref=harv}}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Brock|first=Michael |authorlink=Michael Brock |title=William IV (1765–1837) |id=29451 |date=2004 }}
* {{Cite book |url=http://www.questia.com/read/117825946 |title=Before Victoria: Extraordinary Women of the British Romantic Era |first=Elizabeth |last=Campbell Denlinger |year=2005 |location=New York|publisher=Columbia University Press |via=Questia |isbn= |ref=harv}} {{Subscription needed}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books/about/My_Memories_and_Miscellanies.html?id=x40xAQAAMAAJ |title=My Memories and Miscellanies |first=Wilhelmina |last=FitzClarence |authorlink=Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster |year=1904 |location=London |publisher=Eveleigh Nash |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|first=Flora|last=Fraser|authorlink=Flora Fraser (writer) |title=Princesses: The Six Daughters of George III |publisher=John Murray |location=London |year=2004 |isbn=0719561094 |ref=harv}}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Ranger|first=Paul|title=Jordan, Dorothy (1761–1816) |id=15119|date=2004 }}
*{{cite book|first=Lynne |last=Vallone |title=Becoming Victoria |publisher=Yale University Press |location=|year=2001 |isbn=978-0-300-08950-9|ref=harv}}
*{{cite book|first=Kate|last=Williams|authorlink=Kate Williams (historian) |title=Becoming Queen Victoria: The Tragic Death of Princess Charlotte and the Unexpected Rise of Britain's Greatest Monarch |publisher=Ballatine Books|location=|year=2010 |isbn=0-345-46195-9 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=gAfVIVra9C4C& |title=The Life and Reign of William the Fourth |last= Wright |first=G.N. |year=1837 |location=London |publisher=Fisher, Son, & Co |ref=harv}}
{{refend}}

[[Category:Articles created via the Article Wizard]]

Augusta Gordon

2014-06-17T00:30:13Z

Ruby2010:

{{Infobox noble|type
| name = Lady Augusta FitzClarence
| title =
| image = [[File:Lady Augusta FitzClarence and children.jpg|230px]]
| caption = Lady Augusta with her three children
| alt =
| CoA =
| more = no
| succession =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| suc-type =
| spouse = Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton]]
| spouse-type = Husband
| issue = William Henry Kennedy-Erskine [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster]] Millicent Wemyss
| full name =
| styles =
| titles =
| noble family = [[:Category:FitzClarence family|FitzClarence family]]
| house-type = nobility
| father = [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]
| mother = [[Dorothea Jordan]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1803|11|17|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]]
| christening_date =
| christening_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1865|12|08|1803|11|17|df=y}}
| death_place =
| burial_date =
| burial_place =
| religion =
| occupation = Noblewoman
}}
'''Lady Augusta Gordon''' (''née'' '''FitzClarence'''; 17 November 1803 – 8 December 1865) was a British noblewoman. Born the fourth illegitimate daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom]] (then Duke of Clarence) by his long-time mistress [[Dorothea Jordan]], she grew up at their residence of [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]]. Augusta had four sisters and five brothers all surnamed FitzClarence. Soon after their father became monarch, the Fitzclarence children were raised to the ranks of younger children of a [[marquess]].

In 1827, Augusta married Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine, a younger son of the [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa|13th Earl of Cassilis]]. They had three children before he died in 1831. Five years later, she married [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton|Lord Frederick Gordon]], the third son of [[George Gordon, 9th Marquess of Huntly]]. After the death of her sister [[Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley|Sophia]] in 1837, Augusta was appointed State Housekeeper of [[Kensington Palace]] by her father.

==Family and early life==
Augusta FitzClarence was born at [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]] on 17 November 1803 as the fourth daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom|Prince William, Duke of Clarence]] by his long-time mistress, the famous comic actress [[Dorothea Jordan]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|pp=851–54}}{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} Dorothea was the most successful actress of her day and continued to act on the stage during their relationship.{{sfn|Brock|2004}} Augusta had nine siblings from the relationship, four sisters and five brothers all surnamed FitzClarence.{{sfn|Wright|1837|pp=429, 851–54}} While circumstances prevented the couple from ever marrying, for twenty years William and Dorothea enjoyed domestic stability and were devoted to their children.{{sfn|Campbell Denlinger|2005|p=81}}{{sfn|Brock|2004}} In 1797, they moved from Clarence Lodge to Bushy House, residing at the Teddington residence until 1807.{{sfn|Brock|2004}} Augusta was born there.

Augusta's daughter [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster|Wilhelmina]] would later write that Bushy was "a happy and beloved home" until it "came to end" upon her father's marriage to [[Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen|Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=4}} He and Dorothea had parted ways in December 1811 under a deed of separation, the debt-ridden duke desiring to secure a rich wife.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} Dorothea was granted £4,400 and the task of caring for their daughters; William was permitted to visit them until they turned thirteen.{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} She left Bushy in January 1812. The money was not enough to cover her debts, however. Dorothea continued to act on the stage after his leaving. In 1815, she moved from London to [[Boulogne]], France to evade her creditors.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} On 5 July 1816, she died there alone. She had suffered from ill health and possessed little money, having squandered the bulk of it on her eldest daughter Frances (fathered by another man).{{sfn|Ranger|2004}}

William's new wife, Princess Adelaide, was gentle and loving to the FitzClarence children.{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=146}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=4–5}} In 1818, Augusta and her siblings were granted a pension of £500, and Augusta was given her own version of the [[English heraldry|Royal Arms]] featuring a "baton sinister azure charged with an anchor between two roses or".{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} In June 1830, the Duke of Clarence succeeded his brother [[George IV of the United Kingdom|George IV]] as King William IV.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=861}} The following year, he made his eldest son [[George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster|George]] Earl of Munster, and had his issue by Jordan raised to the ranks of younger children of a [[marquess]].{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}{{sfn|Fraser|2004|p=352}} With their father now monarch, the FitzClarences frequently attended court{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=218}} but their presence angered the [[Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld|Duchess of Kent]], who felt that the FitzClarences would be a corrupting influence on her daughter [[Queen Victoria|Princess Victoria]].{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=218}}{{sfn|Vallone|2001|pp=49, 72}} King William loved his children and was aggrieved at their treatment at the hands of the Duchess, who would leave the room whenever they entered.{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=218}}

==Marriage to Kennedy-Erskine==
On 5 July 1827, Augusta married the Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine, a younger son of the [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa|13th Earl of Cassilis]]. Kennedy-Erskine served as a captain with the [[16th The Queen's Lancers|16th Lancers]], and was made an [[equerry]] to King William in 1830.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} They had three children:
* William Henry Kennedy-Erskine (1 July 1828 – 5 September 1870); married Catherine Jones in 1862 and had issue including the Scottish writer [[Violet Jacob]]
* [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster|Wilhelmina '''"Mina"''' Kennedy-Erskine]] (27 June 1830{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=3}} – 9 October 1906); married [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]] in 1855 and had issue
* Augusta Anne '''Millicent''' Kennedy-Erskine (11 May 1831 – 11 February 1895); married [[James Hay Erskine Wemyss]] in 1855 and had issue

Augusta enjoyed botany and needlework.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} John inherited his maternal grandfather's estate of Dun in [[Forfarshire]], and as its [[chatelaine]], Augusta was featured in [[Hugh Massingberd]]'s ''Great Houses of Scotland''.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} John died 6 March 1831.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} Her youngest daughter Millicent was born posthumously, as John died several months before her birth.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} In an act considered scandalous King William, still early in his reign, publicly mourned the death of his son-in-law.{{sfn|Fraser|2004|p=352}}

Now widowed, Lady Augusta and her children lived in a "charming brickhouse" at Railshead on the [[River Thames]]. King William often visited his daughter and grandchildren there, at one point coming to comfort Augusta when her young daughter Wilhelmina fell ill with a fever. They would often visit the king at [[Windsor Castle]] as well. They also had a house in Brighton.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=5–9, 28, 34}}

==Marriage to Gordon==
On 24 August 1836, Lady Augusta married [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton|Lord Frederick Gordon]], the third son of [[George Gordon, 9th Marquess of Huntly]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} Gordon was a professional sailor, and would become Admiral of the Navy in 1868. He and Augusta had no surviving children together.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}

Railshead had been situated next to a house owned by John's parents, but Augusta's second marriage angered them and forced their leaving.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=28, 34, 40}} Augusta turned to her father for help, and he granted her apartments in [[Kensington Palace]] and the position State Housekeeper (replacing her recently deceased sister [[Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley|Sophia]]).{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=42}}{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} They lived there for many years.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=50}} In 1847, they embarked on a three year trip to the continent, visiting Germany, France, and Italy. In 1850, they returned to Kensington Palace and Augusta's daughters [[Season (society)|came out in society]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=83, 129–44}} Both daughters married in 1855 in a double wedding, Wilhelmina to the [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster|2nd Earl of Munster]] and Millicent to [[James Hay Erskine Wemyss]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=152}}

Augusta died in 1865. Her husband survived Augusta by twelve years.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

;Works cited
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=PEc7AwAAQBAJ& |title=Royal Bastards |first1=Peter |last1=Beauclerk-Dewar |first2=Roger |last2=Powell |year=2008 |location=Stroud |publisher=The History Press |isbn=9780752473154 |ref=harv}}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Brock|first=Michael |authorlink=Michael Brock |title=William IV (1765–1837) |id=29451 |date=2004 }}
* {{Cite book |url=http://www.questia.com/read/117825946 |title=Before Victoria: Extraordinary Women of the British Romantic Era |first=Elizabeth |last=Campbell Denlinger |year=2005 |location=New York|publisher=Columbia University Press |via=Questia |isbn= |ref=harv}} {{Subscription needed}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books/about/My_Memories_and_Miscellanies.html?id=x40xAQAAMAAJ |title=My Memories and Miscellanies |first=Wilhelmina |last=FitzClarence |authorlink=Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster |year=1904 |location=London |publisher=Eveleigh Nash |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|first=Flora|last=Fraser|authorlink=Flora Fraser (writer) |title=Princesses: The Six Daughters of George III |publisher=John Murray |location=London |year=2004 |isbn=0719561094 |ref=harv}}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Ranger|first=Paul|title=Jordan, Dorothy (1761–1816) |id=15119|date=2004 }}
*{{cite book|first=Lynne |last=Vallone |title=Becoming Victoria |publisher=Yale University Press |location=|year=2001 |isbn=978-0-300-08950-9|ref=harv}}
*{{cite book|first=Kate|last=Williams|authorlink=Kate Williams (historian) |title=Becoming Queen Victoria: The Tragic Death of Princess Charlotte and the Unexpected Rise of Britain's Greatest Monarch |publisher=Ballatine Books|location=|year=2010 |isbn=0-345-46195-9 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=gAfVIVra9C4C& |title=The Life and Reign of William the Fourth |last= Wright |first=G.N. |year=1837 |location=London |publisher=Fisher, Son, & Co |ref=harv}}
{{refend}}

[[Category:Articles created via the Article Wizard]]

Augusta Gordon

2014-06-17T00:29:02Z

Ruby2010:

{{Userspace draft|source=ArticleWizard|date=May 2014}}
{{Infobox noble|type
| name = Lady Augusta FitzClarence
| title =
| image = [[File:Lady Augusta FitzClarence and children.jpg|230px]]
| caption = Lady Augusta with her three children
| alt =
| CoA =
| more = no
| succession =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| suc-type =
| spouse = Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton]]
| spouse-type = Husband
| issue = William Henry Kennedy-Erskine [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster]] Millicent Wemyss
| full name =
| styles =
| titles =
| noble family = [[:Category:FitzClarence family|FitzClarence family]]
| house-type = nobility
| father = [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]
| mother = [[Dorothea Jordan]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1803|11|17|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]]
| christening_date =
| christening_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1865|12|08|1803|11|17|df=y}}
| death_place =
| burial_date =
| burial_place =
| religion =
| occupation = Noblewoman
}}
'''Lady Augusta Gordon''' (''née'' '''FitzClarence'''; 17 November 1803 – 8 December 1865) was a British noblewoman. Born the fourth illegitimate daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom]] (then Duke of Clarence) by his long-time mistress [[Dorothea Jordan]], she grew up at their residence of [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]]. Augusta had four sisters and five brothers all surnamed FitzClarence. Soon after their father became monarch, the Fitzclarence children were raised to the ranks of younger children of a [[marquess]].

In 1827, Augusta married Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine, a younger son of the [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa|13th Earl of Cassilis]]. They had three children before he died in 1831. Five years later, she married [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton|Lord Frederick Gordon]], the third son of [[George Gordon, 9th Marquess of Huntly]]. After the death of her sister [[Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley|Sophia]] in 1837, Augusta was appointed State Housekeeper of [[Kensington Palace]] by her father.

==Family and early life==
Augusta FitzClarence was born at [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]] on 17 November 1803 as the fourth daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom|Prince William, Duke of Clarence]] by his long-time mistress, the famous comic actress [[Dorothea Jordan]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|pp=851–54}}{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} Dorothea was the most successful actress of her day and continued to act on the stage during their relationship.{{sfn|Brock|2004}} Augusta had nine siblings from the relationship, four sisters and five brothers all surnamed FitzClarence.{{sfn|Wright|1837|pp=429, 851–54}} While circumstances prevented the couple from ever marrying, for twenty years William and Dorothea enjoyed domestic stability and were devoted to their children.{{sfn|Campbell Denlinger|2005|p=81}}{{sfn|Brock|2004}} In 1797, they moved from Clarence Lodge to Bushy House, residing at the Teddington residence until 1807.{{sfn|Brock|2004}} Augusta was born there.

Augusta's daughter [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster|Wilhelmina]] would later write that Bushy was "a happy and beloved home" until it "came to end" upon her father's marriage to [[Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen|Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=4}} He and Dorothea had parted ways in December 1811 under a deed of separation, the debt-ridden duke desiring to secure a rich wife.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} Dorothea was granted £4,400 and the task of caring for their daughters; William was permitted to visit them until they turned thirteen.{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} She left Bushy in January 1812. The money was not enough to cover her debts, however. Dorothea continued to act on the stage after his leaving. In 1815, she moved from London to [[Boulogne]], France to evade her creditors.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} On 5 July 1816, she died there alone. She had suffered from ill health and possessed little money, having squandered the bulk of it on her eldest daughter Frances (fathered by another man).{{sfn|Ranger|2004}}

William's new wife, Princess Adelaide, was gentle and loving to the FitzClarence children.{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=146}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=4–5}} In 1818, Augusta and her siblings were granted a pension of £500, and Augusta was given her own version of the [[English heraldry|Royal Arms]] featuring a "baton sinister azure charged with an anchor between two roses or".{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} In June 1830, the Duke of Clarence succeeded his brother [[George IV of the United Kingdom|George IV]] as King William IV.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=861}} The following year, he made his eldest son [[George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster|George]] Earl of Munster, and had his issue by Jordan raised to the ranks of younger children of a [[marquess]].{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}{{sfn|Fraser|2004|p=352}} With their father now monarch, the FitzClarences frequently attended court{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=218}} but their presence angered the [[Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld|Duchess of Kent]], who felt that the FitzClarences would be a corrupting influence on her daughter [[Queen Victoria|Princess Victoria]].{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=218}}{{sfn|Vallone|2001|pp=49, 72}} King William loved his children and was aggrieved at their treatment at the hands of the Duchess, who would leave the room whenever they entered.{{sfn|Williams|2010|p=218}}

==Marriage to Kennedy-Erskine==
On 5 July 1827, Augusta married the Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine, a younger son of the [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa|13th Earl of Cassilis]]. Kennedy-Erskine served as a captain with the [[16th The Queen's Lancers|16th Lancers]], and was made an [[equerry]] to King William in 1830.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} They had three children:
* William Henry Kennedy-Erskine (1 July 1828 – 5 September 1870); married Catherine Jones in 1862 and had issue including the Scottish writer [[Violet Jacob]]
* [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster|Wilhelmina '''"Mina"''' Kennedy-Erskine]] (27 June 1830{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=3}} – 9 October 1906); married [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]] in 1855 and had issue
* Augusta Anne '''Millicent''' Kennedy-Erskine (11 May 1831 – 11 February 1895); married [[James Hay Erskine Wemyss]] in 1855 and had issue

Augusta enjoyed botany and needlework.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} John inherited his maternal grandfather's estate of Dun in [[Forfarshire]], and as its [[chatelaine]], Augusta was featured in [[Hugh Massingberd]]'s ''Great Houses of Scotland''.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} John died 6 March 1831.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} Her youngest daughter Millicent was born posthumously, as John died several months before her birth.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} In an act considered scandalous King William, still early in his reign, publicly mourned the death of his son-in-law.{{sfn|Fraser|2004|p=352}}

Now widowed, Lady Augusta and her children lived in a "charming brickhouse" at Railshead on the [[River Thames]]. King William often visited his daughter and grandchildren there, at one point coming to comfort Augusta when her young daughter Wilhelmina fell ill with a fever. They would often visit the king at [[Windsor Castle]] as well. They also had a house in Brighton.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=5–9, 28, 34}}

==Marriage to Gordon==
On 24 August 1836, Lady Augusta married [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton|Lord Frederick Gordon]], the third son of [[George Gordon, 9th Marquess of Huntly]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} Gordon was a professional sailor, and would become Admiral of the Navy in 1868. He and Augusta had no surviving children together.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}

Railshead had been situated next to a house owned by John's parents, but Augusta's second marriage angered them and forced their leaving.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=28, 34, 40}} Augusta turned to her father for help, and he granted her apartments in [[Kensington Palace]] and the position State Housekeeper (replacing her recently deceased sister [[Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley|Sophia]]).{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=42}}{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} They lived there for many years.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=50}} In 1847, they embarked on a three year trip to the continent, visiting Germany, France, and Italy. In 1850, they returned to Kensington Palace and Augusta's daughters [[Season (society)|came out in society]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=83, 129–44}} Both daughters married in 1855 in a double wedding, Wilhelmina to the [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster|2nd Earl of Munster]] and Millicent to [[James Hay Erskine Wemyss]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=152}}

Augusta died in 1865. Her husband survived Augusta by twelve years.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

;Works cited
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=PEc7AwAAQBAJ& |title=Royal Bastards |first1=Peter |last1=Beauclerk-Dewar |first2=Roger |last2=Powell |year=2008 |location=Stroud |publisher=The History Press |isbn=9780752473154 |ref=harv}}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Brock|first=Michael |authorlink=Michael Brock |title=William IV (1765–1837) |id=29451 |date=2004 }}
* {{Cite book |url=http://www.questia.com/read/117825946 |title=Before Victoria: Extraordinary Women of the British Romantic Era |first=Elizabeth |last=Campbell Denlinger |year=2005 |location=New York|publisher=Columbia University Press |via=Questia |isbn= |ref=harv}} {{Subscription needed}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books/about/My_Memories_and_Miscellanies.html?id=x40xAQAAMAAJ |title=My Memories and Miscellanies |first=Wilhelmina |last=FitzClarence |authorlink=Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster |year=1904 |location=London |publisher=Eveleigh Nash |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|first=Flora|last=Fraser|authorlink=Flora Fraser (writer) |title=Princesses: The Six Daughters of George III |publisher=John Murray |location=London |year=2004 |isbn=0719561094 |ref=harv}}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Ranger|first=Paul|title=Jordan, Dorothy (1761–1816) |id=15119|date=2004 }}
*{{cite book|first=Lynne |last=Vallone |title=Becoming Victoria |publisher=Yale University Press |location=|year=2001 |isbn=978-0-300-08950-9|ref=harv}}
*{{cite book|first=Kate|last=Williams|authorlink=Kate Williams (historian) |title=Becoming Queen Victoria: The Tragic Death of Princess Charlotte and the Unexpected Rise of Britain's Greatest Monarch |publisher=Ballatine Books|location=|year=2010 |isbn=0-345-46195-9 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=gAfVIVra9C4C& |title=The Life and Reign of William the Fourth |last= Wright |first=G.N. |year=1837 |location=London |publisher=Fisher, Son, & Co |ref=harv}}
{{refend}}

[[Category:Articles created via the Article Wizard]]

Augusta Gordon

2014-06-14T05:43:12Z

Ruby2010:

{{Userspace draft|source=ArticleWizard|date=May 2014}}
{{Infobox noble|type
| name = Lady Augusta FitzClarence
| title =
| image = [[File:Lady Augusta FitzClarence and children.jpg|230px]]
| caption = Lady Augusta with her three children
| alt =
| CoA =
| more = no
| succession =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| suc-type =
| spouse = Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton]]
| spouse-type = Husband
| issue = William Henry Kennedy-Erskine [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster]] Millicent Wemyss
| full name =
| styles =
| titles =
| noble family = [[:Category:FitzClarence family|FitzClarence family]]
| house-type = nobility
| father = [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]
| mother = [[Dorothea Jordan]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1803|11|17|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]]
| christening_date =
| christening_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1865|12|08|1803|11|17|df=y}}
| death_place =
| burial_date =
| burial_place =
| religion =
| occupation = Noblewoman
}}
'''Lady Augusta Gordon''' (''née'' '''FitzClarence'''; 17 November 1803 – 8 December 1865) was a British noblewoman. Born the fourth illegitimate daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom]] (then Duke of Clarence) by his long-time mistress [[Dorothea Jordan]], she grew up at their residence of [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]]. Augusta had four sisters and five brothers all surnamed FitzClarence. Soon after their father became monarch, the Fitzclarence children were raised to the ranks of younger children of a [[marquess]].

In 1827, Augusta married Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine, a younger son of the [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa|13th Earl of Cassilis]]. They had three children before he died in 1831. Five years later, she married [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton|Lord Frederick Gordon]], the third son of [[George Gordon, 9th Marquess of Huntly]]. After the death of her sister [[Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley|Sophia]] in 1837, Augusta was appointed State Housekeeper of [[Kensington Palace]] by her father.

==Family and early life==
Augusta FitzClarence was born at [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]] on 17 November 1803 as the fourth daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom|Prince William, Duke of Clarence]] by his long-time mistress, the famous comic actress [[Dorothea Jordan]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|pp=851–54}}{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} Dorothea was the most successful actress of her day and continued to act on the stage during their relationship.{{sfn|Brock|2004}} Augusta had nine siblings from the relationship, four sisters and five brothers all surnamed FitzClarence.{{sfn|Wright|1837|pp=429, 851–54}} While circumstances prevented the couple from ever marrying, for twenty years William and Dorothea enjoyed domestic stability and were devoted to their children.{{sfn|Campbell Denlinger|2005|p=81}}{{sfn|Brock|2004}} In 1797, they moved from Clarence Lodge to Bushy House, residing at the Teddington residence until 1807.{{sfn|Brock|2004}} Augusta was born there.

Augusta's daughter [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster|Wilhelmina]] would later write that Bushy was "a happy and beloved home" until it "came to end" upon her father's marriage to [[Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen|Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=4}} He and Dorothea had parted ways in December 1811 under a deed of separation, the debt-ridden duke desiring to secure a rich wife.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} Dorothea was granted £4,400 and the task of caring for their daughters; William was permitted to visit them until they turned thirteen.{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} She left Bushy in January 1812. The money was not enough to cover her debts, however. Dorothea continued to act on the stage after his leaving. In 1815, she moved from London to [[Boulogne]], France to evade her creditors.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} On 5 July 1816, she died there alone. She had suffered from ill health and possessed little money, having squandered the bulk of it on her eldest daughter Frances (fathered by another man).{{sfn|Ranger|2004}}

William's new wife, Princess Adelaide, was gentle and loving to the FitzClarence children.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=4–5}} In 1818, Augusta and her siblings were granted a pension of £500, and Augusta was given her own version of the [[English heraldry|Royal Arms]] featuring a "baton sinister azure charged with an anchor between two roses or."{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} In June 1830, the Duke of Clarence succeeded his brother [[George IV of the United Kingdom|George IV]] as King William IV.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=861}} The following year, he made his eldest son [[George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster|George]] Earl of Munster, and had his issue by Jordan raised to the ranks of younger children of a [[marquess]].{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}{{sfn|Fraser|2004|p=352}}

==Marriage to Kennedy-Erskine==
On 5 July 1827, Augusta married the Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine, a younger son of the [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa|13th Earl of Cassilis]]. Kennedy-Erskine served as a captain with the [[16th The Queen's Lancers|16th Lancers]], and was made an [[equerry]] to King William in 1830.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} They had three children:
* William Henry Kennedy-Erskine (1 July 1828 – 5 September 1870); married Catherine Jones in 1862 and had issue including the Scottish writer [[Violet Jacob]]
* [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster|Wilhelmina '''"Mina"''' Kennedy-Erskine]] (27 June 1830{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=3}} – 9 October 1906); married [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]] in 1855 and had issue
* Augusta Anne '''Millicent''' Kennedy-Erskine (11 May 1831 – 11 February 1895); married [[James Hay Erskine Wemyss]] in 1855 and had issue

Augusta enjoyed botany and needlework.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} John inherited his maternal grandfather's estate of Dun in [[Forfarshire]], and as its [[chatelaine]], Augusta was featured in [[Hugh Massingberd]]'s ''Great Houses of Scotland''.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} John died 6 March 1831.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} Her youngest daughter Millicent was born posthumously, as John died several months before her birth.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} In an act considered scandalous King William, still early in his reign, publicly mourned the death of his son-in-law.{{sfn|Fraser|2004|p=352}}

Now widowed, Lady Augusta and her children lived in a "charming brickhouse" at Railshead on the [[River Thames]]. King William often visited his daughter and grandchildren there, at one point coming to comfort Augusta when her young daughter Wilhelmina fell ill with a fever. They would often visit the king at [[Windsor Castle]] as well. They also had a house in Brighton.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=5–9, 28, 34}}

==Marriage to Gordon==
On 24 August 1836, Lady Augusta married [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton|Lord Frederick Gordon]], the third son of [[George Gordon, 9th Marquess of Huntly]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} Gordon was a professional sailor, and would become Admiral of the Navy in 1868. He and Augusta had no surviving children together.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}

Railshead had been situated next to a house owned by John's parents, but Augusta's second marriage angered them and forced their leaving.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=28, 34, 40}} Augusta turned to her father for help, and he granted her apartments in [[Kensington Palace]] and the position State Housekeeper (replacing her recently deceased sister [[Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley|Sophia]]).{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=42}}{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} They lived there for many years.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=50}} In 1847, they embarked on a three year trip to the continent, visiting Germany, France, and Italy. In 1850, they returned to Kensington Palace and Augusta's daughters [[Season (society)|came out in society]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=83, 129–44}} Both daughters married in 1855 in a double wedding, Wilhelmina to the [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster|2nd Earl of Munster]] and Millicent to [[James Hay Erskine Wemyss]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=152}}

Augusta died in 1865. Her husband survived Augusta by twelve years.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

;Works cited
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=PEc7AwAAQBAJ& |title=Royal Bastards |first1=Peter |last1=Beauclerk-Dewar |first2=Roger |last2=Powell |year=2008 |location=Stroud |publisher=The History Press |isbn=9780752473154 |ref=harv}}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Brock|first=Michael |authorlink=Michael Brock |title=William IV (1765–1837) |id=29451 |date=2004 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://www.questia.com/read/117825946 |title=Before Victoria: Extraordinary Women of the British Romantic Era |first=Elizabeth |last=Campbell Denlinger |year=2005 |location=New York|publisher=Columbia University Press |via=Questia |isbn= |ref=harv}} {{Subscription needed}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books/about/My_Memories_and_Miscellanies.html?id=x40xAQAAMAAJ |title=My Memories and Miscellanies |first=Wilhelmina |last=FitzClarence |authorlink=Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster |year=1904 |location=London |publisher=Eveleigh Nash |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|first=Flora|last=Fraser|authorlink=Flora Fraser (writer) |title=Princesses: The Six Daughters of George III |publisher=John Murray |location=London |year=2004 |isbn=0719561094 |ref=harv}}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Ranger|first=Paul|title=Jordan, Dorothy (1761–1816) |id=15119|date=2004 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=gAfVIVra9C4C& |title=The Life and Reign of William the Fourth |last= Wright |first=G.N. |year=1837 |location=London |publisher=Fisher, Son, & Co |ref=harv}}
{{refend}}

[[Category:Articles created via the Article Wizard]]

Augusta Gordon

2014-06-14T05:40:48Z

Ruby2010:

{{Userspace draft|source=ArticleWizard|date=May 2014}}
{{Infobox noble|type
| name = Lady Augusta FitzClarence
| title =
| image = [[File:Lady Augusta FitzClarence and children.jpg|230px]]
| caption = Lady Augusta with her three children
| alt =
| CoA =
| more = no
| succession =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| suc-type =
| spouse = Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton]]
| spouse-type = Husband
| issue = William Henry Kennedy-Erskine [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster]] Millicent Wemyss
| full name =
| styles =
| titles =
| noble family = [[:Category:FitzClarence family|FitzClarence family]]
| house-type = nobility
| father = [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]
| mother = [[Dorothea Jordan]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1803|11|17|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]]
| christening_date =
| christening_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1865|12|08|1803|11|17|df=y}}
| death_place =
| burial_date =
| burial_place =
| religion =
| occupation = Noblewoman
}}
'''Lady Augusta Gordon''' (''née'' '''FitzClarence'''; 17 November 1803 – 8 December 1865) was a British noblewoman. Born the fourth illegitimate daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom]] (then Duke of Clarence) by his long-time mistress [[Dorothea Jordan]], she grew up at their residence of [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]]. Augusta had four sisters and five brothers all surnamed FitzClarence.

In 1827, Augusta married Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine, a younger son of the [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa|13th Earl of Cassilis]]. They had three children before he died in 1831. Five years later, she married [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton|Lord Frederick Gordon]], the third son of [[George Gordon, 9th Marquess of Huntly]]. After the death of her [[Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley|Sophia]] in 1837, Augusta was appointed State Housekeeper of [[Kensington Palace]] by her father.

==Family and early life==
Augusta FitzClarence was born at [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]] on 17 November 1803 as the fourth daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom|Prince William, Duke of Clarence]] by his long-time mistress, the famous comic actress [[Dorothea Jordan]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|pp=851–54}}{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} Dorothea was the most successful actress of her day and continued to act on the stage during their relationship.{{sfn|Brock|2004}} Augusta had nine siblings from the relationship, four sisters and five brothers all surnamed FitzClarence.{{sfn|Wright|1837|pp=429, 851–54}} While circumstances prevented the couple from ever marrying, for twenty years William and Dorothea enjoyed domestic stability and were devoted to their children.{{sfn|Campbell Denlinger|2005|p=81}}{{sfn|Brock|2004}} In 1797, they moved from Clarence Lodge to Bushy House, residing at the Teddington residence until 1807.{{sfn|Brock|2004}} Augusta was born there.

Augusta's daughter [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster|Wilhelmina]] would later write that Bushy was "a happy and beloved home" until it "came to end" upon her father's marriage to [[Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen|Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=4}} He and Dorothea had parted ways in December 1811 under a deed of separation, the debt-ridden duke desiring to secure a rich wife.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} Dorothea was granted £4,400 and the task of caring for their daughters; William was permitted to visit them until they turned thirteen.{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} She left Bushy in January 1812. The money was not enough to cover her debts, however. Dorothea continued to act on the stage after his leaving. In 1815, she moved from London to [[Boulogne]], France to evade her creditors.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} On 5 July 1816, she died there alone. She had suffered from ill health and possessed little money, having squandered the bulk of it on her eldest daughter Frances (fathered by another man).{{sfn|Ranger|2004}}

William's new wife, Princess Adelaide, was gentle and loving to the FitzClarence children.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=4–5}} In 1818, Augusta and her siblings were granted a pension of £500, and Augusta was given her own version of the [[English heraldry|Royal Arms]] featuring a "baton sinister azure charged with an anchor between two roses or."{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} In June 1830, the Duke of Clarence succeeded his brother [[George IV of the United Kingdom|George IV]] as King William IV.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=861}} The following year, he made his eldest son [[George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster|George]] Earl of Munster, and had his issue by Jordan raised to the ranks of younger children of a [[marquess]].{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}{{sfn|Fraser|2004|p=352}}

==Marriage to Kennedy-Erskine==
On 5 July 1827, Augusta married the Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine, a younger son of the [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa|13th Earl of Cassilis]]. Kennedy-Erskine served as a captain with the [[16th The Queen's Lancers|16th Lancers]], and was made an [[equerry]] to King William in 1830.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} They had three children:
* William Henry Kennedy-Erskine (1 July 1828 – 5 September 1870); married Catherine Jones in 1862 and had issue including the Scottish writer [[Violet Jacob]]
* [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster|Wilhelmina '''"Mina"''' Kennedy-Erskine]] (27 June 1830{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=3}} – 9 October 1906); married [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]] in 1855 and had issue
* Augusta Anne '''Millicent''' Kennedy-Erskine (11 May 1831 – 11 February 1895); married [[James Hay Erskine Wemyss]] in 1855 and had issue

Augusta enjoyed botany and needlework.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} John inherited his maternal grandfather's estate of Dun in [[Forfarshire]], and as its [[chatelaine]], Augusta was featured in [[Hugh Massingberd]]'s ''Great Houses of Scotland''.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} John died 6 March 1831.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} Her youngest daughter Millicent was born posthumously, as John died several months before her birth.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} In an act considered scandalous King William, still early in his reign, publicly mourned the death of his son-in-law.{{sfn|Fraser|2004|p=352}}

Now widowed, Lady Augusta and her children lived in a "charming brickhouse" at Railshead on the [[River Thames]]. King William often visited his daughter and grandchildren there, at one point coming to comfort Augusta when her young daughter Wilhelmina fell ill with a fever. They would often visit the king at [[Windsor Castle]] as well. They also had a house in Brighton.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=5–9, 28, 34}}

==Marriage to Gordon==
On 24 August 1836, Lady Augusta married [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton|Lord Frederick Gordon]], the third son of [[George Gordon, 9th Marquess of Huntly]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} Gordon was a professional sailor, and would become Admiral of the Navy in 1868. He and Augusta had no surviving children together.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}

Railshead had been situated next to a house owned by John's parents, but Augusta's second marriage angered them and forced their leaving.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=28, 34, 40}} Augusta turned to her father for help, and he granted her apartments in [[Kensington Palace]] and the position State Housekeeper (replacing her recently deceased sister [[Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley|Sophia]]).{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=42}}{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} They lived there for many years.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=50}} In 1847, they embarked on a three year trip to the continent, visiting Germany, France, and Italy. In 1850, they returned to Kensington Palace and Augusta's daughters [[Season (society)|came out in society]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=83, 129–44}} Both daughters married in 1855 in a double wedding, Wilhelmina to the [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster|2nd Earl of Munster]] and Millicent to [[James Hay Erskine Wemyss]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=152}}

Augusta died in 1865. Her husband survived Augusta by twelve years.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

;Works cited
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=PEc7AwAAQBAJ& |title=Royal Bastards |first1=Peter |last1=Beauclerk-Dewar |first2=Roger |last2=Powell |year=2008 |location=Stroud |publisher=The History Press |isbn=9780752473154 |ref=harv}}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Brock|first=Michael |authorlink=Michael Brock |title=William IV (1765–1837) |id=29451 |date=2004 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://www.questia.com/read/117825946 |title=Before Victoria: Extraordinary Women of the British Romantic Era |first=Elizabeth |last=Campbell Denlinger |year=2005 |location=New York|publisher=Columbia University Press |via=Questia |isbn= |ref=harv}} {{Subscription needed}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books/about/My_Memories_and_Miscellanies.html?id=x40xAQAAMAAJ |title=My Memories and Miscellanies |first=Wilhelmina |last=FitzClarence |authorlink=Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster |year=1904 |location=London |publisher=Eveleigh Nash |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|first=Flora|last=Fraser|authorlink=Flora Fraser (writer) |title=Princesses: The Six Daughters of George III |publisher=John Murray |location=London |year=2004 |isbn=0719561094 |ref=harv}}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Ranger|first=Paul|title=Jordan, Dorothy (1761–1816) |id=15119|date=2004 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=gAfVIVra9C4C& |title=The Life and Reign of William the Fourth |last= Wright |first=G.N. |year=1837 |location=London |publisher=Fisher, Son, & Co |ref=harv}}
{{refend}}

[[Category:Articles created via the Article Wizard]]

Augusta Gordon

2014-06-13T23:53:34Z

Ruby2010:

{{Userspace draft|source=ArticleWizard|date=May 2014}}
{{Infobox noble|type
| name = Lady Augusta FitzClarence
| title =
| image = [[File:Lady Augusta FitzClarence and children.jpg|230px]]
| caption = Lady Augusta with her three children
| alt =
| CoA =
| more = no
| succession =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| suc-type =
| spouse = Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton]]
| spouse-type = Husband
| issue = William Henry Kennedy-Erskine [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster]] Millicent Wemyss
| full name =
| styles =
| titles =
| noble family = [[:Category:FitzClarence family|FitzClarence family]]
| house-type = nobility
| father = [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]
| mother = [[Dorothea Jordan]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1803|11|17|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]]
| christening_date =
| christening_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1865|12|08|1803|11|17|df=y}}
| death_place =
| burial_date =
| burial_place =
| religion =
| occupation = Noblewoman
}}
'''Lady Augusta Gordon''' (''née'' '''FitzClarence'''; 17 November 1803 – 8 December 1865) was a British noblewoman. Born the fourth illegitimate daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom]] (then Duke of Clarence) by his long-time mistress [[Dorothea Jordan]], she grew up at their residence of [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]].

After the death of her [[Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley|Sophia]] in 1837, Augusta served as Housekeeper of [[Kensington Palace]].

==Family and early life==
Augusta FitzClarence was born at [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]] on 17 November 1803 as the fourth daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom|Prince William, Duke of Clarence]] by his long-time mistress, the famous comic actress [[Dorothea Jordan]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|pp=851–54}}{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} Dorothea was the most successful actress of her day and continued to act on the stage during their relationship.{{sfn|Brock|2004}} Augusta had nine siblings from the relationship, four sisters and five brothers all surnamed FitzClarence.{{sfn|Wright|1837|pp=429, 851–54}} While circumstances prevented the couple from ever marrying, for twenty years William and Dorothea enjoyed domestic stability and were devoted to their children.{{sfn|Campbell Denlinger|2005|p=81}}{{sfn|Brock|2004}} In 1797, they moved from Clarence Lodge to Bushy House, residing at the Teddington residence until 1807.{{sfn|Brock|2004}} Augusta was born there.

Augusta's daughter [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster|Wilhelmina]] would later write that Bushy was "a happy and beloved home" until it "came to end" upon her father's marriage to [[Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen|Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=4}} He and Dorothea had parted ways in December 1811 under a deed of separation, the debt-ridden duke desiring to secure a rich wife.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} Dorothea was granted £4,400 and the task of caring for their daughters; William was permitted to visit them until they turned thirteen.{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} She left Bushy in January 1812. The money was not enough to cover her debts, however. Dorothea continued to act on the stage after his leaving. In 1815, she moved from London to [[Boulogne]], France to evade her creditors.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} On 5 July 1816, she died there alone. She had suffered from ill health and possessed little money, having squandered the bulk of it on her eldest daughter Frances (fathered by another man).{{sfn|Ranger|2004}}

William's new wife, Princess Adelaide, was gentle and loving to the FitzClarence children.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=4–5}} In 1818, Augusta and her siblings were granted a pension of £500, and Augusta was given her own version of the [[English heraldry|Royal Arms]] featuring a "baton sinister azure charged with an anchor between two roses or."{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} In June 1830, the Duke of Clarence succeeded his brother [[George IV of the United Kingdom|George IV]] as King William IV.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=861}} The following year, he made his eldest son [[George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster|George]] Earl of Munster, and had his issue by Jordan raised to the ranks of younger children of a [[marquess]].{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}{{sfn|Fraser|2004|p=352}}

==Marriage to Kennedy-Erskine==
On 5 July 1827, Augusta married the Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine, a younger son of the [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa|13th Earl of Cassilis]]. Kennedy-Erskine served as a captain with the [[16th The Queen's Lancers|16th Lancers]], and was made an [[equerry]] to King William in 1830.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} They had three children:
* William Henry Kennedy-Erskine (1 July 1828 – 5 September 1870); married Catherine Jones in 1862 and had issue including the Scottish writer [[Violet Jacob]]
* [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster|Wilhelmina '''"Mina"''' Kennedy-Erskine]] (27 June 1830{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=3}} – 9 October 1906); married [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]] in 1855 and had issue
* Augusta Anne '''Millicent''' Kennedy-Erskine (11 May 1831 – 11 February 1895); married [[James Hay Erskine Wemyss]] in 1855 and had issue

Augusta enjoyed botany and needlework.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} John inherited his maternal grandfather's estate of Dun in [[Forfarshire]], and as its [[chatelaine]], Augusta was featured in [[Hugh Massingberd]]'s ''Great Houses of Scotland''.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} John died 6 March 1831.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} Her youngest daughter Millicent was born posthumously, as John died several months before her birth.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} In an act considered scandalous King William, still early in his reign, publicly mourned the death of his son-in-law.{{sfn|Fraser|2004|p=352}}

Now widowed, Lady Augusta and her children lived in a "charming brickhouse" at Railshead on the [[River Thames]]. King William often visited his daughter and grandchildren there, at one point coming to comfort Augusta when her young daughter Wilhelmina fell ill with a fever. They would often visit the king at [[Windsor Castle]] as well. They also had a house in Brighton.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=5–9, 28, 34}}

==Marriage to Gordon==
On 24 August 1836, Lady Augusta married [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton|Lord Frederick Gordon]], the third son of [[George Gordon, 9th Marquess of Huntly]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} Gordon was a professional sailor, and would become Admiral of the Navy in 1868. He and Augusta had no surviving children together.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}

Railshead had been situated next to a house owned by John's parents, but Augusta's second marriage angered them and forced their leaving.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=28, 34, 40}} Augusta turned to her father for help, and he granted her apartments in [[Kensington Palace]] and the position State Housekeeper (replacing her recently deceased sister [[Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley|Sophia]]).{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=42}}{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}}

Augusta died in 1865.{{cn|date=May 2014}} Her husband survived Augusta by twelve years.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

;Works cited
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=PEc7AwAAQBAJ& |title=Royal Bastards |first1=Peter |last1=Beauclerk-Dewar |first2=Roger |last2=Powell |year=2008 |location=Stroud |publisher=The History Press |isbn=9780752473154 |ref=harv}}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Brock|first=Michael |authorlink=Michael Brock |title=William IV (1765–1837) |id=29451 |date=2004 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://www.questia.com/read/117825946 |title=Before Victoria: Extraordinary Women of the British Romantic Era |first=Elizabeth |last=Campbell Denlinger |year=2005 |location=New York|publisher=Columbia University Press |via=Questia |isbn= |ref=harv}} {{Subscription needed}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books/about/My_Memories_and_Miscellanies.html?id=x40xAQAAMAAJ |title=My Memories and Miscellanies |first=Wilhelmina |last=FitzClarence |authorlink=Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster |year=1904 |location=London |publisher=Eveleigh Nash |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|first=Flora|last=Fraser|authorlink=Flora Fraser (writer) |title=Princesses: The Six Daughters of George III |publisher=John Murray |location=London |year=2004 |isbn=0719561094 |ref=harv}}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Ranger|first=Paul|title=Jordan, Dorothy (1761–1816) |id=15119|date=2004 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=gAfVIVra9C4C& |title=The Life and Reign of William the Fourth |last= Wright |first=G.N. |year=1837 |location=London |publisher=Fisher, Son, & Co |ref=harv}}
{{refend}}

[[Category:Articles created via the Article Wizard]]

Augusta Gordon

2014-06-13T03:51:29Z

Ruby2010:

{{Userspace draft|source=ArticleWizard|date=May 2014}}
{{Infobox noble|type
| name = Lady Augusta FitzClarence
| title =
| image = [[File:Lady Augusta FitzClarence and children.jpg|230px]]
| caption = Lady Augusta with her three children
| alt =
| CoA =
| more = no
| succession =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| suc-type =
| spouse = Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton]]
| spouse-type = Husband
| issue = William Henry Kennedy-Erskine [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster]] Millicent Wemyss
| full name =
| styles =
| titles =
| noble family = [[:Category:FitzClarence family|FitzClarence family]]
| house-type = nobility
| father = [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]
| mother = [[Dorothea Jordan]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1803|11|17|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]]
| christening_date =
| christening_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1865|12|08|1803|11|17|df=y}}
| death_place =
| burial_date =
| burial_place =
| religion =
| occupation = Noblewoman
}}
'''Lady Augusta Gordon''' (''née'' '''FitzClarence'''; 17 November 1803 – 8 December 1865) was a British noblewoman. Born the fourth illegitimate daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom]] (then Duke of Clarence) by his long-time mistress [[Dorothea Jordan]], she grew up at their residence of [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]].

After the death of her [[Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley|Sophia]] in 1837, Augusta served as Housekeeper of [[Kensington Palace]].

==Family and early life==
Augusta FitzClarence was born at [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]] on 17 November 1803 as the fourth daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom|Prince William, Duke of Clarence]] by his long-time mistress, the famous comic actress [[Dorothea Jordan]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|pp=851–54}}{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} Dorothea was the most successful actress of her day and continued to act on the stage during their relationship.{{sfn|Brock|2004}} Augusta had nine siblings from the relationship, four sisters and five brothers all surnamed FitzClarence.{{sfn|Wright|1837|pp=429, 851–54}} While circumstances prevented the couple from ever marrying, for twenty years William and Dorothea enjoyed domestic stability and were devoted to their children.{{sfn|Campbell Denlinger|2005|p=81}}{{sfn|Brock|2004}} In 1797, they moved from Clarence Lodge to Bushy House, residing at the Teddington residence until 1807.{{sfn|Brock|2004}} Augusta was born there.

Augusta's daughter [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster|Wilhelmina]] would later write that Bushy was "a happy and beloved home" until it "came to end" upon her father's marriage to [[Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen|Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=4}} He and Dorothea had parted ways in December 1811 under a deed of separation, the debt-ridden duke desiring to secure a rich wife.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} Dorothea was granted £4,400 and the task of caring for their daughters; William was permitted to visit them until they turned thirteen.{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} She left Bushy in January 1812. The money was not enough to cover her debts, however. Dorothea continued to act on the stage after his leaving. In 1815, she moved from London to [[Boulogne]], France to evade her creditors.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} On 5 July 1816, she died there alone. She had suffered from ill health and possessed little money, having squandered the bulk of it on her eldest daughter Frances (fathered by another man).{{sfn|Ranger|2004}}

William's new wife, Princess Adelaide, was gentle and loving to the FitzClarence children.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=4–5}} In 1818, Augusta and her siblings were granted a pension of £500, and Augusta was given her own version of the [[English heraldry|Royal Arms]] featuring a "baton sinister azure charged with an anchor between two roses or."{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} In June 1830, the Duke of Clarence succeeded his brother [[George IV of the United Kingdom|George IV]] as King William IV.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=861}} The following year, he made his eldest son [[George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster|George]] Earl of Munster, and had his issue by Jordan raised to the ranks of younger children of a [[marquess]].{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}{{sfn|Fraser|2004|p=352}}

==Marriage to Kennedy-Erskine==
On 5 July 1827, Augusta married the Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine, a younger son of the [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa|13th Earl of Cassilis]]. Kennedy-Erskine served as a captain with the [[16th The Queen's Lancers|16th Lancers]], and was made an [[equerry]] to King William in 1830.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} They had three children:
* William Henry Kennedy-Erskine (1 July 1828 – 5 September 1870); married Catherine Jones in 1862 and had issue including the Scottish writer [[Violet Jacob]]
* [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster|Wilhelmina '''"Mina"''' Kennedy-Erskine]] (27 June 1830{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=3}} – 9 October 1906); married [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]] in 1855 and had issue
* Augusta Anne '''Millicent''' Kennedy-Erskine (11 May 1831 – 11 February 1895); married [[James Hay Erskine Wemyss]] in 1855 and had issue

Augusta enjoyed botany and needlework.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} John inherited his maternal grandfather's estate of Dun in [[Forfarshire]], and as its [[chatelaine]], Augusta was featured in [[Hugh Massingberd]]'s ''Great Houses of Scotland''.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} John died 6 March 1831.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} Her youngest daughter Millicent was born posthumously, as John died several months before her birth.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} In an act considered scandalous King William, still early in his reign, publicly mourned the death of his son-in-law.{{sfn|Fraser|2004|p=352}}

Now widowed, Lady Augusta and her children lived in a "charming brickhouse" at Railshead on the [[River Thames]]. King William often visited his daughter and grandchildren there, at one point coming to comfort Augusta when her young daughter Wilhelmina fell ill with a fever. Railshead sat next to a house owned by John's parents, but Augusta's second marriage angered them and forced their leaving. They had also had a house in Brighton.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=5–9, 28}}

==Marriage to Gordon==
On 24 August 1836, Lady Augusta married [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton|Lord Frederick Gordon]], the third son of [[George Gordon, 9th Marquess of Huntly]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} Gordon was a professional sailor, and would become Admiral of the Navy in 1868. He and Augusta had no surviving children together.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}

In 1837, Augusta's sister [[Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley]] died. Augusta succeeded her as Housekeeper of [[Kensington Palace]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}}

Augusta died in 1865.{{cn|date=May 2014}} Her husband survived Augusta by twelve years.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

;Works cited
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=PEc7AwAAQBAJ& |title=Royal Bastards |first1=Peter |last1=Beauclerk-Dewar |first2=Roger |last2=Powell |year=2008 |location=Stroud |publisher=The History Press |isbn=9780752473154 |ref=harv}}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Brock|first=Michael |authorlink=Michael Brock |title=William IV (1765–1837) |id=29451 |date=2004 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://www.questia.com/read/117825946 |title=Before Victoria: Extraordinary Women of the British Romantic Era |first=Elizabeth |last=Campbell Denlinger |year=2005 |location=New York|publisher=Columbia University Press |via=Questia |isbn= |ref=harv}} {{Subscription needed}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books/about/My_Memories_and_Miscellanies.html?id=x40xAQAAMAAJ |title=My Memories and Miscellanies |first=Wilhelmina |last=FitzClarence |authorlink=Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster |year=1904 |location=London |publisher=Eveleigh Nash |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|first=Flora|last=Fraser|authorlink=Flora Fraser (writer) |title=Princesses: The Six Daughters of George III |publisher=John Murray |location=London |year=2004 |isbn=0719561094 |ref=harv}}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Ranger|first=Paul|title=Jordan, Dorothy (1761–1816) |id=15119|date=2004 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=gAfVIVra9C4C& |title=The Life and Reign of William the Fourth |last= Wright |first=G.N. |year=1837 |location=London |publisher=Fisher, Son, & Co |ref=harv}}
{{refend}}

[[Category:Articles created via the Article Wizard]]

Augusta Gordon

2014-06-12T21:48:40Z

Ruby2010:

{{Userspace draft|source=ArticleWizard|date=May 2014}}
{{Infobox noble|type
| name = Lady Augusta FitzClarence
| title =
| image = [[File:Lady Augusta FitzClarence and children.jpg|230px]]
| caption = Lady Augusta with her three children
| alt =
| CoA =
| more = no
| succession =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| suc-type =
| spouse = Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton]]
| spouse-type = Husband
| issue = William Henry Kennedy-Erskine [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster]] Millicent Wemyss
| full name =
| styles =
| titles =
| noble family = [[:Category:FitzClarence family|FitzClarence family]]
| house-type = nobility
| father = [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]
| mother = [[Dorothea Jordan]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1803|11|17|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]]
| christening_date =
| christening_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1865|12|08|1803|11|17|df=y}}
| death_place =
| burial_date =
| burial_place =
| religion =
| occupation = Noblewoman
}}
'''Lady Augusta Gordon''' (''née'' '''FitzClarence'''; 17 November 1803 – 8 December 1865) was a British noblewoman. Born the fourth illegitimate daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom]] (then Duke of Clarence) by his long-time mistress [[Dorothea Jordan]], she grew up at their residence of [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]].

After the death of her [[Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley|Sophia]] in 1837, Augusta served as Housekeeper of [[Kensington Palace]].

==Family and early life==
Augusta FitzClarence was born at [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]] on 17 November 1803 as the fourth daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom|Prince William, Duke of Clarence]] by his long-time mistress, the famous comic actress [[Dorothea Jordan]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|pp=851–54}}{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} According to historian [[Michael Brock]], Dorothea was the most successful actress of her day and continued to act on the stage during their relationship.{{sfn|Brock|2004}} Augusta had nine siblings from the relationship, four sisters and five brothers all surnamed FitzClarence.{{sfn|Wright|1837|pp=429, 851–54}} While circumstances prevented the couple from ever marrying, for twenty years William and Dorothea enjoyed domestic stability and were devoted to their children.{{sfn|Campbell Denlinger|2005|p=81}}{{sfn|Brock|2004}} In 1797, they moved from Clarence Lodge to Bushy House, residing at the Teddington residence until 1807.{{sfn|Brock|2004}} Augusta was born there.

Augusta's daughter [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster|Wilhelmina]] would later write that Bushy was "a happy and beloved home" until it "came to end" upon her father's marriage to [[Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen|Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=4}} He and Dorothea had parted ways in December 1811 under a deed of separation, the debt-ridden duke desiring to secure a rich wife.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} Dorothea was granted £4,400 and the task of caring for their daughters; William was permitted to visit them until they turned thirteen.{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} She left Bushy in January 1812. The money was not enough to cover her debts, however. Dorothea continued to act on the stage after his leaving. In 1815, she moved from London to [[Boulogne]], France to evade her creditors.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} On 5 July 1816, she died there alone. She had suffered from ill health and possessed little money, having squandered the bulk of it on her eldest daughter Frances and her son-in-law.{{sfn|Ranger|2004}}

Augusta's step-mother, Adelaide, was gentle and loving to the FitzClarence children.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=4–5}} In 1818, Augusta and her siblings were granted a pension of £500, and Augusta was given her own version of the [[English heraldry|Royal Arms]] featuring a "baton sinister azure charged with an anchor between two roses or."{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} In June 1830, the Duke of Clarence succeeded his brother [[George IV of the United Kingdom|George IV]] as King William IV.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=861}} The following year, he had his issue by Jordan raised to the ranks of children of a Marquess.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}

==Marriage to Kennedy-Erskine==
Little is known about Augusta's life.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} On 5 July 1827, Augusta married the Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine, a younger son of the [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa|13th Earl of Cassilis]]. Kennedy-Erskine served as a captain with the [[16th The Queen's Lancers|16th Lancers]], and was made an [[equerry]] to King William in 1830.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}}

They had three children:
* William Henry Kennedy-Erskine (1 July 1828 – 5 September 1870); married Catherine Jones in 1862 and had issue including the Scottish writer [[Violet Jacob]]
* [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster|Wilhelmina '''"Mina"''' Kennedy-Erskine]] (27 June 1830{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=3}} – 9 October 1906); married [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]] in 1855 and had issue
* Augusta Anne '''Millicent''' Kennedy-Erskine (11 May 1831 – 11 February 1895); married [[James Hay Erskine Wemyss]] in 1855 and had issue

Augusta enjoyed botany and needlework.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} Kennedy-Erskine inherited his maternal grandfather's estate of Dun in [[Forfarshire]], and as its [[chatelaine]], Augusta was featured in [[Hugh Massingberd]]'s ''Great Houses of Scotland''.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} Kennedy-Erskine died 6 March 1831.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} Her youngest daughter Millicent was born posthumously, as John Kennedy-Erskine died several months before her birth.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}}

==Marriage to Gordon==
On 24 August 1836, she married [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton|Lord Frederick Gordon]], the third son of [[George Gordon, 9th Marquess of Huntly]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} Captain Gordon was a professional sailor, and would later become Admiral in 1868. They had no surviving children together.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}

In 1837, Augusta's sister [[Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley]] died. Augusta succeeded her as Housekeeper of [[Kensington Palace]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}}

Augusta died in 1865.{{cn|date=May 2014}} Her husband survived his wife by twelve years.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

;Works cited
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=PEc7AwAAQBAJ&pg=PT158&dq=munster+fitzclarence+wilhelmina&hl=en&sa=X&ei=uy54U_-sFcupyASi4oCYBw&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAjgK#v=onepage&q=munster%20fitzclarence%20wilhelmina&f=false |title=Royal Bastards |first1=Peter |last1=Beauclerk-Dewar |first2=Roger |last2=Powell |year=2008 |location=Stroud |publisher=The History Press |isbn=9780752473154 |ref=harv}}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Brock|first=Michael |authorlink=Michael Brock |title=William IV (1765–1837) |id=29451 |date=2004 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://www.questia.com/read/117825946 |title=Before Victoria: Extraordinary Women of the British Romantic Era |first=Elizabeth |last=Campbell Denlinger |year=2005 |location=New York|publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn= |ref=harv}} {{Subscription needed}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books/about/My_Memories_and_Miscellanies.html?id=x40xAQAAMAAJ |title=My Memories and Miscellanies |first=Wilhelmina |last=FitzClarence |authorlink=Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster |year=1904 |location=London |publisher=Eveleigh Nash |ref=harv}}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Ranger|first=Paul|title=Jordan, Dorothy (1761–1816) |id=15119|date=2004 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=gAfVIVra9C4C&pg=PA854&dq=Wilhelmina+Kennedy-Erskine+fitzclarence#v=onepage&q=Wilhelmina%20Kennedy-Erskine%20fitzclarence&f=false |title=The Life and Reign of William the Fourth |last= Wright |first=G.N. |year=1837 |location=London |publisher=Fisher, Son, & Co |ref=harv}}
{{refend}}

[[Category:Articles created via the Article Wizard]]

Augusta Gordon

2014-06-03T19:45:45Z

Ruby2010: /* References */

{{Userspace draft|source=ArticleWizard|date=May 2014}}
{{Infobox noble|type
| name = Lady Augusta FitzClarence
| title =
| image = [[File:Lady Augusta FitzClarence and children.jpg|230px]]
| caption = Lady Augusta with her three children
| alt =
| CoA =
| more = no
| succession =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| suc-type =
| spouse = Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton]]
| spouse-type = Husband
| issue = William Henry Kennedy-Erskine [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster]] Millicent Wemyss
| full name =
| styles =
| titles =
| noble family = [[:Category:FitzClarence family|FitzClarence family]]
| house-type = nobility
| father = [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]
| mother = [[Dorothea Jordan]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1803|11|17|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]]
| christening_date =
| christening_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1865|12|08|1803|11|17|df=y}}
| death_place =
| burial_date =
| burial_place =
| religion =
| occupation = Peeress
}}
'''Lady Augusta Gordon''' (''née'' '''FitzClarence'''; 17 November 1803 – 8 December 1865) was a British peeress. She was born the fourth illegitimate daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom]] (then Duke of Clarence) by his long-time mistress [[Dorothea Jordan]], and grew up at their residence of [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]].

==Family and early life==
Augusta FitzClarence was born at [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]] on 17 November 1803 as the fourth daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom|Prince William, Duke of Clarence]] by his long-time mistress, the famous comic actress [[Dorothea Jordan]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|pp=851–54}}{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} According to historian [[Michael Brock]], Dorothea was the most successful actress of her day and continued to act on the stage during their relationship.{{sfn|Brock|2004}} Augusta had nine siblings from the relationship, four sisters and five brothers all surnamed FitzClarence.{{sfn|Wright|1837|pp=429, 851–54}} While circumstances prevented the couple from ever marrying, for twenty years William and Dorothea enjoyed domestic stability and were devoted to their children.{{sfn|Campbell Denlinger|2005|p=81}}{{sfn|Brock|2004}} In 1797, they moved from Clarence Lodge to Bushy House, residing at the Teddington residence until 1807.{{sfn|Brock|2004}} Augusta was born there.

Augusta's daughter [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster|Wilhelmina]] would later write that Bushy was "a happy and beloved home" until it "came to end" upon her father's marriage to [[Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen|Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=4}} He and Dorothea had parted ways in December 1811 under a deed of separation, the debt-ridden duke desiring to secure a rich wife.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} Dorothea was granted £4,400 and the task of caring for their daughters; William was permitted to visit them until they turned thirteen.{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} She left Bushy in January 1812. The money was not enough to cover her debts, however. Dorothea continued to act on the stage after his leaving. In 1815, she moved from London to [[Boulogne]], France to evade her creditors.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} On 5 July 1816, she died there alone. She had suffered from ill health and possessed little money, having squandered the bulk of it on her eldest daughter Frances and her son-in-law.{{sfn|Ranger|2004}}

Augusta's step-mother, Adelaide, was gentle and loving to the FitzClarence children.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=4–5}} In 1818, Augusta and her siblings were granted a pension of £500, and Augusta was given her own version of the [[English heraldry|Royal Arms]] featuring a "baton sinister azure charged with an anchor between two roses or."{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} In June 1830, the Duke of Clarence succeeded his brother [[George IV of the United Kingdom|George IV]] as King William IV.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=861}} The following year, he had his issue by Jordan raised to the ranks of children of a Marquess.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}

==Marriage to Kennedy-Erskine==
Little is known about Augusta's life.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} On 5 July 1827, Augusta married the Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine, a younger son of the [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa|13th Earl of Cassilis]]. Kennedy-Erskine served as a captain with the [[16th The Queen's Lancers|16th Lancers]], and was made an [[equerry]] to King William in 1830.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}}

They had three children:
* William Henry Kennedy-Erskine (1 July 1828 – 5 September 1870); married Catherine Jones in 1862 and had issue including the Scottish writer [[Violet Jacob]]
* [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster|Wilhelmina '''"Mina"''' Kennedy-Erskine]] (27 June 1830{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=3}} – 9 October 1906); married [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]] in 1855 and had issue
* Augusta Anne '''Millicent''' Kennedy-Erskine (11 May 1831 – 11 February 1895); married [[James Hay Erskine Wemyss]] in 1855 and had issue

Augusta enjoyed botany and needlework.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} Kennedy-Erskine inherited his maternal grandfather's estate of Dun in [[Forfarshire]], and as its [[chatelaine]], Augusta was featured in [[Hugh Massingberd]]'s ''Great Houses of Scotland''.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} Kennedy-Erskine died 6 March 1831.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} Her youngest daughter Millicent was born posthumously, as John Kennedy-Erskine died several months before her birth.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}}

==Marriage to Gordon==
On 24 August 1836, she married [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton|Lord Frederick Gordon]], the third son of [[George Gordon, 9th Marquess of Huntly]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} Captain Gordon was a professional sailor, and would later become Admiral in 1868. They had no surviving children together.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}

In 1837, Augusta's sister [[Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley]] died. Augusta succeeded her as Housekeeper of [[Kensington Palace]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}}

Augusta died in 1865.{{cn|date=May 2014}} Her husband survived his wife by twelve years.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

;Works cited
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=PEc7AwAAQBAJ&pg=PT158&dq=munster+fitzclarence+wilhelmina&hl=en&sa=X&ei=uy54U_-sFcupyASi4oCYBw&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAjgK#v=onepage&q=munster%20fitzclarence%20wilhelmina&f=false |title=Royal Bastards |first1=Peter |last1=Beauclerk-Dewar |first2=Roger |last2=Powell |year=2008 |location=Stroud |publisher=The History Press |isbn=9780752473154 |ref=harv}}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Brock|first=Michael |authorlink=Michael Brock |title=William IV (1765–1837) |id=29451 |date=2004 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://www.questia.com/read/117825946 |title=Before Victoria: Extraordinary Women of the British Romantic Era |first=Elizabeth |last=Campbell Denlinger |year=2005 |location=New York|publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn= |ref=harv}} {{Subscription needed}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books/about/My_Memories_and_Miscellanies.html?id=x40xAQAAMAAJ |title=My Memories and Miscellanies |first=Wilhelmina |last=FitzClarence |authorlink=Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster |year=1904 |location=London |publisher=Eveleigh Nash |ref=harv}}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Ranger|first=Paul|title=Jordan, Dorothy (1761–1816) |id=15119|date=2004 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=gAfVIVra9C4C&pg=PA854&dq=Wilhelmina+Kennedy-Erskine+fitzclarence#v=onepage&q=Wilhelmina%20Kennedy-Erskine%20fitzclarence&f=false |title=The Life and Reign of William the Fourth |last= Wright |first=G.N. |year=1837 |location=London |publisher=Fisher, Son, & Co |ref=harv}}
{{refend}}

[[Category:Articles created via the Article Wizard]]

Augusta Gordon

2014-05-31T21:47:41Z

Ruby2010:

{{Userspace draft|source=ArticleWizard|date=May 2014}}
{{Infobox noble|type
| name = Lady Augusta FitzClarence
| title =
| image = [[File:Lady Augusta FitzClarence and children.jpg|230px]]
| caption = Lady Augusta with her three children
| alt =
| CoA =
| more = no
| succession =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| suc-type =
| spouse = Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton]]
| spouse-type = Husband
| issue = William Henry Kennedy-Erskine [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster]] Millicent Wemyss
| full name =
| styles =
| titles =
| noble family = [[:Category:FitzClarence family|FitzClarence family]]
| house-type = nobility
| father = [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]
| mother = [[Dorothea Jordan]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1803|11|17|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]]
| christening_date =
| christening_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1865|12|08|1803|11|17|df=y}}
| death_place =
| burial_date =
| burial_place =
| religion =
| occupation = Peeress
}}
'''Lady Augusta Gordon''' (''née'' '''FitzClarence'''; 17 November 1803 – 8 December 1865) was a British peeress. She was born the fourth illegitimate daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom]] (then Duke of Clarence) by his long-time mistress [[Dorothea Jordan]], and grew up at their residence of [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]].

==Family and early life==
Augusta FitzClarence was born at [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]] on 17 November 1803 as the fourth daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom|Prince William, Duke of Clarence]] by his long-time mistress, the famous comic actress [[Dorothea Jordan]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|pp=851–54}}{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} According to historian [[Michael Brock]], Dorothea was the most successful actress of her day and continued to act on the stage during their relationship.{{sfn|Brock|2004}} Augusta had nine siblings from the relationship, four sisters and five brothers all surnamed FitzClarence.{{sfn|Wright|1837|pp=429, 851–54}} While circumstances prevented the couple from ever marrying, for twenty years William and Dorothea enjoyed domestic stability and were devoted to their children.{{sfn|Campbell Denlinger|2005|p=81}}{{sfn|Brock|2004}} In 1797, they moved from Clarence Lodge to Bushy House, residing at the Teddington residence until 1807.{{sfn|Brock|2004}} Augusta was born there.

Augusta's daughter [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster|Wilhelmina]] would later write that Bushy was "a happy and beloved home" until it "came to end" upon her father's marriage to [[Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen|Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=4}} He and Dorothea had parted ways in December 1811 under a deed of separation, the debt-ridden duke desiring to secure a rich wife.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} Dorothea was granted £4,400 and the task of caring for their daughters; William was permitted to visit them until they turned thirteen.{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} She left Bushy in January 1812. The money was not enough to cover her debts, however. Dorothea continued to act on the stage after his leaving. In 1815, she moved from London to [[Boulogne]], France to evade her creditors.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} On 5 July 1816, she died there alone. She had suffered from ill health and possessed little money, having squandered the bulk of it on her eldest daughter Frances and her son-in-law.{{sfn|Ranger|2004}}

Augusta's step-mother, Adelaide, was gentle and loving to the FitzClarence children.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=4–5}} In 1818, Augusta and her siblings were granted a pension of £500, and Augusta was given her own version of the [[English heraldry|Royal Arms]] featuring a "baton sinister azure charged with an anchor between two roses or."{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} In June 1830, the Duke of Clarence succeeded his brother [[George IV of the United Kingdom|George IV]] as King William IV.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=861}} The following year, he had his issue by Jordan raised to the ranks of children of a Marquess.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}

==Marriage to Kennedy-Erskine==
Little is known about Augusta's life.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} On 5 July 1827, Augusta married the Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine, a younger son of the [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa|13th Earl of Cassilis]]. Kennedy-Erskine served as a captain with the [[16th The Queen's Lancers|16th Lancers]], and was made an [[equerry]] to King William in 1830.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}}

They had three children:
* William Henry Kennedy-Erskine (1 July 1828 – 5 September 1870); married Catherine Jones in 1862 and had issue including the Scottish writer [[Violet Jacob]]
* [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster|Wilhelmina '''"Mina"''' Kennedy-Erskine]] (27 June 1830{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=3}} – 9 October 1906); married [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]] in 1855 and had issue
* Augusta Anne '''Millicent''' Kennedy-Erskine (11 May 1831 – 11 February 1895); married [[James Hay Erskine Wemyss]] in 1855 and had issue

Augusta enjoyed botany and needlework.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} Kennedy-Erskine inherited his maternal grandfather's estate of Dun in [[Forfarshire]], and as its [[chatelaine]], Augusta was featured in [[Hugh Massingberd]]'s ''Great Houses of Scotland''.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} Kennedy-Erskine died 6 March 1831.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} Her youngest daughter Millicent was born posthumously, as John Kennedy-Erskine died several months before her birth.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}}

==Marriage to Gordon==
On 24 August 1836, she married [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton|Lord Frederick Gordon]], the third son of [[George Gordon, 9th Marquess of Huntly]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} Captain Gordon was a professional sailor, and would later become Admiral in 1868. They had no surviving children together.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}

In 1837, Augusta's sister [[Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley]] died. Augusta succeeded her as Housekeeper of [[Kensington Palace]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}}

Augusta died in 1865.{{cn|date=May 2014}} Her husband survived his wife by twelve years.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

;Works cited
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=PEc7AwAAQBAJ&pg=PT158&dq=munster+fitzclarence+wilhelmina&hl=en&sa=X&ei=uy54U_-sFcupyASi4oCYBw&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAjgK#v=onepage&q=munster%20fitzclarence%20wilhelmina&f=false |title=Royal Bastards |first1=Peter |last1=Beauclerk-Dewar |first2=Roger |last2=Powell |year=2008 |location=Stroud |publisher=The History Press |isbn=9780752473154 |ref=harv}}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Brock|first=Michael |authorlink=Michael Brock |title=William IV (1765–1837) |id=29451 |date=2004 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://www.questia.com/read/117825946 |title=Before Victoria: Extraordinary Women of the British Romantic Era |first=Elizabeth |last=Campbell Denlinger |year=2005 |location=New York|publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn= |ref=harv}} {{Subscription needed}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books/about/My_Memories_and_Miscellanies.html?id=x40xAQAAMAAJ |title=My Memories and Miscellanies |first=Wilhelmina |last=FitzClarence |authorlink=Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster |year=1904 |location=London |publisher=Eveleigh Nash |ref=harv}}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Ranger|first=Paul|title=Jordan, Dorothy (1761–1816) |id=15119|date=2004 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=gAfVIVra9C4C&pg=PA854&dq=Wilhelmina+Kennedy-Erskine+fitzclarence#v=onepage&q=Wilhelmina%20Kennedy-Erskine%20fitzclarence&f=false |title=The Life and Reign of William the Fourth |last= Wright |first=G.N. |year=1837 |location=London |publisher=Fisher, Son, & Co |ref=harv}}

[[Category:Articles created via the Article Wizard]]

Augusta Gordon

2014-05-30T18:25:27Z

Ruby2010:

{{Userspace draft|source=ArticleWizard|date=May 2014}}
{{Infobox noble|type
| name = Lady Augusta FitzClarence
| title =
| image = [[File:Lady Augusta FitzClarence and children.jpg|230px]]
| caption = Lady Augusta with her three children
| alt =
| CoA =
| more = no
| succession =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| suc-type =
| spouse = Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton]]
| spouse-type = Husband
| issue = William Henry Kennedy-Erskine [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster]] Millicent Wemyss
| full name =
| styles =
| titles =
| noble family = [[:Category:FitzClarence family|FitzClarence family]]
| house-type = nobility
| father = [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]
| mother = [[Dorothea Jordan]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1803|11|17|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]]
| christening_date =
| christening_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1865|12|08|1803|11|17|df=y}}
| death_place =
| burial_date =
| burial_place =
| religion =
| occupation = Peeress
}}
'''Lady Augusta Gordon''' (''née'' '''FitzClarence'''; 17 November 1803 – 8 December 1865) was a British noblewoman. She was an illegitimate daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom]] by his long-time mistress [[Dorothea Jordan]].

==Family and early life==
Augusta FitzClarence was born at [[Bushy House]], [[Teddington]] on 17 November 1803 as the fourth daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom|Prince William, Duke of Clarence]] by his long-time mistress, the famous comic actress [[Dorothea Jordan]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|pp=851–54}}{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} According to historian [[Michael Brock]], Dorothea was the most successful actress of her day and continued to act on the stage during their relationship.{{sfn|Brock|2004}} Augusta had nine siblings from the relationship, four sisters and five brothers all surnamed FitzClarence.{{sfn|Wright|1837|pp=429, 851–54}} While circumstances prevented the couple from ever marrying, for twenty years William and Dorothea enjoyed domestic stability and were devoted to their children.{{sfn|Campbell Denlinger|2005|p=81}}{{sfn|Brock|2004}} In 1797, they moved from Clarence Lodge to Bushy House, residing at the Teddington residence until 1807.{{sfn|Brock|2004}} Augusta was born there.

Augusta's daughter [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster|Wilhelmina]] would later write that Bushy was "a happy and beloved home" until it "came to end" upon her father's marriage to [[Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen|Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=4}} He and Dorothea had parted ways in December 1811 under a deed of separation, the debt-ridden duke desiring to secure a rich wife.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} Dorothea was granted £4,400 and the task of caring for their daughters; William was permitted to visit them until they turned thirteen.{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} She left Bushy in January 1812. The money was not enough to cover her debts, however. Dorothea continued to act on the stage after his leaving. In 1815, she moved from London to [[Boulogne]], France to evade her creditors.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} On 5 July 1816, she died there alone. She had suffered from ill health and possessed little money, having squandered the bulk of it on her eldest daughter Frances and her son-in-law.{{sfn|Ranger|2004}}

Augusta's step-mother, Adelaide, was gentle and loving to the FitzClarence children.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=4–5}} In 1818, Augusta and her siblings were granted a pension of £500, and Augusta was given her own version of the [[English heraldry|Royal Arms]] featuring a "baton sinister azure charged with an anchor between two roses or."{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} In June 1830, the Duke of Clarence succeeded his brother [[George IV of the United Kingdom|George IV]] as King William IV.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=861}} The following year, he had his issue by Jordan raised to the ranks of children of a Marquess.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}

==Marriage to Kennedy-Erskine==
Little is known about Augusta's life.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} On 5 July 1827, Augusta married the Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine, a younger son of the [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa|13th Earl of Cassilis]]. Kennedy-Erskine served as a captain with the [[16th The Queen's Lancers|16th Lancers]], and was made an [[equerry]] to King William in 1830.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}}

They had three children:
* William Henry Kennedy-Erskine (1 July 1828 – 5 September 1870); married Catherine Jones in 1862 and had issue including the Scottish writer [[Violet Jacob]]
* [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster|Wilhelmina '''"Mina"''' Kennedy-Erskine]] (27 June 1830{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=3}} – 9 October 1906); married [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]] in 1855 and had issue
* Augusta Anne '''Millicent''' Kennedy-Erskine (11 May 1831 – 11 February 1895); married [[James Hay Erskine Wemyss]] in 1855 and had issue

Augusta enjoyed botany and needlework.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} Kennedy-Erskine inherited his maternal grandfather's estate of Dun in [[Forfarshire]], and as its [[chatelaine]], Augusta was featured in [[Hugh Massingberd]]'s ''Great Houses of Scotland''.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} Kennedy-Erskine died 6 March 1831.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} Her youngest daughter Millicent was born posthumously, as John Kennedy-Erskine died several months before her birth.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}}

==Marriage to Gordon==
On 24 August 1836, she married [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton|Lord Frederick Gordon]], the third son of [[George Gordon, 9th Marquess of Huntly]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} Captain Gordon was a professional sailor, and would later become Admiral in 1868. They had no surviving children together.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}

In 1837, Augusta's sister [[Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley]] died. Augusta succeeded her as Housekeeper of [[Kensington Palace]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}}

Augusta died in 1865.{{cn|date=May 2014}} Her husband survived his wife by twelve years.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

;Works cited
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=PEc7AwAAQBAJ&pg=PT158&dq=munster+fitzclarence+wilhelmina&hl=en&sa=X&ei=uy54U_-sFcupyASi4oCYBw&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAjgK#v=onepage&q=munster%20fitzclarence%20wilhelmina&f=false |title=Royal Bastards |first1=Peter |last1=Beauclerk-Dewar |first2=Roger |last2=Powell |year=2008 |location=Stroud |publisher=The History Press |isbn=9780752473154 |ref=harv}}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Brock|first=Michael |authorlink=Michael Brock |title=William IV (1765–1837) |id=29451 |date=2004 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://www.questia.com/read/117825946 |title=Before Victoria: Extraordinary Women of the British Romantic Era |first=Elizabeth |last=Campbell Denlinger |year=2005 |location=New York|publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn= |ref=harv}} {{Subscription needed}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books/about/My_Memories_and_Miscellanies.html?id=x40xAQAAMAAJ |title=My Memories and Miscellanies |first=Wilhelmina |last=FitzClarence |authorlink=Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster |year=1904 |location=London |publisher=Eveleigh Nash |ref=harv}}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Ranger|first=Paul|title=Jordan, Dorothy (1761–1816) |id=15119|date=2004 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=gAfVIVra9C4C&pg=PA854&dq=Wilhelmina+Kennedy-Erskine+fitzclarence#v=onepage&q=Wilhelmina%20Kennedy-Erskine%20fitzclarence&f=false |title=The Life and Reign of William the Fourth |last= Wright |first=G.N. |year=1837 |location=London |publisher=Fisher, Son, & Co |ref=harv}}

[[Category:Articles created via the Article Wizard]]

Augusta Gordon

2014-05-30T14:40:50Z

Ruby2010:

{{Userspace draft|source=ArticleWizard|date=May 2014}}
{{Infobox noble|type
| name = Lady Augusta FitzClarence
| title =
| image = [[File:Lady Augusta FitzClarence and children.jpg|230px]]
| caption = Lady Augusta with her three children
| alt =
| CoA =
| more = no
| succession =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| suc-type =
| spouse = Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton]]
| spouse-type = Husband
| issue = William Henry Kennedy-Erskine [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster]] Millicent Wemyss
| full name =
| styles =
| titles =
| noble family = [[:Category:FitzClarence family|FitzClarence family]]
| house-type = nobility
| father = [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]
| mother = [[Dorothea Jordan]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1803|11|17|df=y}}
| birth_place = Bushy House
| christening_date =
| christening_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1865|12|08|1803|11|17|df=y}}
| death_place =
| burial_date =
| burial_place =
| religion =
| occupation = Peeress
}}
'''Lady Augusta Gordon''' (''née'' '''FitzClarence'''; 17 November 1803 – 8 December 1865) was a British noblewoman. She was an illegitimate daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom]] by his long-time mistress [[Dorothea Jordan]].

==Family and early life==
Augusta FitzClarence was born at Bushy House on 17 November 1803 as the fourth daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom|Prince William, Duke of Clarence]] by his long-time mistress, the famous comic actress [[Dorothea Jordan]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|pp=851–54}}{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} Augusta had nine siblings from this relationship, four sisters and five brothers all surnamed FitzClarence.{{sfn|Wright|1837|pp=429, 851–54}} While circumstances prevented the couple from ever marrying, for twenty years William and Dorothea enjoyed domestic stability and were devoted to their children.{{sfn|Campbell Denlinger|2005|p=81}}{{sfn|Brock|2004}} In 1797, they moved from [[Clarence Lodge]] to [[Bushy House]], residing at the [[Teddington]] residence until 1807.{{sfn|Brock|2004}} Augusta was born there.

Augusta's daughter [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster|Wilhelmina]] would later write that Bushy was "a happy and beloved home" until it "came to end" with her father's marriage to [[Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen|Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=4}} He and Dorothea parted ways in December 1811 under a deed of separation, the debt-ridden duke desiring to secure a rich wife.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} Dorothea was granted £4,400 and the task of caring for their daughters; William was permitted to visit them until they turned thirteen.{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} She left Bushy in January 1812. The money was not enough to cover her debts, however. According to historian [[Michael Brock]], Dorothea was the most successful actress of her day, and continued to act on the stage during their relationship as well as after his parting.{{sfn|Brock|2004}} In 1815, she moved from London to [[Boulogne]], France to evade her creditors.{{sfn|Brock|2004}}{{sfn|Ranger|2004}} On 5 July 1816, she died there alone. She had suffered from ill health and possessed little money, having squandered the bulk of it on her eldest daughter Frances and her son-in-law.{{sfn|Ranger|2004}}

Augusta's step-mother, Adelaide, was gentle and loving to the FitzClarence children.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=4–5}} In 1818, Augusta and her siblings were granted a pension of £500, and Augusta was given her own version of the [[English heraldry|Royal Arms]] featuring a "baton sinister azure charged with an anchor between two roses or."{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} In June 1830, the Duke of Clarence succeeded his brother as King William IV.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=861}} The following year, he had his issue by Jordan raised to the ranks of children of a Marquess.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}

==Marriage to Kennedy-Erskine==
Little is known about Augusta's life.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} On 5 July 1827, Augusta married the Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine, a younger son of the [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa|13th Earl of Cassilis]]. Kennedy-Erskine served as a captain with the [[16th The Queen's Lancers|16th Lancers]], and was made an [[equerry]] to King William in 1830.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}}

They had three children:
* William Henry Kennedy-Erskine (1 July 1828 – 5 September 1870); married Catherine Jones in 1862 and had issue including the Scottish writer [[Violet Jacob]]
* [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster|Wilhelmina '''"Mina"''' Kennedy-Erskine]] (27 June 1830{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=3}} – 9 October 1906); married [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]] in 1855 and had issue
* Augusta Anne '''Millicent''' Kennedy-Erskine (11 May 1831 – 11 February 1895); married [[James Hay Erskine Wemyss]] in 1855 and had issue

Augusta enjoyed botany and needlework.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} Kennedy-Erskine inherited his maternal grandfather's estate of Dun in [[Forfarshire]], and as its [[chatelaine]], Augusta was featured in [[Hugh Massingberd]]'s ''Great Houses of Scotland''.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} Kennedy-Erskine died 6 March 1831.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} Her youngest daughter Millicent was born posthumously, as John Kennedy-Erskine died several months before her birth.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}}

==Marriage to Gordon==
On 24 August 1836, she married [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton|Lord Frederick Gordon]], the third son of [[George Gordon, 9th Marquess of Huntly]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}} Captain Gordon was a professional sailor, and would later become Admiral in 1868. They had no surviving children together.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}

In 1837, Augusta's sister [[Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley]] died. Augusta succeeded her as Housekeeper of [[Kensington Palace]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}}

Augusta died in 1865.{{cn|date=May 2014}} Her husband survived his wife by twelve years.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

;Works cited
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=PEc7AwAAQBAJ&pg=PT158&dq=munster+fitzclarence+wilhelmina&hl=en&sa=X&ei=uy54U_-sFcupyASi4oCYBw&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAjgK#v=onepage&q=munster%20fitzclarence%20wilhelmina&f=false |title=Royal Bastards |first1=Peter |last1=Beauclerk-Dewar |first2=Roger |last2=Powell |year=2008 |location=Stroud |publisher=The History Press |isbn=9780752473154 |ref=harv}}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Brock|first=Michael |authorlink=Michael Brock |title=William IV (1765–1837) |id=29451 |date=2004 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://www.questia.com/read/117825946 |title=Before Victoria: Extraordinary Women of the British Romantic Era |first=Elizabeth |last=Campbell Denlinger |year=2005 |location=New York|publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn= |ref=harv}} {{Subscription needed}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books/about/My_Memories_and_Miscellanies.html?id=x40xAQAAMAAJ |title=My Memories and Miscellanies |first=Wilhelmina |last=FitzClarence |authorlink=Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster |year=1904 |location=London |publisher=Eveleigh Nash |ref=harv}}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Ranger|first=Paul|title=Jordan, Dorothy (1761–1816) |id=15119|date=2004 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=gAfVIVra9C4C&pg=PA854&dq=Wilhelmina+Kennedy-Erskine+fitzclarence#v=onepage&q=Wilhelmina%20Kennedy-Erskine%20fitzclarence&f=false |title=The Life and Reign of William the Fourth |last= Wright |first=G.N. |year=1837 |location=London |publisher=Fisher, Son, & Co |ref=harv}}

[[Category:Articles created via the Article Wizard]]

Augusta Gordon

2014-05-30T02:46:29Z

Ruby2010:

Augusta Gordon

2014-05-30T02:45:05Z

Ruby2010:

Augusta Gordon

2014-05-30T02:33:17Z

Ruby2010:

Augusta Gordon

2014-05-30T01:35:37Z

Ruby2010:

Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster

2014-05-27T22:02:28Z

Ruby2010: /* Family and early life */ Painting attribution

{{Infobox noble|type
| name = Wilhelmina Kennedy-Erskine
| title = Countess of Munster
| image = Countess Munster.jpg
| caption = The Countess of Munster as portrayed on the frontispiece of her autobiography (published 1904)
| alt =
| CoA =
| more = no
| succession =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| suc-type =
| spouse = [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]]
| spouse-type = Husband
| issue = Edward, Viscount FitzClarence Hon. Lionel Frederick Archibald [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster]] Hon. Arthur Falkland Manners [[Aubrey FitzClarence, 4th Earl of Munster]] Hon. William George Hon. Harold Edward Lady Lillian Boyd Lady Dorothea Lee-Warner
| full name =
| styles =
| titles =
| noble family = [[:Category:FitzClarence family|FitzClarence family]]
| house-type = nobility
| father = Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine
| mother = [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1830|06|27|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[House of Dun|Dun House]], Montrose, Scotland
| christening_date =
| christening_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1906|10|09|1830|06|27|df=y}}
| death_place =
| burial_date =
| burial_place =
| religion =
| occupation = Peeress, novelist
| module = '''Signature''' [[Image:Countess Munster signature.jpg]]
}}
'''Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster''' (''née'' '''Kennedy-Erskine'''; 27 June 1830 – 9 October 1906) was a British peeress and novelist. Her mother, [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]], was an illegitimate daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]; Wilhelmina, also known as Mina, was born the day after William's succession as monarch. She travelled as a young girl throughout Europe, visiting the courts of [[July Monarchy|France]] and [[Kingdom of Hanover|Hanover]]. In 1855, Mina married her first cousin [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]]; they would have nine children, including the [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster|3rd]] and [[Aubrey FitzClarence, 4th Earl of Munster|4th]] Earls of Munster.

The Earl and Countess of Munster lived at [[Palmeira Square]] in [[Brighton]]. Later in life, Lady Munster became a novelist and short story writer. In 1889, she released her first novel, ''Dorinda''; a second, ''A Scotch Earl'', followed two years later. The year 1896 saw the publication of ''Ghostly Tales'', a collection of tales on the supernatural which have largely been forgotten today. Lady Munster also produced an autobiography entitled ''My Memories and Miscellanies'', which was released in 1904. She died two years later.

==Family and early life==
[[File:Lady Augusta FitzClarence and children.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Wilhelmina ''(right)'' with her mother Lady Augusta and two siblings. Painted by [[John Hayter]], c. 1831]]
Wilhelmina "Mina" Kennedy-Erskine was born on 27 June 1830 in [[House of Dun|Dun House]], Montrose, Scotland. She was the second child of the Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine and his wife [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]], an illegitimate daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom|William IV]] (who became monarch the day before Mina's birth).{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=3}} Her father, the second son of the [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa|13th Earl of Cassilis]], was a captain with the [[16th The Queen's Lancers|16th Lancers]] and an [[equerry]] to King William before dying in 1831 at the age of 28.<ref>{{Cite news|title=The Queen's Third Drawing Room |newspaper=[[The Observer]] |date=27 March 1831 |page=1}}</ref>{{sfn|Lodge|1832|p=13}}

Mina lived with her widowed mother and two siblings in a "charming brick house" on the [[River Thames]] called Railshead, which was next door to a house owned by her paternal grandparents.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=5–7}} King William visited the family often and was quite fond of Mina;{{sfn|Academy and Literature|p=454}} on one occasion, he visited to comfort his daughter when three- or four-year-old Mina nearly died of a "very dangerous brain fever".{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=8}} The Kennedy-Erskines also often visited [[Windsor Castle]] during the king's reign.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=34}}

Five years after Kennedy-Erskine's death, Lady Augusta married [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton]], a decision that displeased her first husband's parents.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=40}} The decision led to Lady Augusta's departure from Railshead. In 1837 she became State Housekeeper at [[Kensington Palace]] after the death of her sister, [[Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley|Lady De L'Isle]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}}{{sfn|Cambridge|1900|p=25}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=42}} Mina lived there until she married.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=50}} She and her sister Millicent enjoyed music and had a particular love for the Italian soprano [[Marietta Alboni]]. The sisters' Italian singing-master secretly arranged for a meeting with Alboni, but the encounter did not go well; the singer discovered that they were the daughters of the "housekeeper", and, assuming that they were not ladies, departed soon after.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=61–64}}

In the late 1840s, Mina travelled through Europe with her family so that they might "learn languages and finish [their] education".{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=83}} The trip started in 1847, when Mina journeyed to [[Dresden]] due to her mother's desire for her daughters to learn German.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=83–84}} From 1847 to 1849, she and her family lived in Paris near the [[Arc de Triomphe]], and were kindly received by the French Royal Family headed by [[Louis Philippe I]] and [[Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily|Queen Marie Amalie]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=110–17}} They left soon after the king and queen's [[French Revolution of 1848|fall from power]], as the city had suddenly become unsafe for those of their rank.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=120–23}} In 1850, they visited the court of [[Kingdom of Hanover|Hanover]] and were received by [[Ernest Augustus I of Hanover]] and his family; later that year, they returned to Kensington Palace and Mina and Millicent [[Season (society)|came out in society]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=129–44}}

==Marriage==
[[File:Earl of Munster 25 February 1882.jpg|thumb|right|180px|The Earl of Munster as caricatured by Spy ([[Leslie Ward]]) in ''[[Vanity Fair (British magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'', February 1882 ]]
Mina married her full first cousin [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]] at [[Wemyss Castle]] on 17 April 1855 in a double wedding in which her sister Millicent married [[James Hay Erskine Wemyss]].{{sfn|Julian Stanley Long|1916|p=201}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=152}} Like Mina, FitzClarence was a grandchild of William IV; at a young age, he had succeeded his father the [[George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster|1st Earl]], who served as a governor of Windsor Castle and constable of the [[Round Tower (Portsmouth)|Round Tower]] until his suicide in 1842.{{sfn|Reynolds|2004}} The FitzClarences travelled to Hamburg immediately after the wedding, visiting local ''[[schloss]]es'' and the family of [[Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein]] (who later married [[Princess Helena of the United Kingdom|The Princess Helena]]).{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=153–56}} Their first child, Edward, was born within a year.{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}} The couple would have nine children, four of whom outlived their mother:
* Edward, Viscount FitzClarence (29 March 1856 – 1870){{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}
* Hon. Lionel Frederick Archibald (24 July 1857 – 1863){{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}
* [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster]] (18 July 1859 – 2 February 1902); died without issue{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=2035}}
* Hon. Arthur Falkland Manners (18 October 1860 – 1861){{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}
* [[Aubrey FitzClarence, 4th Earl of Munster]] (7 June 1862 – 1 January 1928); died without issue{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=2035}}
* Hon. William George (17 September 1864 – 4 October 1899); married Charlotte Elizabeth Williams{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=2035}}
* Hon. Harold Edward (15 November 1870 – 28 August 1926); married Frances Isabel Eleanor Keppel; their son was the [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 5th Earl of Munster|5th Earl of Munster]]{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=48}}
* Lady Lillian Adelaide Katherine Mary (10 December 1873 – 15 July 1948); married Captain William Arthur Boyd{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|2003|p=470}}
* Lady Dorothea Augusta (5 May 1876 – 1942); married Major Chandos Brydges Lee-Warner{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp60749/lady-dorothea-augusta-lee-warner |title=Lady Dorothea Augusta Lee-Warner |publisher=[[National Portrait Gallery, London|National Portrait Gallery]] |accessdate=17 February 2014}}</ref>

The Earl and Countess of Munster lived at [[Palmeira Square]] in [[Brighton]].{{sfn|Lady's Realm|p=197}}{{sfn|Dod|1903|p=654}}{{sfn|Addison|Oakes|1901|p=821}} According to an article in contemporary women's magazine ''[[Lady's Realm]]'', the Countess lived a very quiet life. In 1897, the magazine reported that she had lived in retirement in Brighton for the past thirty-five years. Her attachment to the city, the article suggested, was due to childhood memories of visiting there with King William.{{sfn|Lady's Realm|p=197}} The article also stated that because Lord Munster's health was failing, the Countess was living in "comparative seclusion", though her lifestyle was also attributed to a love of a "quiet, literary, and artistic life".{{sfn|Lady's Realm|p=197}} She died on 9 October 1906,{{sfn|Brooke|1907|p=1275}} having been widowed five years.{{sfn|Debrett's|p=601}}

==Literary career==
{{Library resources box|by=yes|onlinebooksby=yes|lcheading= Munster, Wilhelmina Fitzclarence, Countess of, 1830–1906}}
Later in life, Lady Munster became a novelist and short story writer, writing under the title the Countess of Munster. At the age of nearly sixty,{{sfn|Wilson|2000|p=219}} she published two novels; her first, ''Dorinda'', in 1889, and her second, ''A Scotch Earl'', in 1891.{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} The plot of ''Dorinda'' centred on a young woman who eventually kills herself after stealing works of art from her friends. [[Oscar Wilde]] noted Munster's skill in writing ''Dorinda''; he compared the "exceedingly clever" novel's eponymous heroine to "a sort of well-born" [[Becky Sharp (character)|Becky Sharp]],{{sfn|Wilde|1910|p=110}} and praised the author's ability "to draw ... in a few sentences the most lifelike portraits of social types and social exceptions".{{sfn|Youngkin|2013}} In 1888, an article by Munster about ballad singing appeared in ''[[The Woman's World]]'', a Victorian women's magazine edited by Wilde.{{sfn|Youngkin|2013}} ''A Scotch Earl'', which centred on a vulgar Scottish nobleman named Lord Invergordon, was less well-received by contemporaries. ''[[The Spectator]]'' published a critical review soon after its publication which suggested that the novel's showering of "contempt upon the society of wealth and rank" was close to [[Republicanism in the United Kingdom|Republicanism]] or [[Socialism]].{{sfn|The Spectator|p=297}} The review criticised ''A Scotch Earl'' for lacking "any merits of construction or style", and added that Lady Munster was "not and never will be a capable novelist".{{sfn|The Spectator|p=297}}

In 1896, Munster released ''Ghostly Tales'', a collection of stories "written in a manner similar to accounts of true hauntings".{{sfn|Anderson|2012}}{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} ''Lady's Realm'' considered her stories to be based on fact.{{sfn|Lady's Realm|p=197}} A positive review of ''Ghostly Tales'' was published in the ''[[Saturday Review (London)|Saturday Review]]'' in 1897, in which the stories were described as "entertaining and dramatic", but it was noted that not all were based on supernatural events.{{sfn|Cook|1897|p=230}} Hugh Lamb included the Countess's "surprisingly grim" story "The Tyburn Ghost" in his 1979 edited volume ''Tales from a Gas-Lit Graveyard''. He wrote at the time that Lady Munster's works had been "completely overlooked by bibliophiles and anthologists since her death".{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} Lamb deemed this regrettable, as he considered ''Ghostly Tales'' "possibly her best work" and one of the "truly representative collections of Victorian ghost stories".{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} Lamb also included another of her stories, "The Page-Boy's Ghost", in a 1988 anthology.{{sfn|Lamb|1988|p=208}} However, modern author and editor [[Douglas A. Anderson]] has called the Countess's stories "standard, melodramatic fare", which are "perfectly forgettable".{{sfn|Anderson|2012}}

In 1904, Lady Munster produced an autobiography entitled ''My Memories and Miscellanies''. In its [[foreword]], she explained that "some valued friends" convinced her to write it, despite her reluctance, because her "long life" had witnessed "not a few interesting events".{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=vii}} The book was called her "chief work" in ''[[The Manchester Guardian]]'' at the time of her death in 1906.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Memorial Notices |newspaper=[[The Manchester Guardian]] |date=12 October 1906 |page=7}}</ref> The Countess wrote the entire book by memory, and expressed regret that she had given up her journal writing as a young girl after someone else improperly read it.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=112}} The autobiography included several recounted sightings of the female ghost "Green Jean" at Wemyss Castle; Lady Munster claimed that several members of her family, including Millicent, saw the ghost while staying there.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=159–64}}

==Ancestry==
{{ahnentafel top|width=100%}}
{{ahnentafel-compact5
|style=font-size: 90%; line-height: 110%;
|border=1
|boxstyle=padding-top: 0; padding-bottom: 0;
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe;
|1= 1. '''Wilhelmina Kennedy-Erskine'''
|2= 2. Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine
|3= 3. [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]]
|4= 4. [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa]]
|5= 5. Margaret Erskine
|6= 6. [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]
|7= 7. [[Dorothea Jordan|Dorothea Bland]]
|8= 8. [[Archibald Kennedy, 11th Earl of Cassilis]]
|9= 9. Anne Watts
|10= 10. John Erskine
|11= 11. Mary Baird
|12= 12. [[George III of the United Kingdom]]
|13= 13. [[Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz|Duchess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
|14= 14. Francis Bland
|15= 15. Grace Phillips
|16= 16. Archibald Kennedy
|18= 18. John Watts
|19= 19. Ann DeLancey
|20= 20. John Erskine of Dunard
|22= 22. William Baird
|23= 23. Alicia Johnston
|24= 24. [[Frederick, Prince of Wales]]
|25= 25. [[Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha]]
|26= 26. [[Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg|Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
|27= 27. [[Princess Elizabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen]]
|28= 28. James Bland
|29= 29. Lucy Brewster
}}</center>
{{ahnentafel bottom}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

;Works cited
{{refbegin|colwidth=30em}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=8EcuAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA821&dq=Palmeira+Square+earl+of+munster#v=onepage&q=Palmeira%20Square%20earl%20of%20munster&f=false | title = Who's Who | year = 1901 |first1=Henry Robert |last1=Addison |first2=Charles Henry |last2=Oakes |publisher=Adam & Charles Black |location=London |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite web|url=http://desturmobed.blogspot.com/2012/05/countess-of-munster.html |first=Douglas A. |last=Anderson |authorlink=Douglas A. Anderson |title=The Countess of Munster |date=10 May 2012 |publisher=Desturmobed.blogspot.com |accessdate= 7 November 2013 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite journal| url = http://books.google.com/?id=tBo7AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA198&dq=queen+victoria+%22lady+munster%22#v=onepage&q=queen%20victoria%20%22lady%20munster%22&f=false |title=Brighton Society |volume=1 | year = 1897 |location=London |publisher=Hutchinson and Co |p=198 |journal=[[Lady's Realm]] |ref={{sfnRef|Lady's Realm}} }}
* {{Cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=cLc7AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA601&dq=2nd+%22earl+of+munster%22+1901&hl=en&sa=X&ei=B0aCU5KQI4qMqgbljIDIDA&ved=0CDMQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=2nd%20%22earl%20of%20munster%22%201901&f=false |title=Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage, and Companionage |year=1902 |volume=189 |location=London |publisher=Dean & Son Limited |ref={{sfnRef|Debrett's}}}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=w0pLAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA1275&lpg=PA1275&dq=wilhelmina+1906+munster#v=onepage&q=wilhelmina%201906%20munster&f=false | title =Who's Who: An Annual Biographical Dictionary | year = 1907 |first=Douglas |last=Brooke |coauthors=Wheelton Sladen |location=London |publisher=Adam & Charles Black |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=K1YwAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA25&lpg=PA25&dq=countess+of+munster+kennedy-erskine#v=onepage&q=countess%20of%20munster%20kennedy-erskine&f=false | title = A Memoir of Her Royal Highness Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck, Volume 1 |first=Mary Adelaide of |last=Cambridge |authorlink=Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge | year = 1900 |location=London |publisher=John Murray |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite journal| url = http://books.google.com/?id=aZE_AQAAIAAJ&pg=PA230&dq=%22countess+of+munster%22+novelist#v=onepage&q=%22countess%20of%20munster%22%20novelist&f=false | title = Fiction |volume=83 | last1= Cook | first1 = John Douglas |coauthors=Philip Harwood, Frank Harris, Walter Herries Pollock, Harold Hodge | year = 1897 |location=London |journal=[[Saturday Review (London)|Saturday Review]] |p=230 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book | url = http://books.google.com/?id=uZstAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA654&dq=Palmeira+Square+earl+of+munster#v=onepage&q=Palmeira%20Square%20earl%20of%20munster&f=false | title = Dod's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage of Great Britain, and Ireland for ... : Including All the Titled Classes | last1 = Dod | first1 = Charles Roger | year = 1903 |location=London |publisher=Ampson, Low, Marston & Company |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books/about/My_Memories_and_Miscellanies.html?id=x40xAQAAMAAJ |title=My Memories and Miscellanies |first=Wilhelmina |last=FitzClarence|year=1904 |location=London |publisher=Eveleigh Nash |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=KDw6AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA722&dq=%22Wilhelmina%22+%22Kennedy-Erskine%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=mIWCUt_KKOWU2gW6xYDwBA&ved=0CCwQ6AEwADge#v=onepage&q=%22Wilhelmina%22%20%22Kennedy-Erskine%22&f=false |title=Armorial Families: A Complete Peerage, Baronetage, and Knightage |editor1-first=Arthur Charles |editor1-last=Fox-Davies |year=1895 |location=Edinburgh |publisher=T.C. & E.C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=GlIwAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA201&dq=kennedy-erskine+earl+munster#v=onepage&q=kennedy-erskine%20earl%20munster&f=false | title = Twenty Years at Court: From the Correspondence of the Hon. Eleanor Stanley, Maid of Honour to Her Late Majesty Queen Victoria, 1842–1862 | last1 = Julian Stanley Long | first1 = Eleanor | year = 1916 |location=New York |publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=zYNfom9HQPIC&pg=PA163&dq=%22countess+of+munster%22+novelist#v=onepage&q=%22countess%20of%20munster%22%20novelist&f=false | title =Tales from a Gas-Lit Graveyard | isbn = 978-0-486-43429-2 | editor-first = Hugh | year = 1979 |publisher=W.H. Allen |location=London | editor-last = Lamb |ref=harv}}
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* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/books?id=IIsUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA13&dq=John+Kennedy-Erskine+fitzclarence+1831&hl=en&sa=X&ei=uAUFU9CWE4a9yAGt8oHIAg&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=John%20Kennedy-Erskine%20fitzclarence%201831&f=false | title = The Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire as at Present Existing | last1 = Lodge | first1 = Edmund |coauthors=Anne Innes, Eliza Innes, Maria Innes | year = 1832 |publisher=Ibotson and Palmer |location=London |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=BxQwAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA453&dq=Wilhelmina+Kennedy-Erskine+fitzclarence#v=onepage&q=Wilhelmina%20Kennedy-Erskine%20fitzclarence&f=false | title = The Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire as at Present Existing | last1 = Lodge | first1 = Edmund |coauthors=Anne Innes, Eliza Innes, Maria Innes | year = 1890 |publisher=Hurst and Blackett |location=London |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |title=Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage |edition=106th |editor-last=Mosley |editor-first=Charles |year=1999 |location=Crans, Switzerland |publisher=Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |title=Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage |edition=107th |editor-last=Mosley |editor-first=Charles |year=2003 |location=Wilmington, Delaware |publisher=Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite journal| url = http://books.google.com/books?id=jkg9AQAAIAAJ&pg=RA1-PA297&dq=munster+A+%22Scotch+Earl%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=W_qAU6yYEM6iyATPzoL4CQ&ved=0CFwQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=munster%20A%20%22Scotch%20Earl%22&f=false | title= Recent Novels |volume=Volumes 66-67 | year = 1891 |p=297 |location=London |publisher=John Campbell |journal=[[The Spectator]] |ref={{sfnRef|The Spectator}} }}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Reynolds|first=K.D.|title=FitzClarence, George Augustus Frederick, first earl of Munster (1794–1842) |id=9542|date=2004 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite journal| url = http://books.google.com/?id=ljpRAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA454&dq=%22countess+of+munster%22+novelist#v=onepage&q=%22countess%20of%20munster%22%20novelist&f=false | journal= [[The Academy (periodical)|The Academy and Literature]] |volume=66 |chapter=Short Notices | date = 23 April 1904 |page=454 |publisher= |location=London |ref={{sfnRef|Academy and Literature}}}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=0NIVAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA111&dq=munster+wilde&hl=en&sa=X&ei=9veAU6m5CY6pyATbuIEw&ved=0CE4Q6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=munster&f=false |title=The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde: Together with Essays and Stories by Lady Wilde, Volume 4 |first=Oscar |last=Wilde |authorlink=Oscar Wilde |year=1910 |publisher=Aldine Publishing Company |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?ei=uy54U_-sFcupyASi4oCYBw&id=l1QYAQAAIAAJ&dq=munster+fitzclarence+wilhelmina&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=munster |title=Shadows in the Attic: A Guide to British Supernatural Fiction, 1820–1950 |last= Wilson |first=Neil |year=2000 |location=London |publisher=British Library Publishing Division |isbn=978-0-7123-1074-1 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=gAfVIVra9C4C&pg=PA854&dq=Wilhelmina+Kennedy-Erskine+fitzclarence#v=onepage&q=Wilhelmina%20Kennedy-Erskine%20fitzclarence&f=false |title=The Life and Reign of William the Fourth |last= Wright |first=G.N. |year=1837 |location=London |publisher=Fisher, Son, & Co |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url =http://books.google.com/books?id=bWRZAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT442&dq=munster+fitzclarence+wilhelmina&hl=en&sa=X&ei=uy54U_-sFcupyASi4oCYBw&ved=0CCoQ6AEwADgK#v=onepage&q=munster&f=false | title =Wilde Discoveries: Traditions, Histories, Archives |chapter=The Aestetic Character of Oscar Wilde's The Woman's World |first=Molly |last=Youngkin | asin= B00HCLU9EW| editor-first = Joseph | year = 2013 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |location=London | editor-last = Bristow |ref=harv}}

{{refend}}
{{Commons category|Augusta FitzClarence Kennedy-Erskine }}

{{Persondata
| NAME = FitzClarence, Wilhelmina, Countess of Munster
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = British writer
| DATE OF BIRTH = 27 June 1830
| PLACE OF BIRTH = [[House of Dun|Dun House]], Montrose, Scotland
| DATE OF DEATH = 9 October 1906
| PLACE OF DEATH = Hove, Sussex, England
}}
[[Category:FitzClarence family]]
[[Category:1830 births]]
[[Category:1906 deaths]]
[[Category:British countesses]]
[[Category:People from Montrose, Angus]]
[[Category:19th-century British novelists]]
[[Category:British short story writers]]
[[Category:British horror writers]]
[[Category:Women short story writers]]
[[Category:20th-century British novelists]]
[[Category:British autobiographers]]

{{Good article}}

Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster

2014-05-27T22:00:09Z

Ruby2010: Made a few minor adjustments; rectified whether she was second or third child (older source said third, but source consensus seems to be second, so indicated this in portrait and text)

{{Infobox noble|type
| name = Wilhelmina Kennedy-Erskine
| title = Countess of Munster
| image = Countess Munster.jpg
| caption = The Countess of Munster as portrayed on the frontispiece of her autobiography (published 1904)
| alt =
| CoA =
| more = no
| succession =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| suc-type =
| spouse = [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]]
| spouse-type = Husband
| issue = Edward, Viscount FitzClarence Hon. Lionel Frederick Archibald [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster]] Hon. Arthur Falkland Manners [[Aubrey FitzClarence, 4th Earl of Munster]] Hon. William George Hon. Harold Edward Lady Lillian Boyd Lady Dorothea Lee-Warner
| full name =
| styles =
| titles =
| noble family = [[:Category:FitzClarence family|FitzClarence family]]
| house-type = nobility
| father = Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine
| mother = [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1830|06|27|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[House of Dun|Dun House]], Montrose, Scotland
| christening_date =
| christening_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1906|10|09|1830|06|27|df=y}}
| death_place =
| burial_date =
| burial_place =
| religion =
| occupation = Peeress, novelist
| module = '''Signature''' [[Image:Countess Munster signature.jpg]]
}}
'''Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster''' (''née'' '''Kennedy-Erskine'''; 27 June 1830 – 9 October 1906) was a British peeress and novelist. Her mother, [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]], was an illegitimate daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]; Wilhelmina, also known as Mina, was born the day after William's succession as monarch. She travelled as a young girl throughout Europe, visiting the courts of [[July Monarchy|France]] and [[Kingdom of Hanover|Hanover]]. In 1855, Mina married her first cousin [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]]; they would have nine children, including the [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster|3rd]] and [[Aubrey FitzClarence, 4th Earl of Munster|4th]] Earls of Munster.

The Earl and Countess of Munster lived at [[Palmeira Square]] in [[Brighton]]. Later in life, Lady Munster became a novelist and short story writer. In 1889, she released her first novel, ''Dorinda''; a second, ''A Scotch Earl'', followed two years later. The year 1896 saw the publication of ''Ghostly Tales'', a collection of tales on the supernatural which have largely been forgotten today. Lady Munster also produced an autobiography entitled ''My Memories and Miscellanies'', which was released in 1904. She died two years later.

==Family and early life==
[[File:Lady Augusta FitzClarence and children.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Wilhelmina ''(right)'' with her mother Lady Augusta and two siblings.]]
Wilhelmina "Mina" Kennedy-Erskine was born on 27 June 1830 in [[House of Dun|Dun House]], Montrose, Scotland. She was the second child of the Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine and his wife [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]], an illegitimate daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom|William IV]] (who became monarch the day before Mina's birth).{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=3}} Her father, the second son of the [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa|13th Earl of Cassilis]], was a captain with the [[16th The Queen's Lancers|16th Lancers]] and an [[equerry]] to King William before dying in 1831 at the age of 28.<ref>{{Cite news|title=The Queen's Third Drawing Room |newspaper=[[The Observer]] |date=27 March 1831 |page=1}}</ref>{{sfn|Lodge|1832|p=13}}

Mina lived with her widowed mother and two siblings in a "charming brick house" on the [[River Thames]] called Railshead, which was next door to a house owned by her paternal grandparents.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=5–7}} King William visited the family often and was quite fond of Mina;{{sfn|Academy and Literature|p=454}} on one occasion, he visited to comfort his daughter when three- or four-year-old Mina nearly died of a "very dangerous brain fever".{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=8}} The Kennedy-Erskines also often visited [[Windsor Castle]] during the king's reign.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=34}}

Five years after Kennedy-Erskine's death, Lady Augusta married [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton]], a decision that displeased her first husband's parents.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=40}} The decision led to Lady Augusta's departure from Railshead. In 1837 she became State Housekeeper at [[Kensington Palace]] after the death of her sister, [[Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley|Lady De L'Isle]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}}{{sfn|Cambridge|1900|p=25}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=42}} Mina lived there until she married.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=50}} She and her sister Millicent enjoyed music and had a particular love for the Italian soprano [[Marietta Alboni]]. The sisters' Italian singing-master secretly arranged for a meeting with Alboni, but the encounter did not go well; the singer discovered that they were the daughters of the "housekeeper", and, assuming that they were not ladies, departed soon after.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=61–64}}

In the late 1840s, Mina travelled through Europe with her family so that they might "learn languages and finish [their] education".{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=83}} The trip started in 1847, when Mina journeyed to [[Dresden]] due to her mother's desire for her daughters to learn German.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=83–84}} From 1847 to 1849, she and her family lived in Paris near the [[Arc de Triomphe]], and were kindly received by the French Royal Family headed by [[Louis Philippe I]] and [[Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily|Queen Marie Amalie]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=110–17}} They left soon after the king and queen's [[French Revolution of 1848|fall from power]], as the city had suddenly become unsafe for those of their rank.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=120–23}} In 1850, they visited the court of [[Kingdom of Hanover|Hanover]] and were received by [[Ernest Augustus I of Hanover]] and his family; later that year, they returned to Kensington Palace and Mina and Millicent [[Season (society)|came out in society]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=129–44}}

==Marriage==
[[File:Earl of Munster 25 February 1882.jpg|thumb|right|180px|The Earl of Munster as caricatured by Spy ([[Leslie Ward]]) in ''[[Vanity Fair (British magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'', February 1882 ]]
Mina married her full first cousin [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]] at [[Wemyss Castle]] on 17 April 1855 in a double wedding in which her sister Millicent married [[James Hay Erskine Wemyss]].{{sfn|Julian Stanley Long|1916|p=201}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=152}} Like Mina, FitzClarence was a grandchild of William IV; at a young age, he had succeeded his father the [[George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster|1st Earl]], who served as a governor of Windsor Castle and constable of the [[Round Tower (Portsmouth)|Round Tower]] until his suicide in 1842.{{sfn|Reynolds|2004}} The FitzClarences travelled to Hamburg immediately after the wedding, visiting local ''[[schloss]]es'' and the family of [[Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein]] (who later married [[Princess Helena of the United Kingdom|The Princess Helena]]).{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=153–56}} Their first child, Edward, was born within a year.{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}} The couple would have nine children, four of whom outlived their mother:
* Edward, Viscount FitzClarence (29 March 1856 – 1870){{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}
* Hon. Lionel Frederick Archibald (24 July 1857 – 1863){{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}
* [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster]] (18 July 1859 – 2 February 1902); died without issue{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=2035}}
* Hon. Arthur Falkland Manners (18 October 1860 – 1861){{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}
* [[Aubrey FitzClarence, 4th Earl of Munster]] (7 June 1862 – 1 January 1928); died without issue{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=2035}}
* Hon. William George (17 September 1864 – 4 October 1899); married Charlotte Elizabeth Williams{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=2035}}
* Hon. Harold Edward (15 November 1870 – 28 August 1926); married Frances Isabel Eleanor Keppel; their son was the [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 5th Earl of Munster|5th Earl of Munster]]{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=48}}
* Lady Lillian Adelaide Katherine Mary (10 December 1873 – 15 July 1948); married Captain William Arthur Boyd{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|2003|p=470}}
* Lady Dorothea Augusta (5 May 1876 – 1942); married Major Chandos Brydges Lee-Warner{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp60749/lady-dorothea-augusta-lee-warner |title=Lady Dorothea Augusta Lee-Warner |publisher=[[National Portrait Gallery, London|National Portrait Gallery]] |accessdate=17 February 2014}}</ref>

The Earl and Countess of Munster lived at [[Palmeira Square]] in [[Brighton]].{{sfn|Lady's Realm|p=197}}{{sfn|Dod|1903|p=654}}{{sfn|Addison|Oakes|1901|p=821}} According to an article in contemporary women's magazine ''[[Lady's Realm]]'', the Countess lived a very quiet life. In 1897, the magazine reported that she had lived in retirement in Brighton for the past thirty-five years. Her attachment to the city, the article suggested, was due to childhood memories of visiting there with King William.{{sfn|Lady's Realm|p=197}} The article also stated that because Lord Munster's health was failing, the Countess was living in "comparative seclusion", though her lifestyle was also attributed to a love of a "quiet, literary, and artistic life".{{sfn|Lady's Realm|p=197}} She died on 9 October 1906,{{sfn|Brooke|1907|p=1275}} having been widowed five years.{{sfn|Debrett's|p=601}}

==Literary career==
{{Library resources box|by=yes|onlinebooksby=yes|lcheading= Munster, Wilhelmina Fitzclarence, Countess of, 1830–1906}}
Later in life, Lady Munster became a novelist and short story writer, writing under the title the Countess of Munster. At the age of nearly sixty,{{sfn|Wilson|2000|p=219}} she published two novels; her first, ''Dorinda'', in 1889, and her second, ''A Scotch Earl'', in 1891.{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} The plot of ''Dorinda'' centred on a young woman who eventually kills herself after stealing works of art from her friends. [[Oscar Wilde]] noted Munster's skill in writing ''Dorinda''; he compared the "exceedingly clever" novel's eponymous heroine to "a sort of well-born" [[Becky Sharp (character)|Becky Sharp]],{{sfn|Wilde|1910|p=110}} and praised the author's ability "to draw ... in a few sentences the most lifelike portraits of social types and social exceptions".{{sfn|Youngkin|2013}} In 1888, an article by Munster about ballad singing appeared in ''[[The Woman's World]]'', a Victorian women's magazine edited by Wilde.{{sfn|Youngkin|2013}} ''A Scotch Earl'', which centred on a vulgar Scottish nobleman named Lord Invergordon, was less well-received by contemporaries. ''[[The Spectator]]'' published a critical review soon after its publication which suggested that the novel's showering of "contempt upon the society of wealth and rank" was close to [[Republicanism in the United Kingdom|Republicanism]] or [[Socialism]].{{sfn|The Spectator|p=297}} The review criticised ''A Scotch Earl'' for lacking "any merits of construction or style", and added that Lady Munster was "not and never will be a capable novelist".{{sfn|The Spectator|p=297}}

In 1896, Munster released ''Ghostly Tales'', a collection of stories "written in a manner similar to accounts of true hauntings".{{sfn|Anderson|2012}}{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} ''Lady's Realm'' considered her stories to be based on fact.{{sfn|Lady's Realm|p=197}} A positive review of ''Ghostly Tales'' was published in the ''[[Saturday Review (London)|Saturday Review]]'' in 1897, in which the stories were described as "entertaining and dramatic", but it was noted that not all were based on supernatural events.{{sfn|Cook|1897|p=230}} Hugh Lamb included the Countess's "surprisingly grim" story "The Tyburn Ghost" in his 1979 edited volume ''Tales from a Gas-Lit Graveyard''. He wrote at the time that Lady Munster's works had been "completely overlooked by bibliophiles and anthologists since her death".{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} Lamb deemed this regrettable, as he considered ''Ghostly Tales'' "possibly her best work" and one of the "truly representative collections of Victorian ghost stories".{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} Lamb also included another of her stories, "The Page-Boy's Ghost", in a 1988 anthology.{{sfn|Lamb|1988|p=208}} However, modern author and editor [[Douglas A. Anderson]] has called the Countess's stories "standard, melodramatic fare", which are "perfectly forgettable".{{sfn|Anderson|2012}}

In 1904, Lady Munster produced an autobiography entitled ''My Memories and Miscellanies''. In its [[foreword]], she explained that "some valued friends" convinced her to write it, despite her reluctance, because her "long life" had witnessed "not a few interesting events".{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=vii}} The book was called her "chief work" in ''[[The Manchester Guardian]]'' at the time of her death in 1906.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Memorial Notices |newspaper=[[The Manchester Guardian]] |date=12 October 1906 |page=7}}</ref> The Countess wrote the entire book by memory, and expressed regret that she had given up her journal writing as a young girl after someone else improperly read it.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=112}} The autobiography included several recounted sightings of the female ghost "Green Jean" at Wemyss Castle; Lady Munster claimed that several members of her family, including Millicent, saw the ghost while staying there.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=159–64}}

==Ancestry==
{{ahnentafel top|width=100%}}
{{ahnentafel-compact5
|style=font-size: 90%; line-height: 110%;
|border=1
|boxstyle=padding-top: 0; padding-bottom: 0;
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe;
|1= 1. '''Wilhelmina Kennedy-Erskine'''
|2= 2. Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine
|3= 3. [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]]
|4= 4. [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa]]
|5= 5. Margaret Erskine
|6= 6. [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]
|7= 7. [[Dorothea Jordan|Dorothea Bland]]
|8= 8. [[Archibald Kennedy, 11th Earl of Cassilis]]
|9= 9. Anne Watts
|10= 10. John Erskine
|11= 11. Mary Baird
|12= 12. [[George III of the United Kingdom]]
|13= 13. [[Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz|Duchess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
|14= 14. Francis Bland
|15= 15. Grace Phillips
|16= 16. Archibald Kennedy
|18= 18. John Watts
|19= 19. Ann DeLancey
|20= 20. John Erskine of Dunard
|22= 22. William Baird
|23= 23. Alicia Johnston
|24= 24. [[Frederick, Prince of Wales]]
|25= 25. [[Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha]]
|26= 26. [[Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg|Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
|27= 27. [[Princess Elizabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen]]
|28= 28. James Bland
|29= 29. Lucy Brewster
}}</center>
{{ahnentafel bottom}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

;Works cited
{{refbegin|colwidth=30em}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=8EcuAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA821&dq=Palmeira+Square+earl+of+munster#v=onepage&q=Palmeira%20Square%20earl%20of%20munster&f=false | title = Who's Who | year = 1901 |first1=Henry Robert |last1=Addison |first2=Charles Henry |last2=Oakes |publisher=Adam & Charles Black |location=London |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite web|url=http://desturmobed.blogspot.com/2012/05/countess-of-munster.html |first=Douglas A. |last=Anderson |authorlink=Douglas A. Anderson |title=The Countess of Munster |date=10 May 2012 |publisher=Desturmobed.blogspot.com |accessdate= 7 November 2013 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite journal| url = http://books.google.com/?id=tBo7AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA198&dq=queen+victoria+%22lady+munster%22#v=onepage&q=queen%20victoria%20%22lady%20munster%22&f=false |title=Brighton Society |volume=1 | year = 1897 |location=London |publisher=Hutchinson and Co |p=198 |journal=[[Lady's Realm]] |ref={{sfnRef|Lady's Realm}} }}
* {{Cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=cLc7AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA601&dq=2nd+%22earl+of+munster%22+1901&hl=en&sa=X&ei=B0aCU5KQI4qMqgbljIDIDA&ved=0CDMQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=2nd%20%22earl%20of%20munster%22%201901&f=false |title=Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage, and Companionage |year=1902 |volume=189 |location=London |publisher=Dean & Son Limited |ref={{sfnRef|Debrett's}}}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=w0pLAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA1275&lpg=PA1275&dq=wilhelmina+1906+munster#v=onepage&q=wilhelmina%201906%20munster&f=false | title =Who's Who: An Annual Biographical Dictionary | year = 1907 |first=Douglas |last=Brooke |coauthors=Wheelton Sladen |location=London |publisher=Adam & Charles Black |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=K1YwAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA25&lpg=PA25&dq=countess+of+munster+kennedy-erskine#v=onepage&q=countess%20of%20munster%20kennedy-erskine&f=false | title = A Memoir of Her Royal Highness Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck, Volume 1 |first=Mary Adelaide of |last=Cambridge |authorlink=Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge | year = 1900 |location=London |publisher=John Murray |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite journal| url = http://books.google.com/?id=aZE_AQAAIAAJ&pg=PA230&dq=%22countess+of+munster%22+novelist#v=onepage&q=%22countess%20of%20munster%22%20novelist&f=false | title = Fiction |volume=83 | last1= Cook | first1 = John Douglas |coauthors=Philip Harwood, Frank Harris, Walter Herries Pollock, Harold Hodge | year = 1897 |location=London |journal=[[Saturday Review (London)|Saturday Review]] |p=230 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book | url = http://books.google.com/?id=uZstAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA654&dq=Palmeira+Square+earl+of+munster#v=onepage&q=Palmeira%20Square%20earl%20of%20munster&f=false | title = Dod's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage of Great Britain, and Ireland for ... : Including All the Titled Classes | last1 = Dod | first1 = Charles Roger | year = 1903 |location=London |publisher=Ampson, Low, Marston & Company |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books/about/My_Memories_and_Miscellanies.html?id=x40xAQAAMAAJ |title=My Memories and Miscellanies |first=Wilhelmina |last=FitzClarence|year=1904 |location=London |publisher=Eveleigh Nash |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=KDw6AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA722&dq=%22Wilhelmina%22+%22Kennedy-Erskine%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=mIWCUt_KKOWU2gW6xYDwBA&ved=0CCwQ6AEwADge#v=onepage&q=%22Wilhelmina%22%20%22Kennedy-Erskine%22&f=false |title=Armorial Families: A Complete Peerage, Baronetage, and Knightage |editor1-first=Arthur Charles |editor1-last=Fox-Davies |year=1895 |location=Edinburgh |publisher=T.C. & E.C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=GlIwAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA201&dq=kennedy-erskine+earl+munster#v=onepage&q=kennedy-erskine%20earl%20munster&f=false | title = Twenty Years at Court: From the Correspondence of the Hon. Eleanor Stanley, Maid of Honour to Her Late Majesty Queen Victoria, 1842–1862 | last1 = Julian Stanley Long | first1 = Eleanor | year = 1916 |location=New York |publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=zYNfom9HQPIC&pg=PA163&dq=%22countess+of+munster%22+novelist#v=onepage&q=%22countess%20of%20munster%22%20novelist&f=false | title =Tales from a Gas-Lit Graveyard | isbn = 978-0-486-43429-2 | editor-first = Hugh | year = 1979 |publisher=W.H. Allen |location=London | editor-last = Lamb |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=aB6iSLC66cwC&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=%22countess+of+munster%22&ots=ntS1c8R4iB&sig=yEEHRmdty-U5w-Yz6D1C6HVkinA#v=onepage&q=munster&f=false | title =Gaslit Nightmares | isbn = 0-486-44924-6| editor-first = Hugh | year = 1988 |publisher=Futura Publications |location=London | editor-last = Lamb |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/books?id=IIsUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA13&dq=John+Kennedy-Erskine+fitzclarence+1831&hl=en&sa=X&ei=uAUFU9CWE4a9yAGt8oHIAg&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=John%20Kennedy-Erskine%20fitzclarence%201831&f=false | title = The Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire as at Present Existing | last1 = Lodge | first1 = Edmund |coauthors=Anne Innes, Eliza Innes, Maria Innes | year = 1832 |publisher=Ibotson and Palmer |location=London |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=BxQwAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA453&dq=Wilhelmina+Kennedy-Erskine+fitzclarence#v=onepage&q=Wilhelmina%20Kennedy-Erskine%20fitzclarence&f=false | title = The Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire as at Present Existing | last1 = Lodge | first1 = Edmund |coauthors=Anne Innes, Eliza Innes, Maria Innes | year = 1890 |publisher=Hurst and Blackett |location=London |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |title=Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage |edition=106th |editor-last=Mosley |editor-first=Charles |year=1999 |location=Crans, Switzerland |publisher=Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |title=Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage |edition=107th |editor-last=Mosley |editor-first=Charles |year=2003 |location=Wilmington, Delaware |publisher=Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite journal| url = http://books.google.com/books?id=jkg9AQAAIAAJ&pg=RA1-PA297&dq=munster+A+%22Scotch+Earl%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=W_qAU6yYEM6iyATPzoL4CQ&ved=0CFwQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=munster%20A%20%22Scotch%20Earl%22&f=false | title= Recent Novels |volume=Volumes 66-67 | year = 1891 |p=297 |location=London |publisher=John Campbell |journal=[[The Spectator]] |ref={{sfnRef|The Spectator}} }}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Reynolds|first=K.D.|title=FitzClarence, George Augustus Frederick, first earl of Munster (1794–1842) |id=9542|date=2004 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite journal| url = http://books.google.com/?id=ljpRAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA454&dq=%22countess+of+munster%22+novelist#v=onepage&q=%22countess%20of%20munster%22%20novelist&f=false | journal= [[The Academy (periodical)|The Academy and Literature]] |volume=66 |chapter=Short Notices | date = 23 April 1904 |page=454 |publisher= |location=London |ref={{sfnRef|Academy and Literature}}}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=0NIVAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA111&dq=munster+wilde&hl=en&sa=X&ei=9veAU6m5CY6pyATbuIEw&ved=0CE4Q6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=munster&f=false |title=The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde: Together with Essays and Stories by Lady Wilde, Volume 4 |first=Oscar |last=Wilde |authorlink=Oscar Wilde |year=1910 |publisher=Aldine Publishing Company |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?ei=uy54U_-sFcupyASi4oCYBw&id=l1QYAQAAIAAJ&dq=munster+fitzclarence+wilhelmina&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=munster |title=Shadows in the Attic: A Guide to British Supernatural Fiction, 1820–1950 |last= Wilson |first=Neil |year=2000 |location=London |publisher=British Library Publishing Division |isbn=978-0-7123-1074-1 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=gAfVIVra9C4C&pg=PA854&dq=Wilhelmina+Kennedy-Erskine+fitzclarence#v=onepage&q=Wilhelmina%20Kennedy-Erskine%20fitzclarence&f=false |title=The Life and Reign of William the Fourth |last= Wright |first=G.N. |year=1837 |location=London |publisher=Fisher, Son, & Co |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url =http://books.google.com/books?id=bWRZAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT442&dq=munster+fitzclarence+wilhelmina&hl=en&sa=X&ei=uy54U_-sFcupyASi4oCYBw&ved=0CCoQ6AEwADgK#v=onepage&q=munster&f=false | title =Wilde Discoveries: Traditions, Histories, Archives |chapter=The Aestetic Character of Oscar Wilde's The Woman's World |first=Molly |last=Youngkin | asin= B00HCLU9EW| editor-first = Joseph | year = 2013 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |location=London | editor-last = Bristow |ref=harv}}

{{refend}}
{{Commons category|Augusta FitzClarence Kennedy-Erskine }}

{{Persondata
| NAME = FitzClarence, Wilhelmina, Countess of Munster
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = British writer
| DATE OF BIRTH = 27 June 1830
| PLACE OF BIRTH = [[House of Dun|Dun House]], Montrose, Scotland
| DATE OF DEATH = 9 October 1906
| PLACE OF DEATH = Hove, Sussex, England
}}
[[Category:FitzClarence family]]
[[Category:1830 births]]
[[Category:1906 deaths]]
[[Category:British countesses]]
[[Category:People from Montrose, Angus]]
[[Category:19th-century British novelists]]
[[Category:British short story writers]]
[[Category:British horror writers]]
[[Category:Women short story writers]]
[[Category:20th-century British novelists]]
[[Category:British autobiographers]]

{{Good article}}

Augusta Gordon

2014-05-26T19:49:54Z

Ruby2010:

{{Userspace draft|source=ArticleWizard|date=May 2014}}
{{Infobox noble|type
| name = Lady Augusta FitzClarence
| title =
| image = Lady Augusta FitzClarence and children.jpg
| caption = Lady Augusta with her three children
| alt =
| CoA =
| more = no
| succession =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| suc-type =
| spouse = Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine
| spouse-type = Husband
| issue = William Henry Kennedy-Erskine Millicent Wemyss [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster]]
| full name =
| styles =
| titles =
| noble family = [[:Category:FitzClarence family|FitzClarence family]]
| house-type = nobility
| father = [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]
| mother = [[Dorothea Jordan]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1803|11|17|df=y}}
| birth_place = Bushey House
| christening_date =
| christening_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1865|12|08|1803|11|17|df=y}}
| death_place =
| burial_date =
| burial_place =
| religion =
| occupation = Peeress
}}
'''Lady Augusta FitzClarence''' (17 November 1803 – 8 December 1865) was a British noblewoman. She was an illegitimate daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom]].

==Family and early life==
Augusta FitzClarence was born at Bushey House on 17 November 1803 as the fourth daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom|Prince William, Duke of Clarence]] by his long-time mistress, the famous comic actress [[Dorothea Jordan]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|pp=851–54}}{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}} Augusta had eight siblings from this relationship.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=1}}

In 1818, she and her siblings were granted a pension of £500.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}

In June 1830, the Duke of Clarence succeeded his brother as King William IV.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=861}} The following year, he had his issue by Jordan raised to the ranks of children of a Marquess.{{sfn|Beauclerk-Dewar|Powell|2008}}

==Marriage to Kennedy-Erskine==
On 5 July 1827, Augusta married the Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine, a younger son of the [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa|13th Earl of Cassilis]]. Kennedy-Erskine served as a captain with the [[16th The Queen's Lancers|16th Lancers]], and was made an [[equerry]] to King William in 1830.{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}}

They had three children:
* William Henry Kennedy-Erskine
* Millicent Kennedy-Erskine
* [[Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster|Wilhelmina Kennedy-Erskine]] (27 June 1830 – 9 October 1906)

==Marriage to Gordon==

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

;Works cited
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=PEc7AwAAQBAJ&pg=PT158&dq=munster+fitzclarence+wilhelmina&hl=en&sa=X&ei=uy54U_-sFcupyASi4oCYBw&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAjgK#v=onepage&q=munster%20fitzclarence%20wilhelmina&f=false |title=Royal Bastards |first1=Peter |last1=Beauclerk-Dewar |first2=Roger |last2=Powell |year=2008 |location=Stroud |publisher=The History Press |isbn=9780752473154 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books/about/My_Memories_and_Miscellanies.html?id=x40xAQAAMAAJ |title=My Memories and Miscellanies |first=Wilhelmina |last=FitzClarence |authorlink=Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster |year=1904 |location=London |publisher=Eveleigh Nash |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=gAfVIVra9C4C&pg=PA854&dq=Wilhelmina+Kennedy-Erskine+fitzclarence#v=onepage&q=Wilhelmina%20Kennedy-Erskine%20fitzclarence&f=false |title=The Life and Reign of William the Fourth |last= Wright |first=G.N. |year=1837 |location=London |publisher=Fisher, Son, & Co |ref=harv}}

[[Category:Articles created via the Article Wizard]]

Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster

2014-05-25T20:21:08Z

Ruby2010: Adding a brief line on ''A Scotch Earl''

{{Infobox noble|type
| name = Wilhelmina Kennedy-Erskine
| title = Countess of Munster
| image = Countess of Munster 1904 frontispiece.jpg
| caption =
| alt =
| CoA =
| more = no
| succession =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| suc-type =
| spouse = [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]]
| spouse-type = Husband
| issue = Edward, Viscount FitzClarence Hon. Lionel Frederick Archibald [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster]] Hon. Arthur Falkland Manners [[Aubrey FitzClarence, 4th Earl of Munster]] Hon. William George Hon. Harold Edward Lady Lillian Boyd Lady Dorothea Lee-Warner
| full name =
| styles =
| titles =
| noble family = [[:Category:FitzClarence family|FitzClarence family]]
| house-type = nobility
| father = Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine
| mother = [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1830|06|27|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[House of Dun|Dun House]], Montrose, Scotland
| christening_date =
| christening_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1906|10|09|1830|06|27|df=y}}
| death_place =
| burial_date =
| burial_place =
| religion =
| occupation = Peeress, novelist
}}
'''Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster''' (''née'' '''Kennedy-Erskine'''; 27 June 1830 – 9 October 1906) was a British peeress and novelist. Her mother, [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]], was an illegitimate daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]; Wilhelmina, also known as Mina, was born the day after William's succession as monarch. She travelled as a young girl throughout Europe, visiting the courts of [[July Monarchy|France]] and [[Kingdom of Hanover|Hanover]]. In 1855, Mina married her first cousin [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]]; they would have nine children, including the [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster|3rd]] and [[Aubrey FitzClarence, 4th Earl of Munster|4th]] Earls of Munster.

The Earl and Countess of Munster lived at [[Palmeira Square]] in [[Brighton]]. Later in life, Lady Munster became a novelist and short story writer. In 1889, she released her first novel, ''Dorinda''; a second, ''A Scotch Earl'', followed two years later. The year 1896 saw the publication of ''Ghostly Tales'', a collection of tales on the supernatural which have largely been forgotten today. Lady Munster also produced an autobiography entitled ''My Memories and Miscellanies'', which was released in 1904. She died two years later.

==Family and early life==
[[File:Lady Augusta FitzClarence and children.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Wilhelmina with her mother Lady Augusta and two siblings.]]
Wilhelmina "Mina" Kennedy-Erskine was born on 27 June 1830 in [[House of Dun|Dun House]], Montrose, Scotland. She was the third child of the Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine and his wife [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]], an illegitimate daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom|William IV]] (who became monarch the day before Mina's birth).{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=3}} Her father, the second son of the [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa|13th Earl of Cassilis]], was a captain with the [[16th The Queen's Lancers|16th Lancers]] and an [[equerry]] to King William before dying in 1831 at the age of 28.<ref>{{Cite news|title=The Queen's Third Drawing Room |newspaper=[[The Observer]] |date=27 March 1831 |page=1}}</ref>{{sfn|Lodge|1832|p=13}}

Mina lived with her widowed mother and two siblings in a "charming brick house" on the [[River Thames]] called Railshead, which was next door to a house owned by her paternal grandparents.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=5–7}} King William visited the family often and was quite fond of Mina;{{sfn|Academy and Literature|p=454}} on one occasion, he visited to comfort his daughter when three- or four-year-old Mina nearly died of a "very dangerous brain fever".{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=8}} The Kennedy-Erskines also often visited [[Windsor Castle]] during the king's reign.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=34}}

Five years after Kennedy-Erskine's death, Lady Augusta remarried to [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton]], a decision that displeased her first husband's parents.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=40}} The decision led to Lady Augusta's departure from Railshead. In 1837 she became State Housekeeper at [[Kensington Palace]] after the death of her sister, [[Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley|Lady De L'Isle]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}}{{sfn|Cambridge|1900|p=25}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=42}} Mina lived there until she married.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=50}} She and her sister Millicent enjoyed music and had a particular love for the Italian soprano [[Marietta Alboni]]. The sisters' Italian singing-master secretly arranged for a meeting with Alboni, but the encounter did not go well; the singer discovered that they were the daughters of the "housekeeper", and, assuming that they were not ladies, departed soon after.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=61–64}}

In the late 1840s, Mina travelled through Europe with her family so that they might "learn languages and finish [their] education".{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=83}} The trip started in 1847, when Mina journeyed to [[Dresden]] due to her mother's desire for her daughters to learn German.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=83–84}} From 1847 to 1849, she and her family lived in Paris near the [[Arc de Triomphe]], and were kindly received by the French Royal Family headed by [[Louis Philippe I]] and [[Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily|Queen Marie Amalie]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=110–17}} They left soon after the king and queen's [[French Revolution of 1848|fall from power]], as the city had suddenly become unsafe for those of their rank.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=120–23}} In 1850, they visited the court of [[Kingdom of Hanover|Hanover]] and were received by [[Ernest Augustus I of Hanover]] and his family; later that year, they returned to Kensington Palace and Mina and Millicent [[Season (society)|came out in society]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=129–44}}

==Marriage==
[[File:Earl of Munster 25 February 1882.jpg|thumb|right|180px|The Earl of Munster as caricatured by Spy ([[Leslie Ward]]) in ''[[Vanity Fair (British magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'', February 1882 ]]
Mina married her first cousin [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]] at [[Wemyss Castle]] on 17 April 1855 in a double wedding in which her sister Millicent married [[James Hay Erskine Wemyss]].{{sfn|Julian Stanley Long|1916|p=201}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=152}} Like Mina, FitzClarence was a grandchild of William IV; at a young age, he had succeeded his father the [[George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster|1st Earl]], who served as a governor of Windsor Castle and constable of the [[Round Tower (Portsmouth)|Round Tower]] until his suicide in 1842.{{sfn|Reynolds|2004}} The FitzClarences travelled to Hamburg immediately after the wedding, visiting local ''[[schloss]]es'' and the family of [[Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein]] (who later married [[Princess Helena of the United Kingdom|The Princess Helena]]).{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=153–56}} Their first child, Edward, was born within a year.{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}} The couple would have nine children:
* Edward, Viscount FitzClarence (29 March 1856 – 1870){{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}
* Hon. Lionel Frederick Archibald (24 July 1857 – 1863){{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}
* [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster]] (18 July 1859 – 2 February 1902); died without issue{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=2035}}
* Hon. Arthur Falkland Manners (18 October 1860 – 1861){{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}
* [[Aubrey FitzClarence, 4th Earl of Munster]] (7 June 1862 – 1 January 1928); died without issue{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=2035}}
* Hon. William George (17 September 1864 – 4 October 1899); married Charlotte Elizabeth Williams{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=2035}}
* Hon. Harold Edward (15 November 1870 – 28 August 1926); married Frances Isabel Eleanor Keppel; their son was the [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 5th Earl of Munster|5th Earl of Munster]]{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=48}}
* Lady Lillian Adelaide Katherine Mary (10 December 1873 – 15 July 1948); married Captain William Arthur Boyd{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|2003|p=470}}
* Lady Dorothea Augusta (5 May 1876 – 1942); married Major Chandos Brydges Lee-Warner{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp60749/lady-dorothea-augusta-lee-warner |title=Lady Dorothea Augusta Lee-Warner |publisher=[[National Portrait Gallery, London|National Portrait Gallery]] |accessdate=17 February 2014}}</ref>

The Earl and Countess of Munster lived at [[Palmeira Square]] in [[Brighton]].{{sfn|Lady's Realm|p=197}}{{sfn|Dod|1903|p=654}}{{sfn|Addison|Oakes|1901|p=821}} In 1897, the contemporary women's magazine ''[[Lady's Realm]]'' reported that the Countess had lived in retirement in the city for the past thirty-five years. Her attachment to Brighton, the article asserted, was due to childhood memories of visiting there with King William.{{sfn|Lady's Realm|p=197}} The 1897 ''Lady's Realm'' article also stated that because Lord Munster's health was failing, the Countess was reported to be living in "comparative seclusion" (though her lifestyle was also attributed to a love of a "quiet, literary, and artistic life").{{sfn|Lady's Realm|p=197}} She died on 9 October 1906,{{sfn|Brooke|1907|p=1275}} having been widowed five years.{{sfn|Debrett's|p=601}}

==Literary career==
{{Library resources box|by=yes|onlinebooksby=yes|lcheading= Munster, Wilhelmina Fitzclarence, Countess of, 1830–1906}}
Later in life, Lady Munster became a novelist and short story writer, writing under the title the Countess of Munster. At the age of nearly sixty,{{sfn|Wilson|2000|p=219}} she published two novels; her first, ''Dorinda'', in 1889, and her second, ''A Scotch Earl'', in 1891.{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} The plot of ''Dorinda'' centred on a young woman who eventually kills herself after stealing works of art from her friends. [[Oscar Wilde]] noted Munster's skill in writing ''Dorinda''; he compared the "exceedingly clever" novel's eponymous heroine to "a sort of well-born" [[Becky Sharp (character)|Becky Sharp]],{{sfn|Wilde|1910|p=110}} and praised the author's ability "to draw ... in a few sentences the most lifelike portraits of social types and social exceptions".{{sfn|Youngkin|2013}} In 1888, an article by Munster about ballad singing appeared in ''[[The Woman's World]]'', a Victorian women's magazine edited by Wilde.{{sfn|Youngkin|2013}} ''A Scotch Earl'', which centred on a vulgar Scottish nobleman named Lord Invergordon, was less well-received by contemporaries. ''[[The Spectator]]'' published a critical review soon after its publication which suggested that the novel's showering of "contempt upon the society of wealth and rank" was close to [[Republicanism in the United Kingdom|Republicanism]] or [[Socialism]].{{sfn|The Spectator|p=297}} The review criticised ''A Scotch Earl'' for lacking "any merits of construction or style", and added that Lady Munster was "not and never will be a capable novelist".{{sfn|The Spectator|p=297}}

In 1896, Munster released ''Ghostly Tales'', a collection of stories "written in a manner similar to accounts of true hauntings".{{sfn|Anderson|2012}}{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} ''Lady's Realm'' considered her stories to be based on fact.{{sfn|Lady's Realm|p=197}} A positive review of ''Ghostly Tales'' was published in the ''[[Saturday Review (London)|Saturday Review]]'' in 1897, in which the stories were described as "entertaining and dramatic", but it was noted that not all were based on supernatural events.{{sfn|Cook|1897|p=230}} Hugh Lamb included the Countess's "surprisingly grim" story "The Tyburn Ghost" in his 1979 edited volume ''Tales from a Gas-Lit Graveyard''. He wrote at the time that Lady Munster's works had been "completely overlooked by bibliophiles and anthologists since her death".{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} Lamb deemed this regrettable, as he considered ''Ghostly Tales'' "possibly her best work" and one of the "truly representative collections of Victorian ghost stories".{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} Lamb also included another of her stories, "The Page-Boy's Ghost", in a 1988 anthology.{{sfn|Lamb|1988|p=208}} However, modern author and editor [[Douglas A. Anderson]] has called the Countess's stories "standard, melodramatic fare", which are "perfectly forgettable".{{sfn|Anderson|2012}}

In 1904, Lady Munster produced an autobiography entitled ''My Memories and Miscellanies''. In its [[foreword]], she explained that "some valued friends" convinced her to write it, despite her reluctance, because her "long life" had witnessed "not a few interesting events".{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=vii}} The book was called her "chief work" in ''[[The Manchester Guardian]]'' at the time of her death in 1906.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Memorial Notices |newspaper=[[The Manchester Guardian]] |date=12 October 1906 |page=7}}</ref> The Countess wrote the entire book by memory, and expressed regret that she had given up her journal writing as a young girl after someone else improperly read it.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=112}} The autobiography included several recounted sightings of the female ghost "Green Jean" at Wemyss Castle; Lady Munster claimed that several members of her family, including Millicent, saw the ghost while staying there.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=159–64}}

==Ancestry==
{{ahnentafel top|width=100%}}
{{ahnentafel-compact5
|style=font-size: 90%; line-height: 110%;
|border=1
|boxstyle=padding-top: 0; padding-bottom: 0;
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe;
|1= 1. '''Wilhelmina Kennedy-Erskine'''
|2= 2. Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine
|3= 3. [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]]
|4= 4. [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa]]
|5= 5. Margaret Erskine
|6= 6. [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]
|7= 7. [[Dorothea Jordan|Dorothea Bland]]
|8= 8. [[Archibald Kennedy, 11th Earl of Cassilis]]
|9= 9. Anne Watts
|10= 10. John Erskine
|11= 11. Mary Baird
|12= 12. [[George III of the United Kingdom]]
|13= 13. [[Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz|Duchess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
|14= 14. Francis Bland
|15= 15. Grace Phillips
|16= 16. Archibald Kennedy
|18= 18. John Watts
|19= 19. Ann DeLancey
|20= 20. John Erskine of Dunard
|22= 22. William Baird
|23= 23. Alicia Johnston
|24= 24. [[Frederick, Prince of Wales]]
|25= 25. [[Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha]]
|26= 26. [[Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg|Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
|27= 27. [[Princess Elizabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen]]
|28= 28. James Bland
|29= 29. Lucy Brewster
}}</center>
{{ahnentafel bottom}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

;Works cited
{{refbegin|colwidth=30em}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=8EcuAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA821&dq=Palmeira+Square+earl+of+munster#v=onepage&q=Palmeira%20Square%20earl%20of%20munster&f=false | title = Who's Who | year = 1901 |first1=Henry Robert |last1=Addison |first2=Charles Henry |last2=Oakes |publisher=Adam & Charles Black |location=London |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite web|url=http://desturmobed.blogspot.com/2012/05/countess-of-munster.html |first=Douglas A. |last=Anderson |authorlink=Douglas A. Anderson |title=The Countess of Munster |date=10 May 2012 |publisher=Desturmobed.blogspot.com |accessdate= 7 November 2013 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite journal| url = http://books.google.com/?id=tBo7AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA198&dq=queen+victoria+%22lady+munster%22#v=onepage&q=queen%20victoria%20%22lady%20munster%22&f=false |title=Brighton Society |volume=1 | year = 1897 |location=London |publisher=Hutchinson and Co |p=198 |journal=[[Lady's Realm]] |ref={{sfnRef|Lady's Realm}} }}
* {{Cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=cLc7AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA601&dq=2nd+%22earl+of+munster%22+1901&hl=en&sa=X&ei=B0aCU5KQI4qMqgbljIDIDA&ved=0CDMQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=2nd%20%22earl%20of%20munster%22%201901&f=false |title=Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage, and Companionage |year=1902 |volume=189 |location=London |publisher=Dean & Son Limited |ref={{sfnRef|Debrett's}}}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=w0pLAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA1275&lpg=PA1275&dq=wilhelmina+1906+munster#v=onepage&q=wilhelmina%201906%20munster&f=false | title =Who's Who: An Annual Biographical Dictionary | year = 1907 |first=Douglas |last=Brooke |coauthors=Wheelton Sladen |location=London |publisher=Adam & Charles Black |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=K1YwAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA25&lpg=PA25&dq=countess+of+munster+kennedy-erskine#v=onepage&q=countess%20of%20munster%20kennedy-erskine&f=false | title = A Memoir of Her Royal Highness Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck, Volume 1 |first=Mary Adelaide of |last=Cambridge |authorlink=Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge | year = 1900 |location=London |publisher=John Murray |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite journal| url = http://books.google.com/?id=aZE_AQAAIAAJ&pg=PA230&dq=%22countess+of+munster%22+novelist#v=onepage&q=%22countess%20of%20munster%22%20novelist&f=false | title = Fiction |volume=83 | last1= Cook | first1 = John Douglas |coauthors=Philip Harwood, Frank Harris, Walter Herries Pollock, Harold Hodge | year = 1897 |location=London |journal=[[Saturday Review (London)|Saturday Review]] |p=230 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book | url = http://books.google.com/?id=uZstAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA654&dq=Palmeira+Square+earl+of+munster#v=onepage&q=Palmeira%20Square%20earl%20of%20munster&f=false | title = Dod's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage of Great Britain, and Ireland for ... : Including All the Titled Classes | last1 = Dod | first1 = Charles Roger | year = 1903 |location=London |publisher=Ampson, Low, Marston & Company |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books/about/My_Memories_and_Miscellanies.html?id=x40xAQAAMAAJ |title=My Memories and Miscellanies |first=Wilhelmina |last=FitzClarence|year=1904 |location=London |publisher=Eveleigh Nash |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=KDw6AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA722&dq=%22Wilhelmina%22+%22Kennedy-Erskine%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=mIWCUt_KKOWU2gW6xYDwBA&ved=0CCwQ6AEwADge#v=onepage&q=%22Wilhelmina%22%20%22Kennedy-Erskine%22&f=false |title=Armorial Families: A Complete Peerage, Baronetage, and Knightage |editor1-first=Arthur Charles |editor1-last=Fox-Davies |year=1895 |location=Edinburgh |publisher=T.C. & E.C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=GlIwAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA201&dq=kennedy-erskine+earl+munster#v=onepage&q=kennedy-erskine%20earl%20munster&f=false | title = Twenty Years at Court: From the Correspondence of the Hon. Eleanor Stanley, Maid of Honour to Her Late Majesty Queen Victoria, 1842–1862 | last1 = Julian Stanley Long | first1 = Eleanor | year = 1916 |location=New York |publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=zYNfom9HQPIC&pg=PA163&dq=%22countess+of+munster%22+novelist#v=onepage&q=%22countess%20of%20munster%22%20novelist&f=false | title =Tales from a Gas-Lit Graveyard | isbn = 978-0-486-43429-2 | editor-first = Hugh | year = 1979 |publisher=W.H. Allen |location=London | editor-last = Lamb |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=aB6iSLC66cwC&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=%22countess+of+munster%22&ots=ntS1c8R4iB&sig=yEEHRmdty-U5w-Yz6D1C6HVkinA#v=onepage&q=munster&f=false | title =Gaslit Nightmares | isbn = 0-486-44924-6| editor-first = Hugh | year = 1988 |publisher=Futura Publications |location=London | editor-last = Lamb |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/books?id=IIsUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA13&dq=John+Kennedy-Erskine+fitzclarence+1831&hl=en&sa=X&ei=uAUFU9CWE4a9yAGt8oHIAg&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=John%20Kennedy-Erskine%20fitzclarence%201831&f=false | title = The Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire as at Present Existing | last1 = Lodge | first1 = Edmund |coauthors=Anne Innes, Eliza Innes, Maria Innes | year = 1832 |publisher=Ibotson and Palmer |location=London |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=BxQwAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA453&dq=Wilhelmina+Kennedy-Erskine+fitzclarence#v=onepage&q=Wilhelmina%20Kennedy-Erskine%20fitzclarence&f=false | title = The Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire as at Present Existing | last1 = Lodge | first1 = Edmund |coauthors=Anne Innes, Eliza Innes, Maria Innes | year = 1890 |publisher=Hurst and Blackett |location=London |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |title=Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage |edition=106th |editor-last=Mosley |editor-first=Charles |year=1999 |location=Crans, Switzerland |publisher=Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |title=Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage |edition=107th |editor-last=Mosley |editor-first=Charles |year=2003 |location=Wilmington, Delaware |publisher=Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite journal| url = http://books.google.com/books?id=jkg9AQAAIAAJ&pg=RA1-PA297&dq=munster+A+%22Scotch+Earl%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=W_qAU6yYEM6iyATPzoL4CQ&ved=0CFwQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=munster%20A%20%22Scotch%20Earl%22&f=false | title= Recent Novels |volume=Volumes 66-67 | year = 1891 |p=297 |location=London |publisher=John Campbell |journal=[[The Spectator]] |ref={{sfnRef|The Spectator}} }}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Reynolds|first=K.D.|title=FitzClarence, George Augustus Frederick, first earl of Munster (1794–1842) |id=9542|date=2004 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite journal| url = http://books.google.com/?id=ljpRAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA454&dq=%22countess+of+munster%22+novelist#v=onepage&q=%22countess%20of%20munster%22%20novelist&f=false | journal= [[The Academy (periodical)|The Academy and Literature]] |volume=66 |chapter=Short Notices | date = 23 April 1904 |page=454 |publisher= |location=London |ref={{sfnRef|Academy and Literature}}}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=0NIVAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA111&dq=munster+wilde&hl=en&sa=X&ei=9veAU6m5CY6pyATbuIEw&ved=0CE4Q6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=munster&f=false |title=The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde: Together with Essays and Stories by Lady Wilde, Volume 4 |first=Oscar |last=Wilde |authorlink=Oscar Wilde |year=1910 |publisher=Aldine Publishing Company |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?ei=uy54U_-sFcupyASi4oCYBw&id=l1QYAQAAIAAJ&dq=munster+fitzclarence+wilhelmina&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=munster |title=Shadows in the Attic: A Guide to British Supernatural Fiction, 1820–1950 |last= Wilson |first=Neil |year=2000 |location=London |publisher=British Library Publishing Division |isbn=978-0-7123-1074-1 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=gAfVIVra9C4C&pg=PA854&dq=Wilhelmina+Kennedy-Erskine+fitzclarence#v=onepage&q=Wilhelmina%20Kennedy-Erskine%20fitzclarence&f=false |title=The Life and Reign of William the Fourth |last= Wright |first=G.N. |year=1837 |location=London |publisher=Fisher, Son, & Co |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url =http://books.google.com/books?id=bWRZAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT442&dq=munster+fitzclarence+wilhelmina&hl=en&sa=X&ei=uy54U_-sFcupyASi4oCYBw&ved=0CCoQ6AEwADgK#v=onepage&q=munster&f=false | title =Wilde Discoveries: Traditions, Histories, Archives |chapter=The Aestetic Character of Oscar Wilde's The Woman's World |first=Molly |last=Youngkin | asin= B00HCLU9EW| editor-first = Joseph | year = 2013 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |location=London | editor-last = Bristow |ref=harv}}

{{refend}}
{{Commons category|Augusta FitzClarence Kennedy-Erskine }}

{{Persondata
| NAME = FitzClarence, Wilhelmina, Countess of Munster
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION =
| DATE OF BIRTH = 27 June 1830
| PLACE OF BIRTH = [[House of Dun|Dun House]], Montrose, Scotland
| DATE OF DEATH = 9 October 1906
| PLACE OF DEATH = Hove, Sussex, England
}}
[[Category:FitzClarence family]]
[[Category:1830 births]]
[[Category:1906 deaths]]
[[Category:British countesses]]
[[Category:People from Montrose, Angus]]
[[Category:19th-century British novelists]]
[[Category:British short story writers]]
[[Category:British horror writers]]
[[Category:Women short story writers]]
[[Category:20th-century British novelists]]

Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster

2014-05-25T19:56:16Z

Ruby2010: Found a bit more to add to marriage section

{{Infobox noble|type
| name = Wilhelmina Kennedy-Erskine
| title = Countess of Munster
| image = Countess of Munster 1904 frontispiece.jpg
| caption =
| alt =
| CoA =
| more = no
| succession =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| suc-type =
| spouse = [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]]
| spouse-type = Husband
| issue = Edward, Viscount FitzClarence Hon. Lionel Frederick Archibald [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster]] Hon. Arthur Falkland Manners [[Aubrey FitzClarence, 4th Earl of Munster]] Hon. William George Hon. Harold Edward Lady Lillian Boyd Lady Dorothea Lee-Warner
| full name =
| styles =
| titles =
| noble family = [[:Category:FitzClarence family|FitzClarence family]]
| house-type = nobility
| father = Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine
| mother = [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1830|06|27|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[House of Dun|Dun House]], Montrose, Scotland
| christening_date =
| christening_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1906|10|09|1830|06|27|df=y}}
| death_place =
| burial_date =
| burial_place =
| religion =
| occupation = Peeress, novelist
}}
'''Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster''' (''née'' '''Kennedy-Erskine'''; 27 June 1830 – 9 October 1906) was a British peeress and novelist. Her mother, [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]], was an illegitimate daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]; Wilhelmina, also known as Mina, was born the day after William's succession as monarch. She travelled as a young girl throughout Europe, visiting the courts of [[July Monarchy|France]] and [[Kingdom of Hanover|Hanover]]. In 1855, Mina married her first cousin [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]]; they would have nine children, including the [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster|3rd]] and [[Aubrey FitzClarence, 4th Earl of Munster|4th]] Earls of Munster.

The Earl and Countess of Munster lived at [[Palmeira Square]] in [[Brighton]]. Later in life, Lady Munster became a novelist and short story writer. In 1889, she released her first novel, ''Dorinda''; a second, ''A Scotch Earl'', followed two years later. The year 1896 saw the publication of ''Ghostly Tales'', a collection of tales on the supernatural which have largely been forgotten today. Lady Munster also produced an autobiography entitled ''My Memories and Miscellanies'', which was released in 1904. She died two years later.

==Family and early life==
[[File:Lady Augusta FitzClarence and children.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Wilhelmina with her mother Lady Augusta and two siblings.]]
Wilhelmina "Mina" Kennedy-Erskine was born on 27 June 1830 in [[House of Dun|Dun House]], Montrose, Scotland. She was the third child of the Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine and his wife [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]], an illegitimate daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom|William IV]] (who became monarch the day before Mina's birth).{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=3}} Her father, the second son of the [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa|13th Earl of Cassilis]], was a captain with the [[16th The Queen's Lancers|16th Lancers]] and an [[equerry]] to King William before dying in 1831 at the age of 28.<ref>{{Cite news|title=The Queen's Third Drawing Room |newspaper=[[The Observer]] |date=27 March 1831 |page=1}}</ref>{{sfn|Lodge|1832|p=13}}

Mina lived with her widowed mother and two siblings in a "charming brick house" on the [[River Thames]] called Railshead, which was next door to a house owned by her paternal grandparents.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=5–7}} King William visited the family often and was quite fond of Mina;{{sfn|Academy and Literature|p=454}} on one occasion, he visited to comfort his daughter when three- or four-year-old Mina nearly died of a "very dangerous brain fever".{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=8}} The Kennedy-Erskines also often visited [[Windsor Castle]] during the king's reign.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=34}}

Five years after Kennedy-Erskine's death, Lady Augusta remarried to [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton]], a decision that displeased her first husband's parents.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=40}} The decision led to Lady Augusta's departure from Railshead. In 1837 she became State Housekeeper at [[Kensington Palace]] after the death of her sister, [[Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley|Lady De L'Isle]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}}{{sfn|Cambridge|1900|p=25}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=42}} Mina lived there until she married.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=50}} She and her sister Millicent enjoyed music and had a particular love for the Italian soprano [[Marietta Alboni]]. The sisters' Italian singing-master secretly arranged for a meeting with Alboni, but the encounter did not go well; the singer discovered that they were the daughters of the "housekeeper", and, assuming that they were not ladies, departed soon after.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=61–64}}

In the late 1840s, Mina travelled through Europe with her family so that they might "learn languages and finish [their] education".{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=83}} The trip started in 1847, when Mina journeyed to [[Dresden]] due to her mother's desire for her daughters to learn German.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=83–84}} From 1847 to 1849, she and her family lived in Paris near the [[Arc de Triomphe]], and were kindly received by the French Royal Family headed by [[Louis Philippe I]] and [[Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily|Queen Marie Amalie]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=110–17}} They left soon after the king and queen's [[French Revolution of 1848|fall from power]], as the city had suddenly become unsafe for those of their rank.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=120–23}} In 1850, they visited the court of [[Kingdom of Hanover|Hanover]] and were received by [[Ernest Augustus I of Hanover]] and his family; later that year, they returned to Kensington Palace and Mina and Millicent [[Season (society)|came out in society]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=129–44}}

==Marriage==
[[File:Earl of Munster 25 February 1882.jpg|thumb|right|180px|The Earl of Munster as caricatured by Spy ([[Leslie Ward]]) in ''[[Vanity Fair (British magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'', February 1882 ]]
Mina married her first cousin [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]] at [[Wemyss Castle]] on 17 April 1855 in a double wedding in which her sister Millicent married [[James Hay Erskine Wemyss]].{{sfn|Julian Stanley Long|1916|p=201}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=152}} Like Mina, FitzClarence was a grandchild of William IV; at a young age, he had succeeded his father the [[George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster|1st Earl]], who served as a governor of Windsor Castle and constable of the [[Round Tower (Portsmouth)|Round Tower]] until his suicide in 1842.{{sfn|Reynolds|2004}} The FitzClarences travelled to Hamburg immediately after the wedding, visiting local ''[[schloss]]es'' and the family of [[Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein]] (who later married [[Princess Helena of the United Kingdom|The Princess Helena]]).{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=153–56}} Their first child, Edward, was born within a year.{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}} The couple would have nine children:
* Edward, Viscount FitzClarence (29 March 1856 – 1870){{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}
* Hon. Lionel Frederick Archibald (24 July 1857 – 1863){{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}
* [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster]] (18 July 1859 – 2 February 1902); died without issue{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=2035}}
* Hon. Arthur Falkland Manners (18 October 1860 – 1861){{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}
* [[Aubrey FitzClarence, 4th Earl of Munster]] (7 June 1862 – 1 January 1928); died without issue{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=2035}}
* Hon. William George (17 September 1864 – 4 October 1899); married Charlotte Elizabeth Williams{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=2035}}
* Hon. Harold Edward (15 November 1870 – 28 August 1926); married Frances Isabel Eleanor Keppel; their son was the [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 5th Earl of Munster|5th Earl of Munster]]{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=48}}
* Lady Lillian Adelaide Katherine Mary (10 December 1873 – 15 July 1948); married Captain William Arthur Boyd{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|2003|p=470}}
* Lady Dorothea Augusta (5 May 1876 – 1942); married Major Chandos Brydges Lee-Warner{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp60749/lady-dorothea-augusta-lee-warner |title=Lady Dorothea Augusta Lee-Warner |publisher=[[National Portrait Gallery, London|National Portrait Gallery]] |accessdate=17 February 2014}}</ref>

The Earl and Countess of Munster lived at [[Palmeira Square]] in [[Brighton]].{{sfn|Lady's Realm|p=197}}{{sfn|Dod|1903|p=654}}{{sfn|Addison|Oakes|1901|p=821}} In 1897, the contemporary women's magazine ''[[Lady's Realm]]'' reported that the Countess had lived in retirement in the city for the past thirty-five years. Her attachment to Brighton, the article asserted, was due to childhood memories of visiting there with King William.{{sfn|Lady's Realm|p=197}} The 1897 ''Lady's Realm'' article also stated that because Lord Munster's health was failing, the Countess was reported to be living in "comparative seclusion" (though her lifestyle was also attributed to a love of a "quiet, literary, and artistic life").{{sfn|Lady's Realm|p=197}} She died on 9 October 1906,{{sfn|Brooke|1907|p=1275}} having been widowed five years.{{sfn|Debrett's|p=601}}

==Literary career==
{{Library resources box|by=yes|onlinebooksby=yes|lcheading= Munster, Wilhelmina Fitzclarence, Countess of, 1830–1906}}
Later in life, Lady Munster became a novelist and short story writer, writing under the title the Countess of Munster. At the age of nearly sixty,{{sfn|Wilson|2000|p=219}} she published two novels; her first, ''Dorinda'', in 1889, and her second, ''A Scotch Earl'', in 1891.{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} The plot of ''Dorinda'' centred on a young woman who eventually kills herself after stealing works of art from her friends. [[Oscar Wilde]] noted Munster's skill in writing ''Dorinda''; he compared the "exceedingly clever" novel's eponymous heroine to "a sort of well-born" [[Becky Sharp (character)|Becky Sharp]],{{sfn|Wilde|1910|p=110}} and praised the author's ability "to draw ... in a few sentences the most lifelike portraits of social types and social exceptions".{{sfn|Youngkin|2013}} In 1888, an article by Munster about ballad singing appeared in ''[[The Woman's World]]'', a Victorian women's magazine edited by Wilde.{{sfn|Youngkin|2013}} ''A Scotch Earl'' was less well-received by contemporaries. ''[[The Spectator]]'' published a critical review soon after its publication which suggested that the novel's showering of "contempt upon the society of wealth and rank" was close to [[Republicanism in the United Kingdom|Republicanism]] or [[Socialism]].{{sfn|The Spectator|p=297}} The review criticised ''A Scotch Earl'' for lacking "any merits of construction or style", and added that Lady Munster was "not and never will be a capable novelist".{{sfn|The Spectator|p=297}}

In 1896, Munster released ''Ghostly Tales'', a collection of stories "written in a manner similar to accounts of true hauntings".{{sfn|Anderson|2012}}{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} ''Lady's Realm'' considered her stories to be based on fact.{{sfn|Lady's Realm|p=197}} A positive review of ''Ghostly Tales'' was published in the ''[[Saturday Review (London)|Saturday Review]]'' in 1897, in which the stories were described as "entertaining and dramatic", but it was noted that not all were based on supernatural events.{{sfn|Cook|1897|p=230}} Hugh Lamb included the Countess's "surprisingly grim" story "The Tyburn Ghost" in his 1979 edited volume ''Tales from a Gas-Lit Graveyard''. He wrote at the time that Lady Munster's works had been "completely overlooked by bibliophiles and anthologists since her death".{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} Lamb deemed this regrettable, as he considered ''Ghostly Tales'' "possibly her best work" and one of the "truly representative collections of Victorian ghost stories".{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} Lamb also included another of her stories, "The Page-Boy's Ghost", in a 1988 anthology.{{sfn|Lamb|1988|p=208}} However, modern author and editor [[Douglas A. Anderson]] has called the Countess's stories "standard, melodramatic fare", which are "perfectly forgettable".{{sfn|Anderson|2012}}

In 1904, Lady Munster produced an autobiography entitled ''My Memories and Miscellanies''. In its [[foreword]], she explained that "some valued friends" convinced her to write it, despite her reluctance, because her "long life" had witnessed "not a few interesting events".{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=vii}} The book was called her "chief work" in ''[[The Manchester Guardian]]'' at the time of her death in 1906.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Memorial Notices |newspaper=[[The Manchester Guardian]] |date=12 October 1906 |page=7}}</ref> The Countess wrote the entire book by memory, and expressed regret that she had given up her journal writing as a young girl after someone else improperly read it.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=112}} The autobiography included several recounted sightings of the female ghost "Green Jean" at Wemyss Castle; Lady Munster claimed that several members of her family, including Millicent, saw the ghost while staying there.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=159–64}}

==Ancestry==
{{ahnentafel top|width=100%}}
{{ahnentafel-compact5
|style=font-size: 90%; line-height: 110%;
|border=1
|boxstyle=padding-top: 0; padding-bottom: 0;
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe;
|1= 1. '''Wilhelmina Kennedy-Erskine'''
|2= 2. Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine
|3= 3. [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]]
|4= 4. [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa]]
|5= 5. Margaret Erskine
|6= 6. [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]
|7= 7. [[Dorothea Jordan|Dorothea Bland]]
|8= 8. [[Archibald Kennedy, 11th Earl of Cassilis]]
|9= 9. Anne Watts
|10= 10. John Erskine
|11= 11. Mary Baird
|12= 12. [[George III of the United Kingdom]]
|13= 13. [[Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz|Duchess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
|14= 14. Francis Bland
|15= 15. Grace Phillips
|16= 16. Archibald Kennedy
|18= 18. John Watts
|19= 19. Ann DeLancey
|20= 20. John Erskine of Dunard
|22= 22. William Baird
|23= 23. Alicia Johnston
|24= 24. [[Frederick, Prince of Wales]]
|25= 25. [[Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha]]
|26= 26. [[Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg|Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
|27= 27. [[Princess Elizabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen]]
|28= 28. James Bland
|29= 29. Lucy Brewster
}}</center>
{{ahnentafel bottom}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

;Works cited
{{refbegin|colwidth=30em}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=8EcuAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA821&dq=Palmeira+Square+earl+of+munster#v=onepage&q=Palmeira%20Square%20earl%20of%20munster&f=false | title = Who's Who | year = 1901 |first1=Henry Robert |last1=Addison |first2=Charles Henry |last2=Oakes |publisher=Adam & Charles Black |location=London |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite web|url=http://desturmobed.blogspot.com/2012/05/countess-of-munster.html |first=Douglas A. |last=Anderson |authorlink=Douglas A. Anderson |title=The Countess of Munster |date=10 May 2012 |publisher=Desturmobed.blogspot.com |accessdate= 7 November 2013 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite journal| url = http://books.google.com/?id=tBo7AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA198&dq=queen+victoria+%22lady+munster%22#v=onepage&q=queen%20victoria%20%22lady%20munster%22&f=false |title=Brighton Society |volume=1 | year = 1897 |location=London |publisher=Hutchinson and Co |p=198 |journal=[[Lady's Realm]] |ref={{sfnRef|Lady's Realm}} }}
* {{Cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=cLc7AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA601&dq=2nd+%22earl+of+munster%22+1901&hl=en&sa=X&ei=B0aCU5KQI4qMqgbljIDIDA&ved=0CDMQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=2nd%20%22earl%20of%20munster%22%201901&f=false |title=Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage, and Companionage |year=1902 |volume=189 |location=London |publisher=Dean & Son Limited |ref={{sfnRef|Debrett's}}}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=w0pLAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA1275&lpg=PA1275&dq=wilhelmina+1906+munster#v=onepage&q=wilhelmina%201906%20munster&f=false | title =Who's Who: An Annual Biographical Dictionary | year = 1907 |first=Douglas |last=Brooke |coauthors=Wheelton Sladen |location=London |publisher=Adam & Charles Black |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=K1YwAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA25&lpg=PA25&dq=countess+of+munster+kennedy-erskine#v=onepage&q=countess%20of%20munster%20kennedy-erskine&f=false | title = A Memoir of Her Royal Highness Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck, Volume 1 |first=Mary Adelaide of |last=Cambridge |authorlink=Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge | year = 1900 |location=London |publisher=John Murray |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite journal| url = http://books.google.com/?id=aZE_AQAAIAAJ&pg=PA230&dq=%22countess+of+munster%22+novelist#v=onepage&q=%22countess%20of%20munster%22%20novelist&f=false | title = Fiction |volume=83 | last1= Cook | first1 = John Douglas |coauthors=Philip Harwood, Frank Harris, Walter Herries Pollock, Harold Hodge | year = 1897 |location=London |journal=[[Saturday Review (London)|Saturday Review]] |p=230 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book | url = http://books.google.com/?id=uZstAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA654&dq=Palmeira+Square+earl+of+munster#v=onepage&q=Palmeira%20Square%20earl%20of%20munster&f=false | title = Dod's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage of Great Britain, and Ireland for ... : Including All the Titled Classes | last1 = Dod | first1 = Charles Roger | year = 1903 |location=London |publisher=Ampson, Low, Marston & Company |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books/about/My_Memories_and_Miscellanies.html?id=x40xAQAAMAAJ |title=My Memories and Miscellanies |first=Wilhelmina |last=FitzClarence|year=1904 |location=London |publisher=Eveleigh Nash |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=KDw6AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA722&dq=%22Wilhelmina%22+%22Kennedy-Erskine%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=mIWCUt_KKOWU2gW6xYDwBA&ved=0CCwQ6AEwADge#v=onepage&q=%22Wilhelmina%22%20%22Kennedy-Erskine%22&f=false |title=Armorial Families: A Complete Peerage, Baronetage, and Knightage |editor1-first=Arthur Charles |editor1-last=Fox-Davies |year=1895 |location=Edinburgh |publisher=T.C. & E.C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=GlIwAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA201&dq=kennedy-erskine+earl+munster#v=onepage&q=kennedy-erskine%20earl%20munster&f=false | title = Twenty Years at Court: From the Correspondence of the Hon. Eleanor Stanley, Maid of Honour to Her Late Majesty Queen Victoria, 1842–1862 | last1 = Julian Stanley Long | first1 = Eleanor | year = 1916 |location=New York |publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=zYNfom9HQPIC&pg=PA163&dq=%22countess+of+munster%22+novelist#v=onepage&q=%22countess%20of%20munster%22%20novelist&f=false | title =Tales from a Gas-Lit Graveyard | isbn = 978-0-486-43429-2 | editor-first = Hugh | year = 1979 |publisher=W.H. Allen |location=London | editor-last = Lamb |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=aB6iSLC66cwC&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=%22countess+of+munster%22&ots=ntS1c8R4iB&sig=yEEHRmdty-U5w-Yz6D1C6HVkinA#v=onepage&q=munster&f=false | title =Gaslit Nightmares | isbn = 0-486-44924-6| editor-first = Hugh | year = 1988 |publisher=Futura Publications |location=London | editor-last = Lamb |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/books?id=IIsUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA13&dq=John+Kennedy-Erskine+fitzclarence+1831&hl=en&sa=X&ei=uAUFU9CWE4a9yAGt8oHIAg&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=John%20Kennedy-Erskine%20fitzclarence%201831&f=false | title = The Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire as at Present Existing | last1 = Lodge | first1 = Edmund |coauthors=Anne Innes, Eliza Innes, Maria Innes | year = 1832 |publisher=Ibotson and Palmer |location=London |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=BxQwAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA453&dq=Wilhelmina+Kennedy-Erskine+fitzclarence#v=onepage&q=Wilhelmina%20Kennedy-Erskine%20fitzclarence&f=false | title = The Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire as at Present Existing | last1 = Lodge | first1 = Edmund |coauthors=Anne Innes, Eliza Innes, Maria Innes | year = 1890 |publisher=Hurst and Blackett |location=London |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |title=Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage |edition=106th |editor-last=Mosley |editor-first=Charles |year=1999 |location=Crans, Switzerland |publisher=Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |title=Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage |edition=107th |editor-last=Mosley |editor-first=Charles |year=2003 |location=Wilmington, Delaware |publisher=Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite journal| url = http://books.google.com/books?id=jkg9AQAAIAAJ&pg=RA1-PA297&dq=munster+A+%22Scotch+Earl%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=W_qAU6yYEM6iyATPzoL4CQ&ved=0CFwQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=munster%20A%20%22Scotch%20Earl%22&f=false | title= Recent Novels |volume=Volumes 66-67 | year = 1891 |p=297 |location=London |publisher=John Campbell |journal=[[The Spectator]] |ref={{sfnRef|The Spectator}} }}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Reynolds|first=K.D.|title=FitzClarence, George Augustus Frederick, first earl of Munster (1794–1842) |id=9542|date=2004 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite journal| url = http://books.google.com/?id=ljpRAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA454&dq=%22countess+of+munster%22+novelist#v=onepage&q=%22countess%20of%20munster%22%20novelist&f=false | journal= [[The Academy (periodical)|The Academy and Literature]] |volume=66 |chapter=Short Notices | date = 23 April 1904 |page=454 |publisher= |location=London |ref={{sfnRef|Academy and Literature}}}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=0NIVAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA111&dq=munster+wilde&hl=en&sa=X&ei=9veAU6m5CY6pyATbuIEw&ved=0CE4Q6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=munster&f=false |title=The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde: Together with Essays and Stories by Lady Wilde, Volume 4 |first=Oscar |last=Wilde |authorlink=Oscar Wilde |year=1910 |publisher=Aldine Publishing Company |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?ei=uy54U_-sFcupyASi4oCYBw&id=l1QYAQAAIAAJ&dq=munster+fitzclarence+wilhelmina&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=munster |title=Shadows in the Attic: A Guide to British Supernatural Fiction, 1820–1950 |last= Wilson |first=Neil |year=2000 |location=London |publisher=British Library Publishing Division |isbn=978-0-7123-1074-1 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=gAfVIVra9C4C&pg=PA854&dq=Wilhelmina+Kennedy-Erskine+fitzclarence#v=onepage&q=Wilhelmina%20Kennedy-Erskine%20fitzclarence&f=false |title=The Life and Reign of William the Fourth |last= Wright |first=G.N. |year=1837 |location=London |publisher=Fisher, Son, & Co |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url =http://books.google.com/books?id=bWRZAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT442&dq=munster+fitzclarence+wilhelmina&hl=en&sa=X&ei=uy54U_-sFcupyASi4oCYBw&ved=0CCoQ6AEwADgK#v=onepage&q=munster&f=false | title =Wilde Discoveries: Traditions, Histories, Archives |chapter=The Aestetic Character of Oscar Wilde's The Woman's World |first=Molly |last=Youngkin | asin= B00HCLU9EW| editor-first = Joseph | year = 2013 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |location=London | editor-last = Bristow |ref=harv}}

{{refend}}
{{Commons category|Augusta FitzClarence Kennedy-Erskine }}

{{Persondata
| NAME = FitzClarence, Wilhelmina, Countess of Munster
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION =
| DATE OF BIRTH = 27 June 1830
| PLACE OF BIRTH = [[House of Dun|Dun House]], Montrose, Scotland
| DATE OF DEATH = 9 October 1906
| PLACE OF DEATH = Hove, Sussex, England
}}
[[Category:FitzClarence family]]
[[Category:1830 births]]
[[Category:1906 deaths]]
[[Category:British countesses]]
[[Category:People from Montrose, Angus]]
[[Category:19th-century British novelists]]
[[Category:British short story writers]]
[[Category:British horror writers]]
[[Category:Women short story writers]]
[[Category:20th-century British novelists]]

Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster

2014-05-25T19:20:45Z

Ruby2010: Tweaks to citation formatting

{{Infobox noble|type
| name = Wilhelmina Kennedy-Erskine
| title = Countess of Munster
| image = Countess of Munster 1904 frontispiece.jpg
| caption =
| alt =
| CoA =
| more = no
| succession =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| suc-type =
| spouse = [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]]
| spouse-type = Husband
| issue = Edward, Viscount FitzClarence Hon. Lionel Frederick Archibald [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster]] Hon. Arthur Falkland Manners [[Aubrey FitzClarence, 4th Earl of Munster]] Hon. William George Hon. Harold Edward Lady Lillian Boyd Lady Dorothea Lee-Warner
| full name =
| styles =
| titles =
| noble family = [[:Category:FitzClarence family|FitzClarence family]]
| house-type = nobility
| father = Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine
| mother = [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1830|06|27|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[House of Dun|Dun House]], Montrose, Scotland
| christening_date =
| christening_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1906|10|09|1830|06|27|df=y}}
| death_place = Hove, Sussex, England
| burial_date =
| burial_place =
| religion =
| occupation = Peeress, novelist
}}
'''Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster''' (''née'' '''Kennedy-Erskine'''; 27 June 1830 – 9 October 1906) was a British peeress and novelist. Her mother, [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]], was an illegitimate daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]; Wilhelmina, also known as Mina, was born the day after William's succession as monarch. She travelled as a young girl throughout Europe, visiting the courts of [[July Monarchy|France]] and [[Kingdom of Hanover|Hanover]]. In 1855, Mina married her first cousin [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]]; they would have nine children, including the [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster|3rd]] and [[Aubrey FitzClarence, 4th Earl of Munster|4th]] Earls of Munster.

The Earl and Countess of Munster lived at [[Palmeira Square]] in [[Brighton]]. Later in life, Lady Munster became a novelist and short story writer. In 1889, she released her first novel, ''Dorinda''; a second, ''A Scotch Earl'', followed two years later. The year 1896 saw the publication of ''Ghostly Tales'', a collection of tales on the supernatural which have largely been forgotten today. Lady Munster also produced an autobiography entitled ''My Memories and Miscellanies'', which was released in 1904. She died two years later.

==Family and early life==
[[File:Lady Augusta FitzClarence and children.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Wilhelmina with her mother Lady Augusta and two siblings.]]
Wilhelmina "Mina" Kennedy-Erskine was born on 27 June 1830 in [[House of Dun|Dun House]], Montrose, Scotland. She was the third child of the Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine and his wife [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]], an illegitimate daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom|William IV]] (who became monarch the day before Mina's birth).{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=3}} Her father, the second son of the [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa|13th Earl of Cassilis]], was a captain with the [[16th The Queen's Lancers|16th Lancers]] and an [[equerry]] to King William before dying in 1831 at the age of 28.<ref>{{Cite news|title=The Queen's Third Drawing Room |newspaper=[[The Observer]] |date=27 March 1831 |page=1}}</ref>{{sfn|Lodge|1832|p=13}}

Mina lived with her widowed mother and two siblings in a "charming brick house" on the [[River Thames]] called Railshead, which was next door to a house owned by her paternal grandparents.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=5–7}} King William visited the family often and was quite fond of Mina;{{sfn|Academy and Literature|p=454}} on one occasion, he visited to comfort his daughter when three- or four-year-old Mina nearly died of a "very dangerous brain fever".{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=8}} The Kennedy-Erskines also often visited [[Windsor Castle]] during the king's reign.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=34}}

Five years after Kennedy-Erskine's death, Lady Augusta remarried to [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton]], a decision that displeased her first husband's parents.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=40}} The decision led to Lady Augusta's departure from Railshead. In 1837 she became State Housekeeper at [[Kensington Palace]] after the death of her sister, [[Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley|Lady De L'Isle]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}}{{sfn|Cambridge|1900|p=25}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=42}} Mina lived there until she married.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=50}} She and her sister Millicent enjoyed music and had a particular love for the Italian soprano [[Marietta Alboni]]. The sisters' Italian singing-master secretly arranged for a meeting with Alboni, but the encounter did not go well; the singer discovered that they were the daughters of the "housekeeper", and, assuming that they were not ladies, departed soon after.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=61–64}}

In the late 1840s, Mina travelled through Europe with her family so that they might "learn languages and finish [their] education".{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=83}} The trip started in 1847, when Mina journeyed to [[Dresden]] due to her mother's desire for her daughters to learn German.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=83–84}} From 1847 to 1849, she and her family lived in Paris near the [[Arc de Triomphe]], and were kindly received by the French Royal Family headed by [[Louis Philippe I]] and [[Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily|Queen Marie Amalie]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=110–17}} They left soon after the king and queen's [[French Revolution of 1848|fall from power]], as the city had suddenly become unsafe for those of their rank.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=120–23}} In 1850, they visited the court of [[Kingdom of Hanover|Hanover]] and were received by [[Ernest Augustus I of Hanover]] and his family; later that year, they returned to Kensington Palace and Mina and Millicent [[Season (society)|came out in society]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=129–44}}

==Marriage==
[[File:Earl of Munster 25 February 1882.jpg|thumb|right|180px|The Earl of Munster as caricatured by Spy ([[Leslie Ward]]) in ''[[Vanity Fair (British magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'', February 1882 ]]
Mina married her first cousin [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]] at [[Wemyss Castle]] on 17 April 1855 in a double wedding in which her sister Millicent married [[James Hay Erskine Wemyss]].{{sfn|Julian Stanley Long|1916|p=201}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=152}} Like Mina, FitzClarence was a grandchild of William IV; at a young age, he had succeeded his father the [[George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster|1st Earl]], who served as a governor of Windsor Castle and constable of the [[Round Tower (Portsmouth)|Round Tower]] until his suicide in 1842.{{sfn|Reynolds|2004}} The FitzClarences travelled to Hamburg immediately after the wedding, visiting local ''[[schloss]]es'' and the family of [[Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein]] (who later married [[Princess Helena of the United Kingdom|The Princess Helena]]).{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=153–56}} Their first child, Edward, was born within a year.{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}} The couple would have nine children:
* Edward, Viscount FitzClarence (29 March 1856 – 1870){{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}
* Hon. Lionel Frederick Archibald (24 July 1857 – 1863){{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}
* [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster]] (18 July 1859 – 2 February 1902); died without issue{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=2035}}
* Hon. Arthur Falkland Manners (18 October 1860 – 1861){{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}
* [[Aubrey FitzClarence, 4th Earl of Munster]] (7 June 1862 – 1 January 1928); died without issue{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=2035}}
* Hon. William George (17 September 1864 – 4 October 1899); married Charlotte Elizabeth Williams{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=2035}}
* Hon. Harold Edward (15 November 1870 – 28 August 1926); married Frances Isabel Eleanor Keppel; their son was the [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 5th Earl of Munster|5th Earl of Munster]]{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=48}}
* Lady Lillian Adelaide Katherine Mary (10 December 1873 – 15 July 1948); married Captain William Arthur Boyd{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|2003|p=470}}
* Lady Dorothea Augusta (5 May 1876 – 1942); married Major Chandos Brydges Lee-Warner{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp60749/lady-dorothea-augusta-lee-warner |title=Lady Dorothea Augusta Lee-Warner |publisher=[[National Portrait Gallery, London|National Portrait Gallery]] |accessdate=17 February 2014}}</ref>

The Earl and Countess of Munster lived at [[Palmeira Square]] in [[Brighton]].{{sfn|Lady's Realm|p=197}}{{sfn|Dod|1903|p=654}}{{sfn|Addison|Oakes|1901|p=821}} By 1897, Lord Munster's health was failing and the Countess was reported to be living in "comparative seclusion".{{sfn|Lady's Realm|p=197}} She died on 9 October 1906.{{sfn|Brooke|1907|p=1275}}

==Literary career==
{{Library resources box|by=yes|onlinebooksby=yes|lcheading= Munster, Wilhelmina Fitzclarence, Countess of, 1830–1906}}
Later in life, Lady Munster became a novelist and short story writer, writing under the title the Countess of Munster. At the age of nearly sixty,{{sfn|Wilson|2000|p=219}} she published two novels; her first, ''Dorinda'', in 1889, and her second, ''A Scotch Earl'', in 1891.{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} The plot of ''Dorinda'' centred on a young woman who eventually kills herself after stealing works of art from her friends. [[Oscar Wilde]] noted Munster's skill in writing ''Dorinda''; he compared the "exceedingly clever" novel's eponymous heroine to "a sort of well-born" [[Becky Sharp (character)|Becky Sharp]],{{sfn|Wilde|1910|p=110}} and praised the author's ability "to draw ... in a few sentences the most lifelike portraits of social types and social exceptions".{{sfn|Youngkin|2013}} In 1888, an article by Munster about ballad singing appeared in ''[[The Woman's World]]'', a Victorian women's magazine edited by Wilde.{{sfn|Youngkin|2013}} ''A Scotch Earl'' was less well-received by contemporaries. ''[[The Spectator]]'' published a critical review soon after its publication which suggested that the novel's showering of "contempt upon the society of wealth and rank" was close to [[Republicanism in the United Kingdom|Republicanism]] or [[Socialism]].{{sfn|The Spectator|p=297}} The review criticised ''A Scotch Earl'' for lacking "any merits of construction or style", and added that Lady Munster was "not and never will be a capable novelist".{{sfn|The Spectator|p=297}}

In 1896, Munster released ''Ghostly Tales'', a collection of stories "written in a manner similar to accounts of true hauntings".{{sfn|Anderson|2012}}{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} The contemporary women's magazine ''[[Lady's Realm]]'' considered her stories to be based on fact.{{sfn|Lady's Realm|p=197}} A positive review of ''Ghostly Tales'' was published in the ''[[Saturday Review (London)|Saturday Review]]'' in 1897, in which the stories were described as "entertaining and dramatic", but it was noted that not all were based on supernatural events.{{sfn|Cook|1897|p=230}} Hugh Lamb included the Countess's "surprisingly grim" story "The Tyburn Ghost" in his 1979 edited volume ''Tales from a Gas-Lit Graveyard''. He wrote at the time that Lady Munster's works had been "completely overlooked by bibliophiles and anthologists since her death".{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} Lamb deemed this regrettable, as he considered ''Ghostly Tales'' "possibly her best work" and one of the "truly representative collections of Victorian ghost stories".{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} Lamb also included another of her stories, "The Page-Boy's Ghost", in a 1988 anthology.{{sfn|Lamb|1988|p=208}} However, modern author and editor [[Douglas A. Anderson]] has called the Countess's stories "standard, melodramatic fare", which are "perfectly forgettable".{{sfn|Anderson|2012}}

In 1904, Lady Munster produced an autobiography entitled ''My Memories and Miscellanies''. In its [[foreword]], she explained that "some valued friends" convinced her to write it, despite her reluctance, because her "long life" had witnessed "not a few interesting events".{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=vii}} The book was called her "chief work" in ''[[The Manchester Guardian]]'' at the time of her death in 1906.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Memorial Notices |newspaper=[[The Manchester Guardian]] |date=12 October 1906 |page=7}}</ref> The Countess wrote the entire book by memory, and expressed regret that she had given up her journal writing as a young girl after someone else improperly read it.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=112}} The autobiography included several recounted sightings of the female ghost "Green Jean" at Wemyss Castle; Lady Munster claimed that several members of her family, including Millicent, saw the ghost while staying there.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=159–64}}

==Ancestry==
{{ahnentafel top|width=100%}}
{{ahnentafel-compact5
|style=font-size: 90%; line-height: 110%;
|border=1
|boxstyle=padding-top: 0; padding-bottom: 0;
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe;
|1= 1. '''Wilhelmina Kennedy-Erskine'''
|2= 2. Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine
|3= 3. [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]]
|4= 4. [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa]]
|5= 5. Margaret Erskine
|6= 6. [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]
|7= 7. [[Dorothea Jordan|Dorothea Bland]]
|8= 8. [[Archibald Kennedy, 11th Earl of Cassilis]]
|9= 9. Anne Watts
|10= 10. John Erskine
|11= 11. Mary Baird
|12= 12. [[George III of the United Kingdom]]
|13= 13. [[Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz|Duchess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
|14= 14. Francis Bland
|15= 15. Grace Phillips
|16= 16. Archibald Kennedy
|18= 18. John Watts
|19= 19. Ann DeLancey
|20= 20. John Erskine of Dunard
|22= 22. William Baird
|23= 23. Alicia Johnston
|24= 24. [[Frederick, Prince of Wales]]
|25= 25. [[Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha]]
|26= 26. [[Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg|Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
|27= 27. [[Princess Elizabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen]]
|28= 28. James Bland
|29= 29. Lucy Brewster
}}</center>
{{ahnentafel bottom}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

;Works cited
{{refbegin|colwidth=30em}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=8EcuAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA821&dq=Palmeira+Square+earl+of+munster#v=onepage&q=Palmeira%20Square%20earl%20of%20munster&f=false | title = Who's Who | year = 1901 |first1=Henry Robert |last1=Addison |first2=Charles Henry |last2=Oakes |publisher=Adam & Charles Black |location=London |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite web|url=http://desturmobed.blogspot.com/2012/05/countess-of-munster.html |first=Douglas A. |last=Anderson |authorlink=Douglas A. Anderson |title=The Countess of Munster |date=10 May 2012 |publisher=Desturmobed.blogspot.com |accessdate= 7 November 2013 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite journal| url = http://books.google.com/?id=tBo7AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA198&dq=queen+victoria+%22lady+munster%22#v=onepage&q=queen%20victoria%20%22lady%20munster%22&f=false |title=Brighton Society |volume=1 | year = 1897 |location=London |publisher=Hutchinson and Co |p=198 |journal=[[Lady's Realm]] |ref={{sfnRef|Lady's Realm}} }}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=w0pLAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA1275&lpg=PA1275&dq=wilhelmina+1906+munster#v=onepage&q=wilhelmina%201906%20munster&f=false | title =Who's Who: An Annual Biographical Dictionary | year = 1907 |first=Douglas |last=Brooke |coauthors=Wheelton Sladen |location=London |publisher=Adam & Charles Black |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=K1YwAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA25&lpg=PA25&dq=countess+of+munster+kennedy-erskine#v=onepage&q=countess%20of%20munster%20kennedy-erskine&f=false | title = A Memoir of Her Royal Highness Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck, Volume 1 |first=Mary Adelaide of |last=Cambridge |authorlink=Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge | year = 1900 |location=London |publisher=John Murray |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite journal| url = http://books.google.com/?id=aZE_AQAAIAAJ&pg=PA230&dq=%22countess+of+munster%22+novelist#v=onepage&q=%22countess%20of%20munster%22%20novelist&f=false | title = Fiction |volume=83 | last1= Cook | first1 = John Douglas |coauthors=Philip Harwood, Frank Harris, Walter Herries Pollock, Harold Hodge | year = 1897 |location=London |journal=[[Saturday Review (London)|Saturday Review]] |p=230 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book | url = http://books.google.com/?id=uZstAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA654&dq=Palmeira+Square+earl+of+munster#v=onepage&q=Palmeira%20Square%20earl%20of%20munster&f=false | title = Dod's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage of Great Britain, and Ireland for ... : Including All the Titled Classes | last1 = Dod | first1 = Charles Roger | year = 1903 |location=London |publisher=Ampson, Low, Marston & Company |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books/about/My_Memories_and_Miscellanies.html?id=x40xAQAAMAAJ |title=My Memories and Miscellanies |first=Wilhelmina |last=FitzClarence|year=1904 |location=London |publisher=Eveleigh Nash |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=KDw6AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA722&dq=%22Wilhelmina%22+%22Kennedy-Erskine%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=mIWCUt_KKOWU2gW6xYDwBA&ved=0CCwQ6AEwADge#v=onepage&q=%22Wilhelmina%22%20%22Kennedy-Erskine%22&f=false |title=Armorial Families: A Complete Peerage, Baronetage, and Knightage |editor1-first=Arthur Charles |editor1-last=Fox-Davies |year=1895 |location=Edinburgh |publisher=T.C. & E.C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=GlIwAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA201&dq=kennedy-erskine+earl+munster#v=onepage&q=kennedy-erskine%20earl%20munster&f=false | title = Twenty Years at Court: From the Correspondence of the Hon. Eleanor Stanley, Maid of Honour to Her Late Majesty Queen Victoria, 1842–1862 | last1 = Julian Stanley Long | first1 = Eleanor | year = 1916 |location=New York |publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=zYNfom9HQPIC&pg=PA163&dq=%22countess+of+munster%22+novelist#v=onepage&q=%22countess%20of%20munster%22%20novelist&f=false | title =Tales from a Gas-Lit Graveyard | isbn = 978-0-486-43429-2 | editor-first = Hugh | year = 1979 |publisher=W.H. Allen |location=London | editor-last = Lamb |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=aB6iSLC66cwC&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=%22countess+of+munster%22&ots=ntS1c8R4iB&sig=yEEHRmdty-U5w-Yz6D1C6HVkinA#v=onepage&q=munster&f=false | title =Gaslit Nightmares | isbn = 0-486-44924-6| editor-first = Hugh | year = 1988 |publisher=Futura Publications |location=London | editor-last = Lamb |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/books?id=IIsUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA13&dq=John+Kennedy-Erskine+fitzclarence+1831&hl=en&sa=X&ei=uAUFU9CWE4a9yAGt8oHIAg&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=John%20Kennedy-Erskine%20fitzclarence%201831&f=false | title = The Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire as at Present Existing | last1 = Lodge | first1 = Edmund |coauthors=Anne Innes, Eliza Innes, Maria Innes | year = 1832 |publisher=Ibotson and Palmer |location=London |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=BxQwAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA453&dq=Wilhelmina+Kennedy-Erskine+fitzclarence#v=onepage&q=Wilhelmina%20Kennedy-Erskine%20fitzclarence&f=false | title = The Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire as at Present Existing | last1 = Lodge | first1 = Edmund |coauthors=Anne Innes, Eliza Innes, Maria Innes | year = 1890 |publisher=Hurst and Blackett |location=London |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |title=Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage |edition=106th |editor-last=Mosley |editor-first=Charles |year=1999 |location=Crans, Switzerland |publisher=Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |title=Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage |edition=107th |editor-last=Mosley |editor-first=Charles |year=2003 |location=Wilmington, Delaware |publisher=Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite journal| url = http://books.google.com/books?id=jkg9AQAAIAAJ&pg=RA1-PA297&dq=munster+A+%22Scotch+Earl%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=W_qAU6yYEM6iyATPzoL4CQ&ved=0CFwQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=munster%20A%20%22Scotch%20Earl%22&f=false | title= Recent Novels |volume=Volumes 66-67 | year = 1891 |p=297 |location=London |publisher=John Campbell |journal=[[The Spectator]] |ref={{sfnRef|The Spectator}} }}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Reynolds|first=K.D.|title=FitzClarence, George Augustus Frederick, first earl of Munster (1794–1842) |id=9542|date=2004 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite journal| url = http://books.google.com/?id=ljpRAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA454&dq=%22countess+of+munster%22+novelist#v=onepage&q=%22countess%20of%20munster%22%20novelist&f=false | journal= [[The Academy (periodical)|The Academy and Literature]] |volume=66 |chapter=Short Notices | date = 23 April 1904 |page=454 |publisher= |location=London |ref={{sfnRef|Academy and Literature}}}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=0NIVAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA111&dq=munster+wilde&hl=en&sa=X&ei=9veAU6m5CY6pyATbuIEw&ved=0CE4Q6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=munster&f=false |title=The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde: Together with Essays and Stories by Lady Wilde, Volume 4 |first=Oscar |last=Wilde |authorlink=Oscar Wilde |year=1910 |publisher=Aldine Publishing Company |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?ei=uy54U_-sFcupyASi4oCYBw&id=l1QYAQAAIAAJ&dq=munster+fitzclarence+wilhelmina&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=munster |title=Shadows in the Attic: A Guide to British Supernatural Fiction, 1820–1950 |last= Wilson |first=Neil |year=2000 |location=London |publisher=British Library Publishing Division |isbn=978-0-7123-1074-1 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=gAfVIVra9C4C&pg=PA854&dq=Wilhelmina+Kennedy-Erskine+fitzclarence#v=onepage&q=Wilhelmina%20Kennedy-Erskine%20fitzclarence&f=false |title=The Life and Reign of William the Fourth |last= Wright |first=G.N. |year=1837 |location=London |publisher=Fisher, Son, & Co |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url =http://books.google.com/books?id=bWRZAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT442&dq=munster+fitzclarence+wilhelmina&hl=en&sa=X&ei=uy54U_-sFcupyASi4oCYBw&ved=0CCoQ6AEwADgK#v=onepage&q=munster&f=false | title =Wilde Discoveries: Traditions, Histories, Archives |chapter=The Aestetic Character of Oscar Wilde's The Woman's World |first=Molly |last=Youngkin | asin= B00HCLU9EW| editor-first = Joseph | year = 2013 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |location=London | editor-last = Bristow |ref=harv}}

{{refend}}
{{Commons category|Augusta FitzClarence Kennedy-Erskine }}

{{Persondata
| NAME = FitzClarence, Wilhelmina, Countess of Munster
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION =
| DATE OF BIRTH = 27 June 1830
| PLACE OF BIRTH = [[House of Dun|Dun House]], Montrose, Scotland
| DATE OF DEATH = 9 October 1906
| PLACE OF DEATH = Hove, Sussex, England
}}
[[Category:FitzClarence family]]
[[Category:1830 births]]
[[Category:1906 deaths]]
[[Category:British countesses]]
[[Category:People from Montrose, Angus]]
[[Category:19th-century British novelists]]
[[Category:British short story writers]]
[[Category:British horror writers]]
[[Category:Women short story writers]]
[[Category:20th-century British novelists]]

Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster

2014-05-25T18:49:56Z

Ruby2010: Quoting "brain fever"

{{Infobox noble|type
| name = Wilhelmina Kennedy-Erskine
| title = Countess of Munster
| image = Countess of Munster 1904 frontispiece.jpg
| caption =
| alt =
| CoA =
| more = no
| succession =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| suc-type =
| spouse = [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]]
| spouse-type = Husband
| issue = Edward, Viscount FitzClarence Hon. Lionel Frederick Archibald [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster]] Hon. Arthur Falkland Manners [[Aubrey FitzClarence, 4th Earl of Munster]] Hon. William George Hon. Harold Edward Lady Lillian Boyd Lady Dorothea Lee-Warner
| full name =
| styles =
| titles =
| noble family = [[:Category:FitzClarence family|FitzClarence family]]
| house-type = nobility
| father = Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine
| mother = [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1830|06|27|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[House of Dun|Dun House]], Montrose, Scotland
| christening_date =
| christening_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1906|10|09|1830|06|27|df=y}}
| death_place = Hove, Sussex, England
| burial_date =
| burial_place =
| religion =
| occupation = Peeress, novelist
}}
'''Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster''' (''née'' '''Kennedy-Erskine'''; 27 June 1830 – 9 October 1906) was a British peeress and novelist. Her mother, [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]], was an illegitimate daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]; Wilhelmina, also known as Mina, was born the day after William's succession as monarch. She travelled as a young girl throughout Europe, visiting the courts of [[July Monarchy|France]] and [[Kingdom of Hanover|Hanover]]. In 1855, Mina married her first cousin [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]]; they would have nine children, including the [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster|3rd]] and [[Aubrey FitzClarence, 4th Earl of Munster|4th]] Earls of Munster.

The Earl and Countess of Munster lived at [[Palmeira Square]] in [[Brighton]]. Later in life, Lady Munster became a novelist and short story writer. In 1889, she released her first novel, ''Dorinda''; a second, ''A Scotch Earl'', followed two years later. The year 1896 saw the publication of ''Ghostly Tales'', a collection of tales on the supernatural which have largely been forgotten today. Lady Munster also produced an autobiography entitled ''My Memories and Miscellanies'', which was released in 1904. She died two years later.

==Family and early life==
[[File:Lady Augusta FitzClarence and children.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Wilhelmina with her mother Lady Augusta and two siblings.]]
Wilhelmina "Mina" Kennedy-Erskine was born on 27 June 1830 in [[House of Dun|Dun House]], Montrose, Scotland. She was the third child of the Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine and his wife [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]], an illegitimate daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom|William IV]] (who became monarch the day before Mina's birth).{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=3}} Her father, the second son of the [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa|13th Earl of Cassilis]], was a captain with the [[16th The Queen's Lancers|16th Lancers]] and an [[equerry]] to King William before dying in 1831 at the age of 28.<ref>{{Cite news|title=The Queen's Third Drawing Room |newspaper=[[The Observer]] |date=27 March 1831 |page=1}}</ref>{{sfn|Lodge|1832|p=13}}

Mina lived with her widowed mother and two siblings in a "charming brick house" on the [[River Thames]] called Railshead, which was next door to a house owned by her paternal grandparents.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=5–7}} King William visited the family often and was quite fond of Mina;{{sfn|Academy and Literature|p=454}} on one occasion, he visited to comfort his daughter when three- or four-year-old Mina nearly died of a "very dangerous brain fever".{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=8}} The Kennedy-Erskines also often visited [[Windsor Castle]] during the king's reign.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=34}}

Five years after Kennedy-Erskine's death, Lady Augusta remarried to [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton]], a decision that displeased her first husband's parents.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=40}} The decision led to Lady Augusta's departure from Railshead. In 1837 she became State Housekeeper at [[Kensington Palace]] after the death of her sister, [[Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley|Lady De L'Isle]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}}{{sfn|Cambridge|1900|p=25}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=42}} Mina lived there until she married.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=50}} She and her sister Millicent enjoyed music and had a particular love for the Italian soprano [[Marietta Alboni]]. The sisters' Italian singing-master secretly arranged for a meeting with Alboni, but the encounter did not go well; the singer discovered that they were the daughters of the "housekeeper", and, assuming that they were not ladies, departed soon after.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=61–64}}

In the late 1840s, Mina travelled through Europe with her family so that they might "learn languages and finish [their] education".{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=83}} The trip started in 1847, when Mina journeyed to [[Dresden]] due to her mother's desire for her daughters to learn German.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=83–84}} From 1847 to 1849, she and her family lived in Paris near the [[Arc de Triomphe]], and were kindly received by the French Royal Family headed by [[Louis Philippe I]] and [[Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily|Queen Marie Amalie]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=110–17}} They left soon after the king and queen's [[French Revolution of 1848|fall from power]], as the city had suddenly become unsafe for those of their rank.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=120–23}} In 1850, they visited the court of [[Kingdom of Hanover|Hanover]] and were received by [[Ernest Augustus I of Hanover]] and his family; later that year, they returned to Kensington Palace and Mina and Millicent [[Season (society)|came out in society]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=129–44}}

==Marriage==
[[File:Earl of Munster 25 February 1882.jpg|thumb|right|180px|The Earl of Munster as caricatured by Spy ([[Leslie Ward]]) in ''[[Vanity Fair (British magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'', February 1882 ]]
Mina married her first cousin [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]] at [[Wemyss Castle]] on 17 April 1855 in a double wedding in which her sister Millicent married [[James Hay Erskine Wemyss]].{{sfn|Julian Stanley Long|1916|p=201}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=152}} Like Mina, FitzClarence was a grandchild of William IV; at a young age, he had succeeded his father the [[George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster|1st Earl]], who served as a governor of Windsor Castle and constable of the [[Round Tower (Portsmouth)|Round Tower]] until his suicide in 1842.{{sfn|Reynolds|2004}} The FitzClarences travelled to Hamburg immediately after the wedding, visiting local ''[[schloss]]es'' and the family of [[Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein]] (who later married [[Princess Helena of the United Kingdom|The Princess Helena]]).{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=153–56}} Their first child, Edward, was born within a year.{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}} The couple would have nine children:
* Edward, Viscount FitzClarence (29 March 1856 – 1870){{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}
* Hon. Lionel Frederick Archibald (24 July 1857 – 1863){{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}
* [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster]] (18 July 1859 – 2 February 1902); died without issue{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=2035}}
* Hon. Arthur Falkland Manners (18 October 1860 – 1861){{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}
* [[Aubrey FitzClarence, 4th Earl of Munster]] (7 June 1862 – 1 January 1928); died without issue{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=2035}}
* Hon. William George (17 September 1864 – 4 October 1899); married Charlotte Elizabeth Williams{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=2035}}
* Hon. Harold Edward (15 November 1870 – 28 August 1926); married Frances Isabel Eleanor Keppel; their son was the [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 5th Earl of Munster|5th Earl of Munster]]{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=48}}
* Lady Lillian Adelaide Katherine Mary (10 December 1873 – 15 July 1948); married Captain William Arthur Boyd{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|2003|p=470}}
* Lady Dorothea Augusta (5 May 1876 – 1942); married Major Chandos Brydges Lee-Warner{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp60749/lady-dorothea-augusta-lee-warner |title=Lady Dorothea Augusta Lee-Warner |publisher=[[National Portrait Gallery, London|National Portrait Gallery]] |accessdate=17 February 2014}}</ref>

The Earl and Countess of Munster lived at [[Palmeira Square]] in [[Brighton]].{{sfn|Lady's Realm|p=197}}{{sfn|Dod|1903|p=654}}{{sfn|Addison|Oakes|1901|p=821}} By 1897, Lord Munster's health was failing and the Countess was reported to be living in "comparative seclusion".{{sfn|Lady's Realm|p=197}} She died on 9 October 1906.{{sfn|Brooke|1907|p=1275}}

==Literary career==
{{Library resources box|by=yes|onlinebooksby=yes|lcheading= Munster, Wilhelmina Fitzclarence, Countess of, 1830–1906}}
Later in life, Lady Munster became a novelist and short story writer, writing under the title the Countess of Munster. At the age of nearly sixty,{{sfn|Wilson|2000|p=219}} she published two novels; her first, ''Dorinda'', in 1889, and her second, ''A Scotch Earl'', in 1891.{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} The plot of ''Dorinda'' centred on a young woman who eventually kills herself after stealing works of art from her friends. [[Oscar Wilde]] noted Munster's skill in writing ''Dorinda''; he compared the "exceedingly clever" novel's eponymous heroine to "a sort of well-born" [[Becky Sharp (character)|Becky Sharp]],{{sfn|Wilde|1910|p=110}} and praised the author's ability "to draw ... in a few sentences the most lifelike portraits of social types and social exceptions".{{sfn|Youngkin|2013}} In 1888, an article by Munster about ballad singing appeared in ''[[The Woman's World]]'', a Victorian women's magazine edited by Wilde.{{sfn|Youngkin|2013}} ''A Scotch Earl'' was less well-received by contemporaries. ''[[The Spectator]]'' published a critical review soon after its publication which suggested that the novel's showering of "contempt upon the society of wealth and rank" was close to [[Republicanism in the United Kingdom|Republicanism]] or [[Socialism]].{{sfn|The Spectator|p=297}} The review criticised ''A Scotch Earl'' for lacking "any merits of construction or style", and added that Lady Munster was "not and never will be a capable novelist".{{sfn|The Spectator|p=297}}

In 1896, Munster released ''Ghostly Tales'', a collection of stories "written in a manner similar to accounts of true hauntings".{{sfn|Anderson|2012}}{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} The contemporary women's magazine ''[[Lady's Realm]]'' considered her stories to be based on fact.{{sfn|Lady's Realm|p=197}} A positive review of ''Ghostly Tales'' was published in the ''[[Saturday Review (London)|Saturday Review]]'' in 1897, in which the stories were described as "entertaining and dramatic", but it was noted that not all were based on supernatural events.{{sfn|Cook|1897|p=230}} Hugh Lamb included the Countess's "surprisingly grim" story "The Tyburn Ghost" in his 1979 edited volume ''Tales from a Gas-Lit Graveyard''. He wrote at the time that Lady Munster's works had been "completely overlooked by bibliophiles and anthologists since her death".{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} Lamb deemed this regrettable, as he considered ''Ghostly Tales'' "possibly her best work" and one of the "truly representative collections of Victorian ghost stories".{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} Lamb also included another of her stories, "The Page-Boy's Ghost", in a 1988 anthology.{{sfn|Lamb|1988|p=208}} However, modern author and editor [[Douglas A. Anderson]] has called the Countess's stories "standard, melodramatic fare", which are "perfectly forgettable".{{sfn|Anderson|2012}}

In 1904, Lady Munster produced an autobiography entitled ''My Memories and Miscellanies''. In its [[foreword]], she explained that "some valued friends" convinced her to write it, despite her reluctance, because her "long life" had witnessed "not a few interesting events".{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=vii}} The book was called her "chief work" in ''[[The Manchester Guardian]]'' at the time of her death in 1906.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Memorial Notices |newspaper=[[The Manchester Guardian]] |date=12 October 1906 |page=7}}</ref> The Countess wrote the entire book by memory, and expressed regret that she had given up her journal writing as a young girl after someone else improperly read it.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=112}} The autobiography included several recounted sightings of the female ghost "Green Jean" at Wemyss Castle; Lady Munster claimed that several members of her family, including Millicent, saw the ghost while staying there.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=159–64}}

==Ancestry==
{{ahnentafel top|width=100%}}
{{ahnentafel-compact5
|style=font-size: 90%; line-height: 110%;
|border=1
|boxstyle=padding-top: 0; padding-bottom: 0;
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe;
|1= 1. '''Wilhelmina Kennedy-Erskine'''
|2= 2. Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine
|3= 3. [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]]
|4= 4. [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa]]
|5= 5. Margaret Erskine
|6= 6. [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]
|7= 7. [[Dorothea Jordan|Dorothea Bland]]
|8= 8. [[Archibald Kennedy, 11th Earl of Cassilis]]
|9= 9. Anne Watts
|10= 10. John Erskine
|11= 11. Mary Baird
|12= 12. [[George III of the United Kingdom]]
|13= 13. [[Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz|Duchess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
|14= 14. Francis Bland
|15= 15. Grace Phillips
|16= 16. Archibald Kennedy
|18= 18. John Watts
|19= 19. Ann DeLancey
|20= 20. John Erskine of Dunard
|22= 22. William Baird
|23= 23. Alicia Johnston
|24= 24. [[Frederick, Prince of Wales]]
|25= 25. [[Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha]]
|26= 26. [[Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg|Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
|27= 27. [[Princess Elizabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen]]
|28= 28. James Bland
|29= 29. Lucy Brewster
}}</center>
{{ahnentafel bottom}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

;Works cited
{{refbegin|colwidth=30em}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=8EcuAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA821&dq=Palmeira+Square+earl+of+munster#v=onepage&q=Palmeira%20Square%20earl%20of%20munster&f=false | title = Who's Who | year = 1901 |first1=Henry Robert |last1=Addison |first2=Charles Henry |last2=Oakes |publisher=Adam & Charles Black |location=London |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite web|url=http://desturmobed.blogspot.com/2012/05/countess-of-munster.html |first=Douglas A. |last=Anderson |authorlink=Douglas A. Anderson |title=The Countess of Munster |date=10 May 2012 |publisher=Desturmobed.blogspot.com |accessdate= 7 November 2013 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite journal| url = http://books.google.com/?id=tBo7AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA198&dq=queen+victoria+%22lady+munster%22#v=onepage&q=queen%20victoria%20%22lady%20munster%22&f=false |chapter=Brighton Society | title = Lady's Realm: An Illustrated Monthly Magazine, Volume 1 | year = 1897 |location=London |publisher=Hutchinson and Co |journal=[[Lady's Realm]] |ref={{sfnRef|Lady's Realm}} }}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=w0pLAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA1275&lpg=PA1275&dq=wilhelmina+1906+munster#v=onepage&q=wilhelmina%201906%20munster&f=false | title =Who's Who: An Annual Biographical Dictionary | year = 1907 |first=Douglas |last=Brooke |coauthors=Wheelton Sladen |location=London |publisher=Adam & Charles Black |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=K1YwAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA25&lpg=PA25&dq=countess+of+munster+kennedy-erskine#v=onepage&q=countess%20of%20munster%20kennedy-erskine&f=false | title = A Memoir of Her Royal Highness Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck, Volume 1 |first=Mary Adelaide of |last=Cambridge |authorlink=Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge | year = 1900 |location=London |publisher=John Murray |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite journal| url = http://books.google.com/?id=aZE_AQAAIAAJ&pg=PA230&dq=%22countess+of+munster%22+novelist#v=onepage&q=%22countess%20of%20munster%22%20novelist&f=false | title = The Saturday Review of Politics, Literature, Science and Art, Volume 83 | last1= Cook | first1 = John Douglas |coauthors=Philip Harwood, Frank Harris, Walter Herries Pollock, Harold Hodge | year = 1897 |location=London |journal=[[Saturday Review (London)|Saturday Review]] |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book | url = http://books.google.com/?id=uZstAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA654&dq=Palmeira+Square+earl+of+munster#v=onepage&q=Palmeira%20Square%20earl%20of%20munster&f=false | title = Dod's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage of Great Britain, and Ireland for ... : Including All the Titled Classes | last1 = Dod | first1 = Charles Roger | year = 1903 |location=London |publisher=Ampson, Low, Marston & Company |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books/about/My_Memories_and_Miscellanies.html?id=x40xAQAAMAAJ |title=My Memories and Miscellanies |first=Wilhelmina |last=FitzClarence|year=1904 |location=London |publisher=Eveleigh Nash |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=KDw6AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA722&dq=%22Wilhelmina%22+%22Kennedy-Erskine%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=mIWCUt_KKOWU2gW6xYDwBA&ved=0CCwQ6AEwADge#v=onepage&q=%22Wilhelmina%22%20%22Kennedy-Erskine%22&f=false |title=Armorial Families: A Complete Peerage, Baronetage, and Knightage |editor1-first=Arthur Charles |editor1-last=Fox-Davies |year=1895 |location=Edinburgh |publisher=T.C. & E.C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=GlIwAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA201&dq=kennedy-erskine+earl+munster#v=onepage&q=kennedy-erskine%20earl%20munster&f=false | title = Twenty Years at Court: From the Correspondence of the Hon. Eleanor Stanley, Maid of Honour to Her Late Majesty Queen Victoria, 1842–1862 | last1 = Julian Stanley Long | first1 = Eleanor | year = 1916 |location=New York |publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=zYNfom9HQPIC&pg=PA163&dq=%22countess+of+munster%22+novelist#v=onepage&q=%22countess%20of%20munster%22%20novelist&f=false | title =Tales from a Gas-Lit Graveyard | isbn = 978-0-486-43429-2 | editor-first = Hugh | year = 1979 |publisher=W.H. Allen |location=London | editor-last = Lamb |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=aB6iSLC66cwC&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=%22countess+of+munster%22&ots=ntS1c8R4iB&sig=yEEHRmdty-U5w-Yz6D1C6HVkinA#v=onepage&q=munster&f=false | title =Gaslit Nightmares | isbn = 0-486-44924-6| editor-first = Hugh | year = 1988 |publisher=Futura Publications |location=London | editor-last = Lamb |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/books?id=IIsUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA13&dq=John+Kennedy-Erskine+fitzclarence+1831&hl=en&sa=X&ei=uAUFU9CWE4a9yAGt8oHIAg&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=John%20Kennedy-Erskine%20fitzclarence%201831&f=false | title = The Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire as at Present Existing | last1 = Lodge | first1 = Edmund |coauthors=Anne Innes, Eliza Innes, Maria Innes | year = 1832 |publisher=Ibotson and Palmer |location=London |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=BxQwAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA453&dq=Wilhelmina+Kennedy-Erskine+fitzclarence#v=onepage&q=Wilhelmina%20Kennedy-Erskine%20fitzclarence&f=false | title = The Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire as at Present Existing | last1 = Lodge | first1 = Edmund |coauthors=Anne Innes, Eliza Innes, Maria Innes | year = 1890 |publisher=Hurst and Blackett |location=London |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |title=Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage |edition=106th |editor-last=Mosley |editor-first=Charles |year=1999 |location=Crans, Switzerland |publisher=Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |title=Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage |edition=107th |editor-last=Mosley |editor-first=Charles |year=2003 |location=Wilmington, Delaware |publisher=Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite journal| url = http://books.google.com/books?id=jkg9AQAAIAAJ&pg=RA1-PA297&dq=munster+A+%22Scotch+Earl%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=W_qAU6yYEM6iyATPzoL4CQ&ved=0CFwQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=munster%20A%20%22Scotch%20Earl%22&f=false | chapter= Recent Novels |title=The Spectator, Volumes 66-67 | year = 1891 |location=London |publisher=John Campbell |journal=[[The Spectator]] |ref={{sfnRef|The Spectator}} }}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Reynolds|first=K.D.|title=FitzClarence, George Augustus Frederick, first earl of Munster (1794–1842) |id=9542|date=2004 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=ljpRAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA454&dq=%22countess+of+munster%22+novelist#v=onepage&q=%22countess%20of%20munster%22%20novelist&f=false | journal= The Academy and Literature, Volume 66 |title=Short Notices | date = 23 April 1904 |ref={{sfnRef|Academy and Literature}}}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=0NIVAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA111&dq=munster+wilde&hl=en&sa=X&ei=9veAU6m5CY6pyATbuIEw&ved=0CE4Q6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=munster&f=false |title=The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde: Together with Essays and Stories by Lady Wilde, Volume 4 |first=Oscar |last=Wilde |authorlink=Oscar Wilde |year=1910 |publisher=Aldine Publishing Company |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?ei=uy54U_-sFcupyASi4oCYBw&id=l1QYAQAAIAAJ&dq=munster+fitzclarence+wilhelmina&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=munster |title=Shadows in the Attic: A Guide to British Supernatural Fiction, 1820–1950 |last= Wilson |first=Neil |year=2000 |location=London |publisher=British Library Publishing Division |isbn=978-0-7123-1074-1 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=gAfVIVra9C4C&pg=PA854&dq=Wilhelmina+Kennedy-Erskine+fitzclarence#v=onepage&q=Wilhelmina%20Kennedy-Erskine%20fitzclarence&f=false |title=The Life and Reign of William the Fourth |last= Wright |first=G.N. |year=1837 |location=London |publisher=Fisher, Son, & Co |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url =http://books.google.com/books?id=bWRZAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT442&dq=munster+fitzclarence+wilhelmina&hl=en&sa=X&ei=uy54U_-sFcupyASi4oCYBw&ved=0CCoQ6AEwADgK#v=onepage&q=munster&f=false | title =Wilde Discoveries: Traditions, Histories, Archives |chapter=The Aestetic Character of Oscar Wilde's The Woman's World |first=Molly |last=Youngkin | asin= B00HCLU9EW| editor-first = Joseph | year = 2013 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |location=London | editor-last = Bristow |ref=harv}}

{{refend}}
{{Commons category|Augusta FitzClarence Kennedy-Erskine }}

{{Persondata
| NAME = FitzClarence, Wilhelmina, Countess of Munster
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION =
| DATE OF BIRTH = 27 June 1830
| PLACE OF BIRTH = [[House of Dun|Dun House]], Montrose, Scotland
| DATE OF DEATH = 9 October 1906
| PLACE OF DEATH = Hove, Sussex, England
}}
[[Category:FitzClarence family]]
[[Category:1830 births]]
[[Category:1906 deaths]]
[[Category:British countesses]]
[[Category:People from Montrose, Angus]]
[[Category:19th-century British novelists]]
[[Category:British short story writers]]
[[Category:British horror writers]]
[[Category:Women short story writers]]
[[Category:20th-century British novelists]]

Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster

2014-05-24T20:23:08Z

Ruby2010: Adding a bit more on her second novel

{{Infobox noble|type
| name = Wilhelmina Kennedy-Erskine
| title = Countess of Munster
| image = Countess of Munster 1904 frontispiece.jpg
| caption =
| alt =
| CoA =
| more = no
| succession =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| suc-type =
| spouse = [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]]
| spouse-type = Husband
| issue = Edward, Viscount FitzClarence Hon. Lionel Frederick Archibald [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster]] Hon. Arthur Falkland Manners [[Aubrey FitzClarence, 4th Earl of Munster]] Hon. William George Hon. Harold Edward Lady Lillian Boyd Lady Dorothea Lee-Warner
| full name =
| styles =
| titles =
| noble family = [[:Category:FitzClarence family|FitzClarence family]]
| house-type = nobility
| father = Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine
| mother = [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1830|06|27|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[House of Dun|Dun House]], Montrose, Scotland
| christening_date =
| christening_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1906|10|09|1830|06|27|df=y}}
| death_place = Hove, Sussex, England
| burial_date =
| burial_place =
| religion =
| occupation = Peeress, novelist
}}
'''Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster''' (''née'' '''Kennedy-Erskine'''; 27 June 1830 – 9 October 1906) was a British peeress and novelist. Her mother, [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]], was an illegitimate daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]; Wilhelmina, also known as Mina, was born the day after William's succession as monarch. She travelled as a young girl throughout Europe, visiting the courts of [[July Monarchy|France]] and [[Kingdom of Hanover|Hanover]]. In 1855, Mina married her first cousin [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]]; they would have nine children, including the [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster|3rd]] and [[Aubrey FitzClarence, 4th Earl of Munster|4th]] Earls of Munster.

The Earl and Countess of Munster lived at [[Palmeira Square]] in [[Brighton]]. Later in life, Lady Munster became a novelist and short story writer. In 1889, she released her first novel; a second followed two years later. The year 1896 saw the publication of ''Ghostly Tales'', a collection of tales on the supernatural which have largely been forgotten today. Lady Munster also produced an autobiography entitled ''My Memories and Miscellanies'', which was released in 1904. She died two years later.

==Family and early life==
[[File:Lady Augusta FitzClarence and children.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Wilhelmina with her mother Lady Augusta and two siblings.]]
Wilhelmina "Mina" Kennedy-Erskine was born on 27 June 1830 in [[House of Dun|Dun House]], Montrose, Scotland. She was the third child of the Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine and his wife [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]], an illegitimate daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom|William IV]] (who became monarch the day before Mina's birth).{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=3}} Her father, a second son of the [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa|13th Earl of Cassilis]], was a captain with the [[16th The Queen's Lancers|16th Lancers]] and an [[equerry]] to King William before dying in 1831 at the age of 28.<ref>{{Cite news|title=The Queen's Third Drawing Room |newspaper=[[The Observer]] |date=27 March 1831 |page=1}}</ref>{{sfn|Lodge|1832|p=13}}

Mina lived with her widowed mother and two siblings in a "charming brick house" on the [[River Thames]] called Railshead, which was next door to a house owned by her paternal grandparents.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=5–7}} King William visited the family often and was quite fond of Mina;{{sfn|Academy and Literature|p=454}} on one occasion, he visited to comfort his daughter when three- or four-year-old Mina nearly died of a "very dangerous" [[brain fever]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=8}} The Kennedy-Erskines also often visited [[Windsor Castle]] during the king's reign.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=34}}

Five years after Kennedy-Erskine's death, Lady Augusta remarried to [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton]], a decision that displeased her first husband's parents.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=40}} The decision led to Lady Augusta's departure from Railshead. In 1837 she became State Housekeeper at [[Kensington Palace]] after the death of her sister, [[Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley|Lady De L'Isle]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}}{{sfn|Cambridge|1900|p=25}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=42}} Mina lived there until she married.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=50}} She and her sister Millicent enjoyed music and had a particular love for the Italian soprano [[Marietta Alboni]]. The sisters' Italian singing-master secretly arranged for a meeting with Alboni but the encounter did not go well: the singer discovered that they were the daughters of the "housekeeper", and, assuming that they were not ladies, she departed soon after.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=61–64}}

In the late 1840s, Mina travelled through Europe with her family to "learn languages and finish our education".{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=83}} The trip started in 1847, when Mina journeyed to [[Dresden]] due to her mother's desire for her daughters to learn German.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=83–84}} From 1847 to 1849, she and her family lived in Paris near the [[Arc de Triomphe]], and were kindly received by the French Royal Family headed by [[Louis Philippe I]] and [[Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily|Queen Marie Amalie]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=110–17}} They left soon after the king and queen's [[French Revolution of 1848|fall from power]], as the city had suddenly become unsafe for those of their rank.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=120–23}} In 1850, they visited the court of [[Kingdom of Hanover|Hanover]] and were received by [[Ernest Augustus I of Hanover]] and his family; later that year, they returned to Kensington Palace and Mina and Millicent [[Season (society)|came out in society]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=129–44}}

==Marriage==
[[File:Earl of Munster 25 February 1882.jpg|thumb|right|180px|The Earl of Munster as caricatured by Spy ([[Leslie Ward]]) in ''[[Vanity Fair (British magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'', February 1882 ]]
Mina married her first cousin [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]] at [[Wemyss Castle]] on 17 April 1855 in a double wedding in which her sister Millicent married [[James Hay Erskine Wemyss]].{{sfn|Julian Stanley Long|1916|p=201}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=152}} Like Mina, FitzClarence was a grandchild of William IV; at a young age, he had succeeded his father the [[George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster|1st Earl]], who served as a governor of Windsor Castle and constable of the [[Round Tower (Portsmouth)|Round Tower]] until his suicide in 1842.{{sfn|Reynolds|2004}} The FitzClarences travelled to Hamburg immediately after the wedding, visiting local ''[[schloss]]es'' and the family of [[Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein]] (who later married [[Princess Helena of the United Kingdom|The Princess Helena]]).{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=153–56}} Their first child, Edward, was born within a year.{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}} The couple would have nine children:
* Edward, Viscount FitzClarence (29 March 1856 – 1870){{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}
* Hon. Lionel Frederick Archibald (24 July 1857 – 1863){{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}
* [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster]] (18 July 1859 – 2 February 1902); died without issue{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=2035}}
* Hon. Arthur Falkland Manners (18 October 1860 – 1861){{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}
* [[Aubrey FitzClarence, 4th Earl of Munster]] (7 June 1862 – 1 January 1928); died without issue{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=2035}}
* Hon. William George (17 September 1864 – 4 October 1899); married Charlotte Elizabeth Williams{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=2035}}
* Hon. Harold Edward (15 November 1870 – 28 August 1926); married Frances Isabel Eleanor Keppel; their son was the [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 5th Earl of Munster|5th Earl of Munster]]{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=48}}
* Lady Lillian Adelaide Katherine Mary (10 December 1873 – 15 July 1948); married Captain William Arthur Boyd{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|2003|p=470}}
* Lady Dorothea Augusta (5 May 1876 – 1942); married Major Chandos Brydges Lee-Warner{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp60749/lady-dorothea-augusta-lee-warner |title=Lady Dorothea Augusta Lee-Warner |publisher=[[National Portrait Gallery, London|National Portrait Gallery]] |accessdate=17 February 2014}}</ref>

The Earl and Countess of Munster lived at [[Palmeira Square]] in [[Brighton]].{{sfn|Lady's Realm|p=197}}{{sfn|Dod|1903|p=654}}{{sfn|Addison|Oakes|1901|p=821}} By 1897, Lord Munster's health was failing and she was reported to be living in "comparative seclusion".{{sfn|Lady's Realm|p=197}} She died on 9 October 1906.{{sfn|Brooke|1907|p=1275}}

==Literary career==
{{Library resources box|by=yes|onlinebooksby=yes|lcheading= Munster, Wilhelmina Fitzclarence, Countess of, 1830–1906}}
Later in life, Lady Munster was also a novelist and short story writer, with all of her works credited as being authored by the Countess of Munster. At the age of nearly sixty,{{sfn|Wilson|2000|p=219}} she published two novels; her first, ''Dorinda'', in 1889, and her second, ''A Scotch Earl'', in 1891.{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} The plot of ''Dorinda'' centred on a young woman who eventually kills herself after stealing works of art from her friends. [[Oscar Wilde]] noted Munster's skill in writing ''Dorinda''; he compared the "exceedingly clever" novel's heroine to "a sort of well-born [[Becky Sharp (character)|Becky Sharp]],"{{sfn|Wilde|1910|p=110}} and praised the author's ability "to draw ... in a few sentences the most lifelike portraits of social types and social exceptions."{{sfn|Youngkin|2013}} In 1888, an article by Munster about ballad singing appeared in ''[[The Woman's World]]'', a Victorian women's magazine edited by Wilde.{{sfn|Youngkin|2013}} ''A Scotch Earl'' was less well-received by contemporaries. ''[[The Spectator]]'' published a critical review soon after its publication, opining that the novel's showering of "contempt upon the society of wealth and rank" was close to [[Republicanism in the United Kingdom|Republicanism]] or [[Socialism]].{{sfn|The Spectator|p=297}} The writer additionally faulted ''A Scotch Earl'' for lacking "any merits of construction or style," and added that Lady Munster "is not and never will be a capable novelist."{{sfn|The Spectator|p=297}}

In 1896, Munster released ''Ghostly Tales'', a collection of stories "written in a manner similar to accounts of true hauntings".{{sfn|Anderson|2012}}{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} The contemporary women's magazine ''[[Lady's Realm]]'' considered her stories to be based on fact.{{sfn|Lady's Realm|p=197}} A positive review of ''Ghostly Tales'' was published in the ''[[Saturday Review (London)|Saturday Review]]'' in 1897, which described the stories as "entertaining and dramatic" but noted that not all were based on supernatural events.{{sfn|Cook|1897|p=230}} Hugh Lamb included her "surprisingly grim" story ''The Tyburn Ghost'' in his 1979 edited volume ''Tales from a Gas-Lit Graveyard''. He believed that Lady Munster's works have been "completely overlooked by bibliophiles and anthologists since her death".{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} Lamb deemed this regrettable, as he considered ''Ghostly Tales'' "possibly her best work" and one of the "truly representative collections of Victorian ghost stories".{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} Lamb also included another of her stories, ''The Page-Boy's Ghost'', in a 1988 anthology.{{sfn|Lamb|1988|p=208}} However, modern author and editor [[Douglas A. Anderson]] has called them "standard, melodramatic fare, perfectly forgettable".{{sfn|Anderson|2012}}

In 1904, Lady Munster produced an autobiography entitled ''My Memories and Miscellanies''. In its [[foreword]], she explained that "some valued friends" convinced her to write it, despite her reluctance, because her "long life" had witnessed "not a few interesting events."{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=vii}} The book was called her "chief work" in ''[[The Manchester Guardian]]'' at the time of her death in 1906.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Memorial Notices |newspaper=[[The Manchester Guardian]] |date=12 October 1906 |page=7}}</ref> The Countess wrote the entire book by memory, and expressed regret that she had given up her journal writing as a young girl after someone else improperly read it.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=112}} The autobiography included several recounted sightings of the female ghost "Green Jean" at Wemyss Castle; Lady Munster claimed that several members of her family, including Millicent, saw the ghost while staying there.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=159–64}}

==Ancestry==
{{ahnentafel top|width=100%}}
{{ahnentafel-compact5
|style=font-size: 90%; line-height: 110%;
|border=1
|boxstyle=padding-top: 0; padding-bottom: 0;
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe;
|1= 1. '''Wilhelmina Kennedy-Erskine'''
|2= 2. Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine
|3= 3. [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]]
|4= 4. [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa]]
|5= 5. Margaret Erskine
|6= 6. [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]
|7= 7. [[Dorothea Jordan|Dorothea Bland]]
|8= 8. [[Archibald Kennedy, 11th Earl of Cassilis]]
|9= 9. Anne Watts
|10= 10. John Erskine
|11= 11. Mary Baird
|12= 12. [[George III of the United Kingdom]]
|13= 13. [[Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz|Duchess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
|14= 14. Francis Bland
|15= 15. Grace Phillips
|16= 16. Archibald Kennedy
|18= 18. John Watts
|19= 19. Ann DeLancey
|20= 20. John Erskine of Dunard
|22= 22. William Baird
|23= 23. Alicia Johnston
|24= 24. [[Frederick, Prince of Wales]]
|25= 25. [[Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha]]
|26= 26. [[Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg|Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
|27= 27. [[Princess Elizabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen]]
|28= 28. James Bland
|29= 29. Lucy Brewster
}}</center>
{{ahnentafel bottom}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

;Works cited
{{refbegin|colwidth=30em}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=8EcuAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA821&dq=Palmeira+Square+earl+of+munster#v=onepage&q=Palmeira%20Square%20earl%20of%20munster&f=false | title = Who's Who | year = 1901 |first1=Henry Robert |last1=Addison |first2=Charles Henry |last2=Oakes |publisher=Adam & Charles Black |location=London |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite web|url=http://desturmobed.blogspot.com/2012/05/countess-of-munster.html |first=Douglas A. |last=Anderson |authorlink=Douglas A. Anderson |title=The Countess of Munster |date=10 May 2012 |publisher=Desturmobed.blogspot.com |accessdate= 7 November 2013 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite journal| url = http://books.google.com/?id=tBo7AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA198&dq=queen+victoria+%22lady+munster%22#v=onepage&q=queen%20victoria%20%22lady%20munster%22&f=false |chapter=Brighton Society | title = Lady's Realm: An Illustrated Monthly Magazine, Volume 1 | year = 1897 |location=London |publisher=Hutchinson and Co |journal=[[Lady's Realm]] |ref={{sfnRef|Lady's Realm}} }}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=w0pLAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA1275&lpg=PA1275&dq=wilhelmina+1906+munster#v=onepage&q=wilhelmina%201906%20munster&f=false | title =Who's Who: An Annual Biographical Dictionary | year = 1907 |first=Douglas |last=Brooke |coauthors=Wheelton Sladen |location=London |publisher=Adam & Charles Black |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=K1YwAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA25&lpg=PA25&dq=countess+of+munster+kennedy-erskine#v=onepage&q=countess%20of%20munster%20kennedy-erskine&f=false | title = A Memoir of Her Royal Highness Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck, Volume 1 |first=Mary Adelaide of |last=Cambridge |authorlink=Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge | year = 1900 |location=London |publisher=John Murray |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite journal| url = http://books.google.com/?id=aZE_AQAAIAAJ&pg=PA230&dq=%22countess+of+munster%22+novelist#v=onepage&q=%22countess%20of%20munster%22%20novelist&f=false | title = The Saturday Review of Politics, Literature, Science and Art, Volume 83 | last1= Cook | first1 = John Douglas |coauthors=Philip Harwood, Frank Harris, Walter Herries Pollock, Harold Hodge | year = 1897 |location=London |journal=[[Saturday Review (London)|Saturday Review]] |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book | url = http://books.google.com/?id=uZstAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA654&dq=Palmeira+Square+earl+of+munster#v=onepage&q=Palmeira%20Square%20earl%20of%20munster&f=false | title = Dod's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage of Great Britain, and Ireland for ... : Including All the Titled Classes | last1 = Dod | first1 = Charles Roger | year = 1903 |location=London |publisher=Ampson, Low, Marston & Company |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books/about/My_Memories_and_Miscellanies.html?id=x40xAQAAMAAJ |title=My Memories and Miscellanies |first=Wilhelmina |last=FitzClarence|year=1904 |location=London |publisher=Eveleigh Nash |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=KDw6AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA722&dq=%22Wilhelmina%22+%22Kennedy-Erskine%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=mIWCUt_KKOWU2gW6xYDwBA&ved=0CCwQ6AEwADge#v=onepage&q=%22Wilhelmina%22%20%22Kennedy-Erskine%22&f=false |title=Armorial Families: A Complete Peerage, Baronetage, and Knightage |editor1-first=Arthur Charles |editor1-last=Fox-Davies |year=1895 |location=Edinburgh |publisher=T.C. & E.C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=GlIwAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA201&dq=kennedy-erskine+earl+munster#v=onepage&q=kennedy-erskine%20earl%20munster&f=false | title = Twenty Years at Court: From the Correspondence of the Hon. Eleanor Stanley, Maid of Honour to Her Late Majesty Queen Victoria, 1842–1862 | last1 = Julian Stanley Long | first1 = Eleanor | year = 1916 |location=New York |publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=zYNfom9HQPIC&pg=PA163&dq=%22countess+of+munster%22+novelist#v=onepage&q=%22countess%20of%20munster%22%20novelist&f=false | title =Tales from a Gas-Lit Graveyard | isbn = 978-0-486-43429-2 | editor-first = Hugh | year = 1979 |publisher=W.H. Allen |location=London | editor-last = Lamb |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=aB6iSLC66cwC&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=%22countess+of+munster%22&ots=ntS1c8R4iB&sig=yEEHRmdty-U5w-Yz6D1C6HVkinA#v=onepage&q=munster&f=false | title =Gaslit Nightmares | isbn = 0-486-44924-6| editor-first = Hugh | year = 1988 |publisher=Futura Publications |location=London | editor-last = Lamb |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/books?id=IIsUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA13&dq=John+Kennedy-Erskine+fitzclarence+1831&hl=en&sa=X&ei=uAUFU9CWE4a9yAGt8oHIAg&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=John%20Kennedy-Erskine%20fitzclarence%201831&f=false | title = The Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire as at Present Existing | last1 = Lodge | first1 = Edmund |coauthors=Anne Innes, Eliza Innes, Maria Innes | year = 1832 |publisher=Ibotson and Palmer |location=London |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=BxQwAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA453&dq=Wilhelmina+Kennedy-Erskine+fitzclarence#v=onepage&q=Wilhelmina%20Kennedy-Erskine%20fitzclarence&f=false | title = The Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire as at Present Existing | last1 = Lodge | first1 = Edmund |coauthors=Anne Innes, Eliza Innes, Maria Innes | year = 1890 |publisher=Hurst and Blackett |location=London |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |title=Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage |edition=106th |editor-last=Mosley |editor-first=Charles |year=1999 |location=Crans, Switzerland |publisher=Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |title=Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage |edition=107th |editor-last=Mosley |editor-first=Charles |year=2003 |location=Wilmington, Delaware |publisher=Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite journal| url = http://books.google.com/books?id=jkg9AQAAIAAJ&pg=RA1-PA297&dq=munster+A+%22Scotch+Earl%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=W_qAU6yYEM6iyATPzoL4CQ&ved=0CFwQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=munster%20A%20%22Scotch%20Earl%22&f=false | chapter= Recent Novels |title=The Spectator, Volumes 66-67 | year = 1891 |location=London |publisher=John Campbell |journal=[[The Spectator]] |ref={{sfnRef|The Spectator}} }}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Reynolds|first=K.D.|title=FitzClarence, George Augustus Frederick, first earl of Munster (1794–1842) |id=9542|date=2004 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=ljpRAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA454&dq=%22countess+of+munster%22+novelist#v=onepage&q=%22countess%20of%20munster%22%20novelist&f=false | journal= The Academy and Literature, Volume 66 |title=Short Notices | date = 23 April 1904 |ref={{sfnRef|Academy and Literature}}}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=0NIVAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA111&dq=munster+wilde&hl=en&sa=X&ei=9veAU6m5CY6pyATbuIEw&ved=0CE4Q6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=munster&f=false |title=The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde: Together with Essays and Stories by Lady Wilde, Volume 4 |first=Oscar |last=Wilde |authorlink=Oscar Wilde |year=1910 |publisher=Aldine Publishing Company |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?ei=uy54U_-sFcupyASi4oCYBw&id=l1QYAQAAIAAJ&dq=munster+fitzclarence+wilhelmina&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=munster |title=Shadows in the Attic: A Guide to British Supernatural Fiction, 1820–1950 |last= Wilson |first=Neil |year=2000 |location=London |publisher=British Library Publishing Division |isbn=978-0-7123-1074-1 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=gAfVIVra9C4C&pg=PA854&dq=Wilhelmina+Kennedy-Erskine+fitzclarence#v=onepage&q=Wilhelmina%20Kennedy-Erskine%20fitzclarence&f=false |title=The Life and Reign of William the Fourth |last= Wright |first=G.N. |year=1837 |location=London |publisher=Fisher, Son, & Co |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url =http://books.google.com/books?id=bWRZAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT442&dq=munster+fitzclarence+wilhelmina&hl=en&sa=X&ei=uy54U_-sFcupyASi4oCYBw&ved=0CCoQ6AEwADgK#v=onepage&q=munster&f=false | title =Wilde Discoveries: Traditions, Histories, Archives |chapter=The Aestetic Character of Oscar Wilde's The Woman's World |first=Molly |last=Youngkin | asin= B00HCLU9EW| editor-first = Joseph | year = 2013 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |location=London | editor-last = Bristow |ref=harv}}

{{refend}}
{{Commons category|Augusta FitzClarence Kennedy-Erskine }}

{{Persondata
| NAME = FitzClarence, Wilhelmina, Countess of Munster
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION =
| DATE OF BIRTH = 27 June 1830
| PLACE OF BIRTH = [[House of Dun|Dun House]], Montrose, Scotland
| DATE OF DEATH = 9 October 1906
| PLACE OF DEATH = Hove, Sussex, England
}}
[[Category:FitzClarence family]]
[[Category:1830 births]]
[[Category:1906 deaths]]
[[Category:British countesses]]
[[Category:People from Montrose, Angus]]
[[Category:19th-century British novelists]]
[[Category:British short story writers]]
[[Category:British horror writers]]
[[Category:Women short story writers]]
[[Category:20th-century British novelists]]

Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster

2014-05-24T19:59:30Z

Ruby2010: A few more improvements; more on Wilde

{{Infobox noble|type
| name = Wilhelmina Kennedy-Erskine
| title = Countess of Munster
| image = Countess of Munster 1904 frontispiece.jpg
| caption =
| alt =
| CoA =
| more = no
| succession =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| suc-type =
| spouse = [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]]
| spouse-type = Husband
| issue = Edward, Viscount FitzClarence Hon. Lionel Frederick Archibald [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster]] Hon. Arthur Falkland Manners [[Aubrey FitzClarence, 4th Earl of Munster]] Hon. William George Hon. Harold Edward Lady Lillian Boyd Lady Dorothea Lee-Warner
| full name =
| styles =
| titles =
| noble family = [[:Category:FitzClarence family|FitzClarence family]]
| house-type = nobility
| father = Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine
| mother = [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1830|06|27|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[House of Dun|Dun House]], Montrose, Scotland
| christening_date =
| christening_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1906|10|09|1830|06|27|df=y}}
| death_place = Hove, Sussex, England
| burial_date =
| burial_place =
| religion =
| occupation = Peeress, novelist
}}
'''Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster''' (''née'' '''Kennedy-Erskine'''; 27 June 1830 – 9 October 1906) was a British peeress and novelist. Her mother, [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]], was an illegitimate daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]; Wilhelmina, also known as Mina, was born the day after William's succession as monarch. She travelled as a young girl throughout Europe, visiting the courts of [[July Monarchy|France]] and [[Kingdom of Hanover|Hanover]]. In 1855, Mina married her first cousin [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]]; they would have nine children, including the [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster|3rd]] and [[Aubrey FitzClarence, 4th Earl of Munster|4th]] Earls of Munster.

The Earl and Countess of Munster lived at [[Palmeira Square]] in [[Brighton]]. Later in life, Lady Munster became a novelist and short story writer. In 1889, she released her first novel; a second followed two years later. The year 1896 saw the publication of ''Ghostly Tales'', a collection of tales on the supernatural which have largely been forgotten today. Lady Munster also produced an autobiography entitled ''My Memories and Miscellanies'', which was released in 1904. She died two years later.

==Family and early life==
[[File:Lady Augusta FitzClarence and children.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Wilhelmina with her mother Lady Augusta and two siblings.]]
Wilhelmina "Mina" Kennedy-Erskine was born on 27 June 1830 in [[House of Dun|Dun House]], Montrose, Scotland. She was the third child of the Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine and his wife [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]], an illegitimate daughter of [[William IV of the United Kingdom|William IV]] (who became monarch the day before Mina's birth).{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=3}} Her father, a second son of the [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa|13th Earl of Cassilis]], was a captain with the [[16th The Queen's Lancers|16th Lancers]] and an [[equerry]] to King William before dying in 1831 at the age of 28.<ref>{{Cite news|title=The Queen's Third Drawing Room |newspaper=[[The Observer]] |date=27 March 1831 |page=1}}</ref>{{sfn|Lodge|1832|p=13}}

Mina lived with her widowed mother and two siblings in a "charming brick house" on the [[River Thames]] called Railshead, which was next door to a house owned by her paternal grandparents.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=5–7}} King William visited the family often and was quite fond of Mina;{{sfn|Academy and Literature|p=454}} on one occasion, he visited to comfort his daughter when three- or four-year-old Mina nearly died of a "very dangerous" [[brain fever]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=8}} The Kennedy-Erskines also often visited [[Windsor Castle]] during the king's reign.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=34}}

Five years after Kennedy-Erskine's death, Lady Augusta remarried to [[Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton]], a decision that displeased her first husband's parents.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=40}} The decision led to Lady Augusta's departure from Railshead. In 1837 she became State Housekeeper at [[Kensington Palace]] after the death of her sister, [[Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley|Lady De L'Isle]].{{sfn|Wright|1837|p=854}}{{sfn|Cambridge|1900|p=25}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=42}} Mina lived there until she married.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=50}} She and her sister Millicent enjoyed music and had a particular love for the Italian soprano [[Marietta Alboni]]. The sisters' Italian singing-master secretly arranged for a meeting with Alboni but the encounter did not go well: the singer discovered that they were the daughters of the "housekeeper", and, assuming that they were not ladies, she departed soon after.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=61–64}}

In the late 1840s, Mina travelled through Europe with her family to "learn languages and finish our education".{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=83}} The trip started in 1847, when Mina journeyed to [[Dresden]] due to her mother's desire for her daughters to learn German.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=83–84}} From 1847 to 1849, she and her family lived in Paris near the [[Arc de Triomphe]], and were kindly received by the French Royal Family headed by [[Louis Philippe I]] and [[Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily|Queen Marie Amalie]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=110–17}} They left soon after the king and queen's [[French Revolution of 1848|fall from power]], as the city had suddenly become unsafe for those of their rank.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=120–23}} In 1850, they visited the court of [[Kingdom of Hanover|Hanover]] and were received by [[Ernest Augustus I of Hanover]] and his family; later that year, they returned to Kensington Palace and Mina and Millicent [[Season (society)|came out in society]].{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=129–44}}

==Marriage==
[[File:Earl of Munster 25 February 1882.jpg|thumb|right|180px|The Earl of Munster as caricatured by Spy ([[Leslie Ward]]) in ''[[Vanity Fair (British magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'', February 1882 ]]
Mina married her first cousin [[William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster]] at [[Wemyss Castle]] on 17 April 1855 in a double wedding in which her sister Millicent married [[James Hay Erskine Wemyss]].{{sfn|Julian Stanley Long|1916|p=201}}{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=152}} Like Mina, FitzClarence was a grandchild of William IV; at a young age, he had succeeded his father the [[George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster|1st Earl]], who served as a governor of Windsor Castle and constable of the [[Round Tower (Portsmouth)|Round Tower]] until his suicide in 1842.{{sfn|Reynolds|2004}} The FitzClarences travelled to Hamburg immediately after the wedding, visiting local ''[[schloss]]es'' and the family of [[Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein]] (who later married [[Princess Helena of the United Kingdom|The Princess Helena]]).{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=153–56}} Their first child, Edward, was born within a year.{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}} The couple would have nine children:
* Edward, Viscount FitzClarence (29 March 1856 – 1870){{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}
* Hon. Lionel Frederick Archibald (24 July 1857 – 1863){{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}
* [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster]] (18 July 1859 – 2 February 1902); died without issue{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=2035}}
* Hon. Arthur Falkland Manners (18 October 1860 – 1861){{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}
* [[Aubrey FitzClarence, 4th Earl of Munster]] (7 June 1862 – 1 January 1928); died without issue{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=2035}}
* Hon. William George (17 September 1864 – 4 October 1899); married Charlotte Elizabeth Williams{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=2035}}
* Hon. Harold Edward (15 November 1870 – 28 August 1926); married Frances Isabel Eleanor Keppel; their son was the [[Geoffrey FitzClarence, 5th Earl of Munster|5th Earl of Munster]]{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|1999|p=48}}
* Lady Lillian Adelaide Katherine Mary (10 December 1873 – 15 July 1948); married Captain William Arthur Boyd{{sfn|Fox-Davies|1895|p=722}}{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}{{sfn|Mosley|2003|p=470}}
* Lady Dorothea Augusta (5 May 1876 – 1942); married Major Chandos Brydges Lee-Warner{{sfn|Lodge|1890|p=453}}<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp60749/lady-dorothea-augusta-lee-warner |title=Lady Dorothea Augusta Lee-Warner |publisher=[[National Portrait Gallery, London|National Portrait Gallery]] |accessdate=17 February 2014}}</ref>

The Earl and Countess of Munster lived at [[Palmeira Square]] in [[Brighton]].{{sfn|Lady's Realm|p=197}}{{sfn|Dod|1903|p=654}}{{sfn|Addison|Oakes|1901|p=821}} By 1897, Lord Munster's health was failing and she was reported to be living in "comparative seclusion".{{sfn|Lady's Realm|p=197}} She died on 9 October 1906.{{sfn|Brooke|1907|p=1275}}

==Literary career==
{{Library resources box|by=yes|onlinebooksby=yes|lcheading= Munster, Wilhelmina Fitzclarence, Countess of, 1830–1906}}
Later in life, Lady Munster was also a novelist and short story writer, with all of her works credited as being authored by the Countess of Munster. At the age of nearly sixty,{{sfn|Wilson|2000|p=219}} she published two novels; her first, ''Dorinda'', in 1889, and her second, ''A Scotch Earl'', in 1891.{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} The plot of ''Dorinda'' centred on a young woman who eventually kills herself after stealing works of art from her friends. [[Oscar Wilde]] noted Munster's skill in writing ''Dorinda''; he compared the "exceedingly clever" novel's heroine to "a sort of well-born [[Becky Sharp (character)|Becky Sharp]],"{{sfn|Wilde|1910|p=110}} and praised the author's ability "to draw ... in a few sentences the most lifelike portraits of social types and social exceptions."{{sfn|Youngkin|2013}} In 1888, an article by Munster about ballad singing appeared in ''[[The Woman's World]]'', a Victorian women's magazine edited by Wilde.{{sfn|Youngkin|2013}}

In 1896, Munster released ''Ghostly Tales'', a collection of stories "written in a manner similar to accounts of true hauntings".{{sfn|Anderson|2012}}{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} The contemporary magazine ''Lady Realm'' considered her stories to be based on fact.{{sfn|Lady's Realm|p=197}} A positive review of ''Ghostly Tales'' was published in the ''[[Saturday Review (London)|Saturday Review]]'' in 1897, which described the stories as "entertaining and dramatic" but noted that not all were based on supernatural events.{{sfn|Cook|1897|p=230}} Hugh Lamb included her "surprisingly grim" story ''The Tyburn Ghost'' in his 1979 edited volume ''Tales from a Gas-Lit Graveyard''. He believed that Lady Munster's works have been "completely overlooked by bibliophiles and anthologists since her death".{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} Lamb deemed this regrettable, as he considered ''Ghostly Tales'' "possibly her best work" and one of the "truly representative collections of Victorian ghost stories".{{sfn|Lamb|1979|p=163}} Lamb also included another of her stories, ''The Page-Boy's Ghost'', in a 1988 anthology.{{sfn|Lamb|1988|p=208}} However, modern author and editor [[Douglas A. Anderson]] has called them "standard, melodramatic fare, perfectly forgettable".{{sfn|Anderson|2012}}

In 1904, Lady Munster produced an autobiography entitled ''My Memories and Miscellanies''. In its [[foreword]], she explained that "some valued friends" convinced her to write it, despite her reluctance, because her "long life" had witnessed "not a few interesting events."{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=vii}} The book was called her "chief work" in ''[[The Manchester Guardian]]'' at the time of her death in 1906.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Memorial Notices |newspaper=[[The Manchester Guardian]] |date=12 October 1906 |page=7}}</ref> The Countess wrote the entire book by memory, and expressed regret that she had given up her journal writing as a young girl after someone else improperly read it.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|p=112}} The autobiography included several recounted sightings of the female ghost "Green Jean" at Wemyss Castle; Lady Munster claimed that several members of her family, including Millicent, saw the ghost while staying there.{{sfn|FitzClarence|1904|pp=159–64}}

==Ancestry==
{{ahnentafel top|width=100%}}
{{ahnentafel-compact5
|style=font-size: 90%; line-height: 110%;
|border=1
|boxstyle=padding-top: 0; padding-bottom: 0;
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe;
|1= 1. '''Wilhelmina Kennedy-Erskine'''
|2= 2. Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine
|3= 3. [[Lady Augusta FitzClarence]]
|4= 4. [[Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa]]
|5= 5. Margaret Erskine
|6= 6. [[William IV of the United Kingdom]]
|7= 7. [[Dorothea Jordan|Dorothea Bland]]
|8= 8. [[Archibald Kennedy, 11th Earl of Cassilis]]
|9= 9. Anne Watts
|10= 10. John Erskine
|11= 11. Mary Baird
|12= 12. [[George III of the United Kingdom]]
|13= 13. [[Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz|Duchess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
|14= 14. Francis Bland
|15= 15. Grace Phillips
|16= 16. Archibald Kennedy
|18= 18. John Watts
|19= 19. Ann DeLancey
|20= 20. John Erskine of Dunard
|22= 22. William Baird
|23= 23. Alicia Johnston
|24= 24. [[Frederick, Prince of Wales]]
|25= 25. [[Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha]]
|26= 26. [[Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg|Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
|27= 27. [[Princess Elizabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen]]
|28= 28. James Bland
|29= 29. Lucy Brewster
}}</center>
{{ahnentafel bottom}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

;Works cited
{{refbegin|colwidth=30em}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=8EcuAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA821&dq=Palmeira+Square+earl+of+munster#v=onepage&q=Palmeira%20Square%20earl%20of%20munster&f=false | title = Who's Who | year = 1901 |first1=Henry Robert |last1=Addison |first2=Charles Henry |last2=Oakes |publisher=Adam & Charles Black |location=London |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite web|url=http://desturmobed.blogspot.com/2012/05/countess-of-munster.html |first=Douglas A. |last=Anderson |authorlink=Douglas A. Anderson |title=The Countess of Munster |date=10 May 2012 |publisher=Desturmobed.blogspot.com |accessdate= 7 November 2013 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=w0pLAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA1275&lpg=PA1275&dq=wilhelmina+1906+munster#v=onepage&q=wilhelmina%201906%20munster&f=false | title =Who's Who: An Annual Biographical Dictionary | year = 1907 |first=Douglas |last=Brooke |coauthors=Wheelton Sladen |location=London |publisher=Adam & Charles Black |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=K1YwAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA25&lpg=PA25&dq=countess+of+munster+kennedy-erskine#v=onepage&q=countess%20of%20munster%20kennedy-erskine&f=false | title = A Memoir of Her Royal Highness Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck, Volume 1 |first=Mary Adelaide of |last=Cambridge |authorlink=Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge | year = 1900 |location=London |publisher=John Murray |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite journal| url = http://books.google.com/?id=aZE_AQAAIAAJ&pg=PA230&dq=%22countess+of+munster%22+novelist#v=onepage&q=%22countess%20of%20munster%22%20novelist&f=false | title = The Saturday Review of Politics, Literature, Science and Art, Volume 83 | last1= Cook | first1 = John Douglas |coauthors=Philip Harwood, Frank Harris, Walter Herries Pollock, Harold Hodge | year = 1897 |location=London |journal=[[Saturday Review (London)|Saturday Review]] |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book | url = http://books.google.com/?id=uZstAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA654&dq=Palmeira+Square+earl+of+munster#v=onepage&q=Palmeira%20Square%20earl%20of%20munster&f=false | title = Dod's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage of Great Britain, and Ireland for ... : Including All the Titled Classes | last1 = Dod | first1 = Charles Roger | year = 1903 |location=London |publisher=Ampson, Low, Marston & Company |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books/about/My_Memories_and_Miscellanies.html?id=x40xAQAAMAAJ |title=My Memories and Miscellanies |first=Wilhelmina |last=FitzClarence|year=1904 |location=London |publisher=Eveleigh Nash |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=KDw6AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA722&dq=%22Wilhelmina%22+%22Kennedy-Erskine%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=mIWCUt_KKOWU2gW6xYDwBA&ved=0CCwQ6AEwADge#v=onepage&q=%22Wilhelmina%22%20%22Kennedy-Erskine%22&f=false |title=Armorial Families: A Complete Peerage, Baronetage, and Knightage |editor1-first=Arthur Charles |editor1-last=Fox-Davies |year=1895 |location=Edinburgh |publisher=T.C. & E.C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=GlIwAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA201&dq=kennedy-erskine+earl+munster#v=onepage&q=kennedy-erskine%20earl%20munster&f=false | title = Twenty Years at Court: From the Correspondence of the Hon. Eleanor Stanley, Maid of Honour to Her Late Majesty Queen Victoria, 1842–1862 | last1 = Julian Stanley Long | first1 = Eleanor | year = 1916 |location=New York |publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite journal| url = http://books.google.com/?id=tBo7AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA198&dq=queen+victoria+%22lady+munster%22#v=onepage&q=queen%20victoria%20%22lady%20munster%22&f=false | title = Lady's Realm: An Illustrated Monthly Magazine, Volume 1 | year = 1897 |location=London |publisher=Hutchinson and Co |journal=Lady's Realm |ref={{sfnRef|Lady's Realm}} }}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=zYNfom9HQPIC&pg=PA163&dq=%22countess+of+munster%22+novelist#v=onepage&q=%22countess%20of%20munster%22%20novelist&f=false | title =Tales from a Gas-Lit Graveyard | isbn = 978-0-486-43429-2 | editor-first = Hugh | year = 1979 |publisher=W.H. Allen |location=London | editor-last = Lamb |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=aB6iSLC66cwC&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=%22countess+of+munster%22&ots=ntS1c8R4iB&sig=yEEHRmdty-U5w-Yz6D1C6HVkinA#v=onepage&q=munster&f=false | title =Gaslit Nightmares | isbn = 0-486-44924-6| editor-first = Hugh | year = 1988 |publisher=Futura Publications |location=London | editor-last = Lamb |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/books?id=IIsUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA13&dq=John+Kennedy-Erskine+fitzclarence+1831&hl=en&sa=X&ei=uAUFU9CWE4a9yAGt8oHIAg&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=John%20Kennedy-Erskine%20fitzclarence%201831&f=false | title = The Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire as at Present Existing | last1 = Lodge | first1 = Edmund |coauthors=Anne Innes, Eliza Innes, Maria Innes | year = 1832 |publisher=Ibotson and Palmer |location=London |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=BxQwAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA453&dq=Wilhelmina+Kennedy-Erskine+fitzclarence#v=onepage&q=Wilhelmina%20Kennedy-Erskine%20fitzclarence&f=false | title = The Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire as at Present Existing | last1 = Lodge | first1 = Edmund |coauthors=Anne Innes, Eliza Innes, Maria Innes | year = 1890 |publisher=Hurst and Blackett |location=London |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |title=Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage |edition=106th |editor-last=Mosley |editor-first=Charles |year=1999 |location=Crans, Switzerland |publisher=Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |title=Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage |edition=107th |editor-last=Mosley |editor-first=Charles |year=2003 |location=Wilmington, Delaware |publisher=Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd |ref=harv}}
* {{ODNBweb|last=Reynolds|first=K.D.|title=FitzClarence, George Augustus Frederick, first earl of Munster (1794–1842) |id=9542|date=2004 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url = http://books.google.com/?id=ljpRAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA454&dq=%22countess+of+munster%22+novelist#v=onepage&q=%22countess%20of%20munster%22%20novelist&f=false | journal= The Academy and Literature, Volume 66 |title=Short Notices | date = 23 April 1904 |ref={{sfnRef|Academy and Literature}}}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=0NIVAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA111&dq=munster+wilde&hl=en&sa=X&ei=9veAU6m5CY6pyATbuIEw&ved=0CE4Q6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=munster&f=false |title=The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde: Together with Essays and Stories by Lady Wilde, Volume 4 |first=Oscar |last=Wilde |authorlink=Oscar Wilde |year=1910 |publisher=Aldine Publishing Company |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?ei=uy54U_-sFcupyASi4oCYBw&id=l1QYAQAAIAAJ&dq=munster+fitzclarence+wilhelmina&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=munster |title=Shadows in the Attic: A Guide to British Supernatural Fiction, 1820–1950 |last= Wilson |first=Neil |year=2000 |location=London |publisher=British Library Publishing Division |isbn=978-0-7123-1074-1 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=gAfVIVra9C4C&pg=PA854&dq=Wilhelmina+Kennedy-Erskine+fitzclarence#v=onepage&q=Wilhelmina%20Kennedy-Erskine%20fitzclarence&f=false |title=The Life and Reign of William the Fourth |last= Wright |first=G.N. |year=1837 |location=London |publisher=Fisher, Son, & Co |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book| url =http://books.google.com/books?id=bWRZAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT442&dq=munster+fitzclarence+wilhelmina&hl=en&sa=X&ei=uy54U_-sFcupyASi4oCYBw&ved=0CCoQ6AEwADgK#v=onepage&q=munster&f=false | title =Wilde Discoveries: Traditions, Histories, Archives |chapter=The Aestetic Character of Oscar Wilde's The Woman's World |first=Molly |last=Youngkin | asin= B00HCLU9EW| editor-first = Joseph | year = 2013 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |location=London | editor-last = Bristow |ref=harv}}

{{refend}}
{{Commons category|Augusta FitzClarence Kennedy-Erskine }}

{{Persondata
| NAME = FitzClarence, Wilhelmina, Countess of Munster
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION =
| DATE OF BIRTH = 27 June 1830
| PLACE OF BIRTH = [[House of Dun|Dun House]], Montrose, Scotland
| DATE OF DEATH = 9 October 1906
| PLACE OF DEATH = Hove, Sussex, England
}}
[[Category:FitzClarence family]]
[[Category:1830 births]]
[[Category:1906 deaths]]
[[Category:British countesses]]
[[Category:People from Montrose, Angus]]
[[Category:19th-century British novelists]]
[[Category:British short story writers]]
[[Category:British horror writers]]
[[Category:Women short story writers]]
[[Category:20th-century British novelists]]