Henry FitzRoy, 12th Duke of Grafton


Henry Oliver Charles FitzRoy, 12th Duke of Grafton, known as Harry Grafton, is an English peer and music promoter. He inherited the Dukedom of Grafton from his grandfather, Hugh FitzRoy, 11th Duke of Grafton, on 7 April 2011. He is also a direct male-line descendant of Charles II of England.

Early life

Grafton is the son of James Oliver Charles FitzRoy, Earl of Euston, and his wife, Lady Clare Amabel Margaret Kerr, the daughter of the 12th Marquess of Lothian. He was known as Viscount Ipswich from his birth until he succeeded to the dukedom. On his father's death in 2009 he could have taken the title of Earl of Euston, but did not do so.
His ancestor Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton, was an illegitimate son of King Charles II by his mistress Barbara Villiers, Duchess of Cleveland. Grafton shares the surname FitzRoy with other natural lines descended from Charles II. The ducal coat of arms includes Charles II's royal coat of arms crossed by a baton sinister, indicating both the family's royal lineage and its origin in illegitimacy.
Educated at Harrow School and the University of Edinburgh, he spent a post-graduate year at the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester, studying estate management.

Career

From 2002 to 2004 he worked in the United States in music business management, as a radio host in Nashville, Tennessee, and in 2005–2006 as a merchandise co ordinator for the Rolling Stones on the A Bigger Bang tour.
In 2007, he moved to London and in 2009, due to the death of his father, he returned to Suffolk to help manage the Euston Estate. He currently promotes live music events through his estate while modernising its 10,000-acre farm.

Family life

On 14 August 2010, Viscount Ipswich, as he was then known, married Olivia Margaret M. Sladen at Snowshill, Gloucestershire. Their engagement had been announced on 15 April 2010. Together, they are the parents of two sons and a daughter:
The Duke's seat is Euston Hall, at Euston in Suffolk, near Thetford in Norfolk.

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