edward fitzgerald, 7th duke of leinster, etc. (6 may 1892 &ndash; 8 march 1976), known as lord edward fitzgerald before 1922, was ireland's premier peer of the realm. ==life== leinster was the youngest of the three sons born to gerald fitzgerald, 5th duke of leinster and his wife, the former lady hermione duncombe. his alledged biological father, however, was hugo charteris, 11th earl of wemyss.angela lambert, unquiet souls (harper & row, 1984), page 64 he inherited the dukedom in 1922, upon the death of his eldest brother, maurice fitzgerald, 6th duke of leinster, who never married and was confined to a mental institution at the time of his death. an addicted gambler, leinster had already signed away his possible reversionary rights to the family's ancestral seat, carton house, near maynooth in county kildare, not expecting that he would inherit the property and the title. he chose to live in england and his estates remained in the possession of the beneficiary, sir harry mallaby-deeley, 1st baronet during the duke's lifetime. in 1936, leinster testified at a bankruptcy hearing that he had travelled to the united states in 1928 order to find an heiress to marry and that during his trip he "entertained lavishly on borrowed money in efforts to find an american wife who would pay off his debts"."heiress hunt is told by duke of leinster", the new york times, 15 october 1936 two heiresses appeared to be interested but both eventually declined to become duchess of leinster. unable to repay his debts, the duke spent the final years of his life living in a small bedsit in pimlico. obituary for the 8th duke of leinster, edward fitzgerald's son he died by suicide in 1976 by taking an overdose of pentobarbital. ==personal life== the duke of leinster married four times, his wives being:edward fitzgerald, 7th duke of leinster - website thepeerage.com *may juanita etheridge  (4 august 1892 â 11 february 1935), a chorus girl nickn
1892_births 1976_deaths Dukes_in_the_Peerage_of_Ireland Dukes_of_Leinster FitzGerald_dynasty Suicides_by_poison