The Washington herald., 1911-02-16
GOSSIP OF OLD
BRITISH NOBILITY

| ulSCOuTSe on Ine OTlSlUt
root and branch, of the British old no.
bility, am reminded of something which
Mr.. Chamberlain said about twenty-five
years ago: II boast descent of which L
am as proud as any baron may be of
the title he owes to the smiles of the
King or the favors of the Kings mis-
j tress."
But then that was before the hope of
stern. unbending radicalism had developed
INTO the mainstay of the House of Lords.
the champion of the established church,
the bulwark of landlordism.''
| Doubtless Mr.. Chamberlain had in mind
| the cases of the Duke of st. Adams, the
Duke OF Grafton, and the Duke of Rich
mond.
The Duke of st. Albans (Charles Vic
tor Albert Aubrey De We're Beauclerk.
Earl OF Burford, Baron of Hedington.
Baron We're Of Hanworth. hereditary
grand falconer of England), is descended
in direct line from Nell Gwyn. the orange
girl whom Charles II moved from Drury
Lane to the royal bed-chamber Unlike
their graces the Duchess of Cleveland
and the Duchess of Portsmouth, Nell did
not ask for title for herself. But she
was careful that her son should found
a family which for 80 years has helped
to govern Great Britain. First created
Earl Of BurfOrd, when the boy reached
the age of thirteen, the proud father
made him Duke OF st. Adams, and rich
ly endowed the title out of the public
property. Among other honors he was
named master falconer, a title proudly
|
Mel! herself. object of MIR. Pepys' amor
Gus adulation. was content personally to
take out her wages in hard cash.
! The Duke of Grafton (Sir Augustus
| Charles Lennox FitzRoy, knight OF the
Garter, Earl of Euston. Earl of Arlington,
Viscount Thetford, Viscount Ipswich.
Baron Arlington, Baron Sudbury. retired
general in the British army, late of the
| Coldstream Guards, Knight OF the Turkish
Medjidje, equerry to King George of
! England and formerly equerry to Queen
Victoria), also boasts royal blood in his
veins.
Henry FitzRoy, first Duke of Grafton,
was another illegidmate son of King
Charles II. His mother was Barbara
Palmer, wife of Lord Castlemain, later
| hlO" dS il4ItISs DuNilSsSS VI
Cleveland. In view of the character of
the mother there was some doubt among
contemporaries about the paternity of the
| boy. Ignoring it, Charles ii loaded him
with houses and land. The rent roll of the
present duke is drawn from over 1900
acres of the richest soil in England and
Scotland. Part of the former is now
| transformed into busy London streets.
In supplement the father bestowed upon
| the young duke a hereditary pension OF
5000 a year drawn from the excise and
! another G4,7OO levied upon the post office.
| These additions to the taxation of the
people were suffered till, in view of the
growth of the press and the stiffening OF
the authority of the House of Commons,
! it was found convenient to commute the
payment for a lump sum.
| Whittelebury Forest in Stuart times
one of the most extensive of the royal
domains, was placed at the disposal of the
first Duke of Grafton, who was invested
with the Office and power of hereditary
ranger Public inquiry made in the
closing years of the eighteenth century
disclosed the fact that over a heightened
period systematic fraud had been prac-
ticed. Timber being urgently needed for
the navy, a warrant was issued from the
treasury to procure a supply from the
| forest. The hereditary ranger" tax
! ing advantage of a technical flaw in the
procedure, not only bundled off the ground
| the men dispatched to execute the order
but insisted on the dismissal of the dep
uty surveyor from the public service.
| Reference to this transaction will be
| found in the letters of Junius. In what
| language shall l address so black a
| tyrant" he asks, and straightway, after
| his fashion, produces it. The lords OF
| the treasury recall their warrant; the
deputy surveyor is ruined for doing his
duty; the oaks keep their ground; the
King is defrauded. and the navy of Eng
land may perish for want of the best and
| finest timber on the island. And all this
! submitted to appease the Duke of Graf
! ton; to justify the man who has involved
the King and his kingdom in confusion
and distress. and who deserted his mas
| ter"
Last, but not least. in the galaxy
of the noble dukes and lords mentioned
here is the Duke of Richmond (Sir
/ l.
| the Garter, Earl of March, Baron and
Earl of Darnley, Baron Methuen, Duke
| of Lennox, Duke of Gordon. Earl of
| KinraIa, Duke dAubigny, hereditary con-
! stable of Inverness).
Charles Lennox, the first Duke of Rich
mond and LennoX, was still another
fllegitimate son of King Charles II. He
was the son of Louise Renee de Perren-
court de Querouaille. who by King
! Charles was created Duchess of Ports
mouth. Countess of Fareham, and Baron
| ess Petersield, and by Louis XIV of
France a Duchess d'Aubigny.
This Louise De Querouaille. it is chron-
icled. was privily dispatched to the court
of st. James by the willy French King,
who paid handsomely for her services,
| but not in excess of their value. Easily
establishing ascendency over Charles II,
she reduced him to the pitiful condition
| of the French monarchs pensioner, Sc
cretly selling the interests of England
| for purses of gold. Charles created the
| intermediary a Duchess of Portsmouth.
When IN 1872 a son was born, he was made
Duke of Richmond, with a grant of land
| in Yorkshire, and Duke of LennoX, in the
| kingdom Of Scotland, with rich estates
| in that country.
The child having reached the interest
| ing age of five years, King Charles is
sued letters patent, bestowing upon that
son and his heirs forever lien of one
shilling per caUldron on all coal shipped
on che river TYNE for consumption in