Vice Admiral Terence Henry Wallace FitzRoy, 11th Duke of Grafton CBE, DSO, PC (10 April 1953-7 March 2019), styled Viscount Ipswich between 1954 and 1976 and Earl of Euston between 1976 and 1990, was a British aristocrat, politician and a retired Royal Navy Officer who became the 11th Duke of Grafton on the death of his father on the 2nd of July 1990.
Early life
He was the only son of the 10th Duke of Grafton and his wife. He was educated at Epsom College. He was a descendant of former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Augustus Henry FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton. The 3rd Duke was the youngest person to have held the office at age 33 until the appointment of William Pitt the Younger 15 years later.
Military career
Grafton was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Royal Navy after graduating from Britannia Royal Naval College. During his time at the college he presented exemplary skills as a promising naval strategist. He is regarded as a fan of the former Chief of the Defense Staff Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, a fellow navy man whom Grafton met while serving as a Lieutenant Commander
Grafton saw action during the Falklands War in which he was a Commander on board the HMS Fearless. After the war because of his bravery he was given the Distinguished Service Order. He also received a promotion to captain and with this his own command.
Grafton served as the captain of the HMS Monarch within the fleet stationed at HMNB Devonport between 1983-1988 and had little to do during peace time.
He was promoted to Commodore in 1989 after his superior's retirement and took his posting as the commanding officer of HMNB Devonport , overseeing it until 1993. During his time in command of Devonport his father passed away. From this point on he was the Duke of Grafton.
With his success at commanding Devonport, he was promoted to Rear admiral and was given command of the Royal Navy's fleet stationed at Gibraltar, a position he happily accepted.
He was promoted to the rank of Vice Admiral in 1998 and was reassigned to the Ministry of Defence in London, much to his displeasure. He served at the Ministry until his retirement in 2010.
From 2010 onward he planned to get involved in politics.
Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma
Political Career
Liberal Democrats
Sometime after the defeat of David Ryans Grafton left the House of Lords and became the Member of Parliament for South West Norfolk, representing the Liberal Democratic Party and would run for the leadership of the Liberal Democratic Party soon after. He would run for the position unopposed.
Grafton would run in the next general election as the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party. He was able to be involved in the formation of never before heard of four party coalition government as Deputy Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer with Julia Dzien as Prime Minister and Leader of the Green Party, Michael Fantolini Berkshire, 1st Earl of Berkshire as Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and Leader of the Conservative Party, plus Daniel Cook as Secretary of Education and Leader of the Socialist Party
Grafton while he was Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
After Dzien's death the four party coalition would quickly fall apart and would loose the next election. Grafton ran for the seat of Chelsea and Fulham and won with an outstanding majority but would ultimately lose the election to Kyle Marks. Marks resigned from office within the first month of becoming Prime Minister.
During the next election Terence would run again as Liberal Democratic Party leader would be beaten by Samuel Faith, coming second he was made Leader of the Opposition.
Conservatives
After a successful time as Opposition Leader he joined the ranks of the Conservative Party. He became the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in Charles Stewart, 19th Duke of Somerset's short lived government after a vote of no confidence in Samuel Faith as Prime Minister.
After Somerset's alleged death, Grafton became Leader of the House of Commons in the new Duval Government until being made Home Secretary in that same government.
He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire after the end of Duval's premiership
At the end of Duval's term he resigned as Leader of the Conservative Party and Grafton ran for the leadership of the party against his son. Grafton won after several recounts and led the Conservatives into the following election. The Party's campaign slogan was 'Make Britain Great Again,' a reference to the name Great Britain. The Conservatives came third in the election, however Grafton still became the Leader of the Opposition. After the election he is believed to have said to an aid "We did our best, right?" Shortly after the election he resigned as Leader of the Conservatives.
Grafton announces his resignation as Conservative Party leader
After his resignation he continued to be an active Member of Parliament, representing his constituency of Chelsea and Fulham. He remains a member of the Conservative Party.
Personal life
He was married in January 1971. He has three children:
- Tybalt FitzRoy, Earl of Euston (1971) (No issue)
- Nicolette FitzRoy, Duchess of Somerset LG (1972) (married Charles Stewart, Duke of Somerset. No issue)
- Nicholas FitzRoy
Disclaimer
All information relating to this United Kingdom Role play Game Character is entirely fictional.
Titles and styles
- Viscount Ipswich (1954-1976)
- Earl of Euston (1976-1990)
- The Duke of Grafton (1990-2019)