Born to
Barbara Villiers, Countess of Castlemaine, on 28 September 1663, Henry FitzRoy was an illegitimate son of King
Charles II of England, the second by Barbara Villiers. His mother was the daughter of
William Villiers, 2nd Viscount Grandison, a colonel of one of King
Charles I's regiments who was killed in action during the Civil War. On 1 August 1672, at the age of 8, marriage was arranged to the 5-year-old
Isabella, daughter and heiress of
Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington. A wedding ceremony took place on 4 November 1679 witnessed and recorded by
John Evelyn in his diary of that date describing him as "exceedingly handsome, by far surpassing any of the Kings other naturall Issue". At the time of his marriage, Henry FitzRoy was created
Baron Sudbury,
Viscount Ipswich, and
Earl of Euston. In 1675, he was created
Duke of Grafton, and Charles II made him a
Knight of the Order of the Garter in 1680. He was appointed colonel of the
Grenadier Guards in 1681. In that year, he received a warrant to supersede Sir
Robert Holmes as
Governor of the Isle of Wight, when the latter was charged with making false musters. However, Holmes was acquitted by court-martial and retained the governorship. In 1686, he killed John Talbot, brother of the
Earl of Shrewsbury, in a duel; Talbot having given Grafton some "unhandsome and provoking language". He was appointed
Vice-Admiral of the Narrow Seas from 1685 to 1687. At King
James II's coronation, Grafton was
Lord High Constable. During the rebellion of the
Duke of Monmouth he commanded the royal troops in
Somerset. However, he later acted with
John Churchill, and joined
William of Orange to overthrow the King in the
Glorious Revolution of 1688. ==Death==