He was born on 5 February 1844, the eldest son of
Sir Peter FitzGerald, 1st Baronet, and his wife, Julia Hussey, daughter of Peter Hussey. He succeeded his father to the
baronetcy—in addition to the illustrious
knighthood of Kerry—in 1880. FitzGerald was commissioned as an officer in the
Rifle Brigade in 1863. He fought in the
Third Anglo-Ashanti War in which he served as
ADC to Gen.
Sir Archibald Alison. He remained with his regiment until 1883, by which time he had received promotion to the rank of
Captain. He later also served as equerry to
Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught. On 4 October 1882, FitzGerald married Amelia Catherine Bischoffsheim, daughter of prosperous banker
Henri Louis Bischoffsheim. They had three children. In 1909, FitzGerald acquired
Buckland House, a grand Georgian house near
Farringdon, Berkshire, where on one occasion he hosted King
Edward VII. Following his wife's death in 1947, she bequeathed the property to their grandson Major Richard Wellesley, in which family the estate remains. He died at Buckland on 22 October 1916 aged 72. == References ==