by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick, 1st Duke of Liria and Jérica, 1st Duke of Fitz-James; Credit – Wikipedia

A great military leader who was killed on the battlefield, James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick, 1st Duke of Liria and Jérica, and 1st Duke of Fitz-James was born on August 21, 1670, in Moulins, Bourbonnais, France. He was the illegitimate son of King James II of England (reigned 1685 – 1688) and his mistress Arabella Churchill. James’s surname FitzJames comes partially from Anglo-Norman Fitz, meaning “son” so FitzJames means “son of James”. James’ paternal grandparents were King Charles I of England and Henrietta Maria of France (the daughter of King Henri IV of France and Marie de’ Medici). His maternal grandparents were Sir Winston Churchill and Elizabeth Drake. John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, who gained fame as a military leader and courtier during the reign of Queen Anne, was James’ maternal uncle. King Charles II was his paternal uncle.

James’ parents King James II of England and Arabella Churchill; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1663, during the reign of King Charles II of England, James’s fifteen-year-old future mother Arabella Churchill was sent to court to be a Maid of Honor to the Duchess of York. The Duchess of York, born Anne Hyde, was the first wife of King Charles II’s brother James, Duke of York, the future King James II. Because King Charles II and his wife Catherine of Braganza had no children, James, Duke of York was the heir presumptive to the throne and did succeed his brother in 1685. Arabella captured James’ eye and by 1665, she was his mistress. The Churchill family was firmly loyal to the royal household, and their only feeling about Arabella’s position as a royal mistress seems to have been “a joyful surprise that so plain a girl had attained such high preferment.”

James had three full siblings from her mother’s relationship with King James II:

• Henrietta FitzJames (1667 – 1730), married  (1) Henry Waldegrave, 1st Baron Waldegrave, had one son and one daughter  (2) Piers Butler, 3rd Viscount Galmoye, no children
• Henry FitzJames, 1st Duke of Albemarle (1673 – 1702), married (1) Marie Gabrielle d’Audibert de Lussan, had one daughter who became a nun
• Arabella FitzJames (1674 – 1704), became a nun in Pontoise, France taking the name Sister Ignatia

James had eight half-siblings from King James II’s first marriage (before he became king) to Lady Anne Hyde but only two survived childhood and both were reigning Queens of England:

• Charles, Duke of Cambridge (1660 – 1661), died at age six months from smallpox
• Queen Mary II of England (1662 – 1694), married her first cousin William III, Prince of Orange in 1677, ascended to the throne in 1689 as co-ruler with her husband after the deposition of her father, no surviving children
• James, Duke of Cambridge (1663 – 1667), died at age three from smallpox
• Queen Anne of Great Britain (1665 – 1714), married Prince George of Denmark, had 17 pregnancies, five live births, no surviving children
• Charles, Duke of Kendal (1666 – 1667), died at age ten months
• Edgar, Duke of Cambridge (1667 – 1671), died at age three
• Henrietta (born and died 1669), died at age ten months
• Catherine (born and died 1671),  died at age ten months

James had seven half-siblings from King James II’s second marriage to Maria Beatrice of Modena but only the youngest two survived childhood:

• Catherine Laura (1675 – 1676), died at age nine months
• Isabel (1676 – 1681), died at age four
• Charles, Duke of Cambridge (born and died 1677),  died 35 days after his birth
• Elizabeth (born and died 1678), died in infancy
• Charlotte Maria (born and died 1682): died at age two months from convulsions
• James Francis Edward, Prince of Wales “the Old Pretender” (1688 – 1766), married Maria Clementina Sobieski, had two sons
• Louisa Maria Teresa (1692 – 1712), died at age nineteen from smallpox

James had three half-siblings from his mother’s marriage to Charles Godfrey:

• Elizabeth Godfrey (1677 – 1719), married Edmund Dunch, had four children
• Francis Godfrey (1681 – 1712), unmarried
• Charlotte Godfrey (circa 1682 – 1754), married Hugh Boscawen, 1st Viscount Falmouth, had nine children

James was raised in France and was educated at the College of Juilly, a private Catholic school still in existence, the Collège du Plessis, a college of the University of Paris, and the Jesuit College of La Flèche which was in existence from 1604 – 1762. At the age of sixteen, he received military training while serving with Charles V, Duke of Lorraine, the Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Empire.

James returned to England a year later. His father King James II appointed him Governor of Portsmouth and Colonel of the Blues, and created him a Knight of the Order of the Garter. In 1688, the Glorious Revolution forced James’ father King James II of England to vacate the throne in favor of his daughter (and James’ half-sister) Queen Mary II and her husband and first cousin (also James’ first cousin) King William III. The former King James II, his second wife Maria Beatrice of Modena, and their son James Edward Francis Stuart, the former Prince of Wales (James’ half-brother) were exiled. They settled in France, where King James II’s first cousin King Louis XIV provided him with the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye in France. James’ English peerage and its subsidiary titles were considered forfeited after the forced exile of his father in 1688.

James’ military training with the Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Empire proved invaluable. From 1689 – 1691, he served in the Williamite War in Ireland in which the Jacobite supporters of the exiled King James II unsuccessfully fought to restore the House of Stuart to the English throne. After the 1691 Treaty of Limerick, James withdrew permanently to France. He served in the French Army in twenty-nine campaigns, commanding fifteen of the campaigns against his maternal uncle, the great English military leader John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough.

King Felipe V of Spain creating James Duke of Liria and Jérica; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1706, King Louis XIV rewarded James for his service by creating him a Marshal of France, a French military honor awarded to generals for exceptional achievements, and by creating him Duke of FitzJames in the peerage of France in 1710. After James participated in the War of the Spanish Succession, King Felipe V of Spain rewarded his military capabilities by creating him Duke of Liria and Jérica in 1707 in the Spanish nobility.

James’ first wife Honora Burke; Credit – Wikipedia

On March 26, 1695, at the chapel of the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye in France, James married Lady Honora Burke, the widow of Patrick Sarsfield, 1st Earl of Lucan, who had died in battle in 1693.

James and Honora’s son James Fitz-James Stuart, 2nd Duke of Berwick, 2nd Duke of Liria and Xérica; Credit – Wikipedia

James and Honora had one son who served in the Spanish Army and founded a Spanish dynasty, the Dukes of Liria and Jérica and later the Dukes of Alba.

• James Fitz-James Stuart, 2nd Duke of Berwick, 2nd Duke of Liria and Xérica (1696 – 1738), married Catalina Ventura de Portugal-Columbus, 9th Duquesa de Veragua y de La Vega, had six children but only four survived childhood

James’ wife Honora, aged about twenty-three, died on January 16, 1698, in Pézenas, Languedoc, France, from tuberculosis, leaving a two-year-old son and a grieving husband. She was buried at the Convent of English Benedictines in Pontoise, France.

Two years after his first wife’s death, James married Anne Bulkeley, on April 18, 1700, in Paris, France. Anne was the daughter of Henry Bulkeley, who served as Master of the Household to King Charles II and King James II.

James and Anne had thirteen children, the nine below survived childhood. Their descendants are the French Ducs de Fitz-James.

• Henry James FitzJames, 2nd Duke of FitzJames (1702 – 1721), died at age nineteen, married Victoire-Félicité de Duras de Durfort, no children
• Henriette de FitzJames (1705 – 1739), married Jean-Baptiste-Louis, Count of Clermont d’Amboise, Marquis of Reynel, had four children
• François de Fitz-James, 3rd Duke of FitzJames, (1709 – 1764), became a priest, served as Bishop of Soissons, and as a chaplain to King Louis XV of France
• Laure-Anne de Fitz-James (1710 – 1766), married Joachim-Louis de Montagu, Marquis of Bouzols, no children
• Henry de FitzJames (1711 – 1731), colonel of the Berwick Regiment of Irish Infantry
• Charles de FitzJames, 4th Duke of FitzJames (1712 – 1787), Marshal of France, Lieutenant General during the Seven Years’ War, Governor of Limousin in 1734 married Louise Victoire Goyon, had four children
• Marie Emilie de FitzJames (1715 – 1770), married François-Marie de Pérusse, Marquis d’Escars, had four children
• Edouard de FitzJames (1716 – 1758) field marshal in 1734 and lieutenant general in 1748, unmarried
• Anne Sophie de FitzJames (1718 – 1763), became a nun

In 1733, the nearly 63-year-old James was chosen to command the French troops in the War of the Polish Succession. He led his French troops to victory at the Siege of Kehl in the Margraviate of Baden, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, on October 29, 1733. After the Siege of Kehl, the French army went into winter quarters. During the spring of 1734, James planned to lead 100,000 troops to siege the city of Philippsburg in the Margraviate of Baden, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

The death by decapitation of James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick, 1st Duke of Liria and Jérica, 1st Duke of Fitz-James at the Siege of Philippsburg; Credit – Wikipedia

Although the French were victorious at the Siege of Philippsburg, on June 12, 1734, the nearly 64-year-old James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick, 1st Duke of Liria and Jérica, 1st Duke of Fitz-James was killed when a cannonball decapitated him while he was inspecting the work on trenches.

On June 14, 1734, the coffin of James Fitz-James was transported in a grand military style to Strasbourg Cathedral in Strasbourg, France, and placed in the crypt there. James had expressed the desire to be buried next to his son at the Church of the English Benedictines on Rue Saint-Jacques in Paris, France. However, he was interred at the Scots College in Paris, France. His tomb was destroyed during the French Revolution and his remains were lost.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• Arabella Churchill (royal mistress). (2023). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabella_Churchill_(royal_mistress)
• Beauclerk-Dewar, Peter & Powell, Roger. (2006). Right Royal Bastards – The Fruits of Passion. Burke’s Peerage & Gentry LLC.
• Flantzer, Susan. (2017). King James II of England. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-james-ii-of-england/
• Jacques Fitz-James. (2024). Wikipedia. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Fitz-James
• James FitzJames (1670-1734) – Find a Grave… (n.d.). Www.findagrave.com.Retrieved from https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/208830666/james-fitzjames
• James FitzJames. (2018). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_FitzJames
• Weir, Alison. (2008). Britain’s Royal Families – The Complete Genealogy. Vintage Books.

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

The parents of Lady Henrietta FitzJames, the future King James II of England and Arabella Churchill; Credit – Wikipedia

An ancestor of Diana, Princess of Wales and her children Prince William and Prince Harry, Lady Henrietta FitzJames was born in 1667 at a home in St. James Square in London, England. She was the eldest of the four illegitimate children of the future King James II of England (reigned 1685 – 1688) and his mistress Arabella Churchill. Henrietta’s surname FitzJames comes partially from Anglo-Norman Fitz, meaning “son” so FitzJames means “son of James”.

Henrietta’s paternal grandparents were King Charles I of England and Henrietta Maria of France (the daughter of King Henri IV of France and Marie de’ Medici). Her maternal grandparents were Sir Winston Churchill and Elizabeth Drake. John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, who gained fame as a military leader and courtier during the reign of Queen Anne, was Henrietta’s maternal uncle. King Charles II was her paternal uncle.

In 1663, during the reign of King Charles II of England, Henrietta’s fifteen-year-old future mother Arabella Churchill was sent to court to be a Maid of Honor to the Duchess of York. The Duchess of York, born Anne Hyde, was the first wife of King Charles II’s brother James, Duke of York, the future King James II. Because King Charles II and his wife Catherine of Braganza had no children, James, Duke of York was the heir presumptive to the throne and did succeed his brother in 1685. Arabella captured James’ eye and by 1665, she was his mistress. The Churchill family was firmly loyal to the royal household, and their only feeling about Arabella’s position as a royal mistress seems to have been “a joyful surprise that so plain a girl had attained such high preferment.”

Henrietta had three younger full siblings from her mother’s relationship with King James II:

• James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick, 1st Duke of Liria and Jérica, 1st Duke of Fitz-James (1670 – 1734), married (1) Lady Honora Burke, had one son James Francis (Jacobo Francisco) Fitz-James Stuart, 2nd Duke of Berwick, 2nd Duke of Liria and Xérica whose descendants were the French Ducs de Fitz-James the Spanish Duques de Liria and the Spanish Dukes of Alba (2) Anne Bulkeley, had eight sons and five daughters
• Henry FitzJames, 1st Duke of Albemarle (1673 – 1702), married (1) Marie Gabrielle d’Audibert de Lussan, had one daughter who became a nun
• Arabella FitzJames (1674 – 1704), became a nun in Pontoise, France taking the name Sister Ignatia

Henrietta had eight half-siblings from King James II’s first marriage (before he became king) to Lady Anne Hyde but only two survived childhood and both were reigning Queens of England:

• Charles, Duke of Cambridge (1660 – 1661), died at age six months from smallpox
• Queen Mary II of England (1662 – 1694), married her first cousin William III, Prince of Orange in 1677, ascended to the throne in 1689 as co-ruler with her husband after the deposition of her father, no surviving children
• James, Duke of Cambridge (1663 – 1667), died at age three from smallpox
• Queen Anne of Great Britain (1665 – 1714), married Prince George of Denmark, had 17 pregnancies, five live births, no surviving children
• Charles, Duke of Kendal (1666 – 1667), died at age ten months
• Edgar, Duke of Cambridge (1667 – 1671), died at age three
• Henrietta (born and died 1669), died at age ten months
• Catherine (born and died 1671),  died at age ten months

Henrietta had seven half-siblings from King James II’s second marriage to Maria Beatrice of Modena but only the youngest two survived childhood:

• Catherine Laura (1675 – 1676), died at age nine months
• Isabel (1676 – 1681), died at age four
• Charles, Duke of Cambridge (born and died 1677),  died 35 days after his birth
• Elizabeth (born and died 1678), died in infancy
• Charlotte Maria (born and died 1682): died at age two months from convulsions
• James Francis Edward, Prince of Wales “the Old Pretender” (1688 – 1766), married Maria Clementina Sobieski, had two sons
• Louisa Maria Teresa (1692 – 1712), died at age nineteen from smallpox

Henrietta had three half-siblings from her mother’s marriage to Charles Godfrey:

• Elizabeth Godfrey (1677 – 1719), married Edmund Dunch, had four children
• Francis Godfrey (1681 – 1712), unmarried
• Charlotte Godfrey (circa 1682 – 1754), married Hugh Boscawen, 1st Viscount Falmouth, had nine children

Henrietta’s son James Waldegrave, 1st Earl Waldegrave; Credit – Wikipedia

Henrietta was raised in the Roman Catholic religion and both her husbands were Roman Catholic. On November 29, 1683, she married Henry Waldegrave, 1st Baron Waldegrave. Henrietta and Henry had three children. Through their elder son James, they are ancestors of Diana, Princess of Wales and her sons Prince Willaim and Prince Harry.

• James Waldegrave, 1st Earl Waldegrave (1684 – 1741), married Mary Webb, had two sons and one daughter
• The Honorable Arabella Waldegrave (1687 – 1740), became a nun
• The Honorable Henry Waldegrave (1688 – circa 1726)

In 1688, the Glorious Revolution forced Henrietta’s father King James II of England to vacate the throne in favor of his daughter (and Henrietta’s half-sister) Queen Mary II and her husband and first cousin (also Henrietta’s first cousin) King William III. The former King James II, his second wife Maria Beatrice of Modena, and their son James Edward Francis Stuart, the former Prince of Wales (Henrietta’s half-brother) were exiled. They settled in France, where King James II’s first cousin King Louis XIV provided him with the Palace of St. Germain. Henrietta and her first husband Henry accompanied her father to France. In 1687, Henry became Comptroller of the Royal Household and continued in that position at King James II’s court-in-exile at Saint-Germain-en-Laye. In 1688, Henry was appointed as the English Ambassador to France. 28-year-old Henry Waldegrave, 1st Baron Waldegrave died on January 24, 1689, in Saint Germain-en-Laye, France.

22-year-old Henrietta struggled to come to terms with suddenly becoming a widow. In 1695, she angered her father King James II by becoming pregnant. James II ordered Henrietta to spend her pregnancy at the Benedictine Abbey in Pontoise, France. Mark Talbot, the illegitimate son of Richard Talbot, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell, was rumored to be the father but Piers Butler, 3rd Viscount Galmoye whom Henrietta married on April 3, 1695, is also a possible father. The fate of Henrietta’s illegitimate child is unknown.

Henrietta’s second husband Piers Butler, 3rd Viscount Galmoye, an Anglo-Irish nobleman, was fifteen years older than her and had served her father King James II as Privy Councillor of Ireland, Lieutenant of the County of Kilkenny, and Colonel of the 2nd Regiment of Irish Horse. In 1688, during the Glorious Revolution, Piers likely could have held on to his Irish land in Kilkenny and Wexford if he had given his allegiance to King William III of England instead of following King James II into exile in France. In 1697, the English Parliament attainted him and declared his titles forfeit. In 1692, the exiled King James II created Piers Earl of Newcastle in County Limerick in the Jacobite peerage of Ireland. He later served in the French army as a Lieutenant-General.

St Thomas the Apostle Church, Navestock; Credit – By John Winfield, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9135883

Although Henrietta was fifteen years younger, she predeceased her second husband Piers. She died on April 3, 1730, aged 63, in Navestock, Essex, England, and was buried in the St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Navestock. The Waldegrave family manor, the family home of her first husband which Henrietta’s elder son inherited, was in Navestock. There are various Waldegrave memorials in St. Thomas the Apostle Church. Her second husband Piers Butler survived her by ten years, dying in Paris, France on June 18, 1740, at the age of 88. He was buried at St.Paul’s Church in Paris.

Memorial to Henrietta erected by her elder son at St. Thomas the Apostle Church; Credit – www.findagrave.com

Henrietta’s elder son James erected a memorial to his mother at St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Navestock, Essex, England.

The text translated from the Latin: To God the Best and Greatest, here rests the most illustrious Lady Henrietta Waldegrave, beloved wife of Henry Baron Waldegrave, daughter of King James II and the Most Noble Lady Arabella Churchill, sister of the most mighty prince, the Duke of Berwick. She was adorned not so much with splendor of birth, but just as much with all the virtues and qualities of mind and body. She died 3rd April A.D. 1730 aged 63. Her dearest son, James, Earl, Viscount, and Baron Waldegrave, placed this memorial sacred to her happy memory.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• Arabella Churchill (royal mistress). (2023). Wikipedia.
• Beauclerk-Dewar, Peter & Powell, Roger. (2006). Right Royal Bastards – The Fruits of Passion. Burke’s Peerage & Gentry LLC.
• Flantzer, Susan. (2017). King James II of England. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-james-ii-of-england/
• Henrietta FitzJames. (2022). Geni_family_tree. https://www.geni.com/people/Henrietta-FitzJames/6000000003615927484
• Henrietta FitzJames. (2024). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henrietta_FitzJames
• Henrietta Fitz James Waldegrave (1667-1730) -… (n.d.). www.findagrave.com. Retrieved July 4, 2024, from https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/72003420/henrietta-waldegrave
• Henry Waldegrave, 1st Baron Waldegrave. (2024). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Waldegrave,_1st_Baron_Waldegrave
• Weir, Alison. (2008). Britain’s Royal Families – The Complete Genealogy. Vintage Books.

Despite fathering many illegitimate children with his mistresses, King Charles II of England had no children with his wife Catherine of Braganza. Charles II is an ancestor through his mistresses of many British aristocrats and of several women who married into the British Royal Family. Lucy Walter and Charles II are ancestors of Sarah, Duchess of York and Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester. Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland and Charles II are ancestors of Diana, Princess of Wales and Sarah, Duchess of York. Louise Renée de Penancoet de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth and Charles II are ancestors of Diana, Princess of Wales, Queen Camilla, and Sarah, Duchess of York.

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Lady Mary Tudor; Credit – By Bernard Lens – https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/27420/lady-mary-radcliff-countess-derwentwater-d-1726-wife-francis-2nd-earl-derwentwater-daughter-charles, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=93002756

Lady Mary Tudor was married three times and two of her sons, the grandsons of King Charles II, were beheaded for high treason. Born October 16, 1673, Lady Mary Tudor was the illegitimate daughter of King Charles II of England and Mary “Moll” Davis, an actress and singer in the Duke’s Theatre Company in London. King Charles II, an avid theatergoer, first saw Moll Davis on stage and she soon became his mistress and was given a house on Suffolk Street in London where her daughter Mary was probably born. Although Moll was dropped as Charles II’s mistress soon after Mary’s birth due to Charles II’s new mistress Nell Gwynn, Moll received an annual pension and was able to keep her house on Suffolk Street. Moll later purchased a more expensive home, married French musician and composer James Paisible, and died in London in 1708.

Mary’s mother Moll Davis; Credit – Wikipedia

Mary’s father King Charles II of England; Credit – Wikipedia

Seven-year-old Mary was acknowledged by King Charles II in 1680 and was given the surname Tudor and the rank of an earl’s daughter. Three years later, Mary was granted a generous annual annuity and the rank of a duke’s daughter. On February 2, 1685, King Charles II suffered an apparent stroke and died four days later at the age of 54. Because Charles II had no legitimate children, he was succeeded by his brother King James II.

On August 18, 1687, in a marriage arranged by her uncle King James II, fourteen-year-old Mary married 32-year-old Edward Radclyffe, 2nd Earl of Derwentwater.

Mary and Edward had four children:

• James Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Derwentwater (1689 – 1716), married Anna Maria Webb, had one son and one daughter
• The Honorable Francis Radclyffe (1691 – 1715), unmarried
• The Honorable Charles Radclyffe (1693 – 1746), married Charlotte Maria Livingston, 3rd Countess of Newburgh, had one son
• Lady Mary Tudor Radclyffe (1697 – 1756), married William Petre

Mary’s marriage to Edward Radclyffe, 2nd Earl of Derwentwater was unhappy. In 1700, Mary formally separated from her husband, who died five years later on April 29, 1705. On May 23, 1705, less than a month after her first husband’s death, Mary married Henry Graham, the heir to a Westmorland estate and a Member of Parliament. Reportedly, Mary and Henry had been living together before the death of Mary’s first husband. Mary and Henry had no children and Henry died on January 7, 1707.

On August 26, 1707, two months after the death of her second husband, Mary married Major James Rooke. They had one daughter:

• Margaret Frances Disney Rooke (circa 1708 – 1766), married William Sheldon, had children

Mary’s sons James Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Derwentwater and The Honorable Charles Radclyffe were both executed for treason. James was executed during his mother’s lifetime and Charles was executed after her death. In 1688, the Glorious Revolution forced Mary’s paternal uncle King James II of England to vacate the throne in favor of his daughter (and Mary’s first cousin) Queen Mary II and her husband and first cousin (also Mary’s first cousin) King William III. The former King James II, his second wife Maria Beatrice of Modena, and their son James Edward Francis Stuart, Prince of Wales were exiled. They settled in France, where King James II’s first cousin King Louis XIV provided him with the Palace of St. Germain. The Radclyffe family were Catholics who supported the House of Stuart and followed James II’s family to France.

Mary’s son James Radclyffe, the future 3rd Earl of Derwentwater, born in 1689, was only one year older than James Edward Francis Stuart, Prince of Wales. James Radclyffe was brought up at the court-in-exile at the Palace of Saint Germain as a companion to James Francis Edward Stuart, the ‘Old Pretender’ after his father James II died in 1701. At the wish of James II’s widow, James Radclyffe remained at the Palace of Germain until his father died in 1705 when he succeeded to his father’s titles.

James Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Derwentwater; Credit – Wikipedia

Charles Radclyffe; Credit – Wikipedia

James Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Derwentwater and his brother Charles Radclyffe participated in the unsuccessful Jacobite Rising of 1715, an attempt by their first cousin James Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) to regain the thrones of England, Ireland, and Scotland. After the Jacobite army was defeated at the Battle of Preston, many Jacobites were imprisoned in the Tower of London, including Mary’s sons James and Charles. They were both found guilty of treason and condemned to death. Twenty-six-year-old James James Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Derwentwater was attainted – losing one’s life, property, hereditary titles, and the right to pass them on to one’s heirs. However, his successors continued using the meaningless titles until the male line died out in 1814. James Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Derwentwater was beheaded on Tower Hill on February 24, 1716.

James’ remains were embalmed and secretly brought back to Northumberland where they were buried in Dilston Chapel at the family home Dilston Hall, near Corbridge, Northumberland. On October 8, 1874, the coffin containing the remains of James Radcliffe, 3rd Earl of Derwentwater, was removed from Dilston Chapel and reinterred in the Mortuary Chapel at Thorndon Hall, the home of William Bernard, 12th Baron Petre, a direct descendant of James’ sister Lady Mary Tudor Radclyffe.

In December 1716, Charles Radclyffe escaped from Newgate Prison with thirteen other prisoners when a door was left open. He made his way to the safety of France. Ten years after the execution of her son James, fifty-three-year-old Mary died in Paris, France, on November 5, 1726. Her burial site is unknown.

Execution of Charles Radclyffe; Credit – Wikipedia

Mary’s younger son Charles Radclyffe spent many years in Rome, where the Stuart court-in-exile was located after 1718. During the 1745 Jacobite Rising, Charles and his twenty-year-old son James Radclyffe boarded a French ship taking arms and supplies to Montrose, Scotland. However, the French ship was intercepted by a British ship. Charles and his son James were brought aboard the British ship and taken to the Tower of London. The Lord Chancellor High Chancellor of Great Britain used Charles’ 1716 warrant to order his execution. On December 8, 1746, fifty-three-year-old Charles Radclyffe was beheaded. His son James was released and pardoned under the 1747 Act of Indemnity. Charles was buried in St. Giles in the Fields Churchyard in London, England. There are claims that his heart was brought to the burial site of his brother James and placed in a lead box beside James’ coffin.

Works Cited

• Beauclerk-Dewar, Peter & Powell, Roger. (2006). Right Royal Bastards – The Fruits of Passion. Burke’s Peerage & Gentry LLC.
• Charles Radclyffe. (2024). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Radclyffe
• Flantzer, Susan. (2016). King Charles II of England. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-charles-ii-of-england/
• James Radclyffe. (2021). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Radclyffe
• James “3rd Earl of Derwentwater” Radclyffe … (n.d.). https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/163788600/james-radclyffe
• Fraser, Antonia. (2002). King Charles II. Phoenix.
• Lady Mary Tudor. (2024). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Mary_Tudor
• Weir, Alison. (2008). Britain’s Royal Families – The Complete Genealogy. Vintage Books.