- Geoffrey FitzClarence, 5th Earl of Munster
Geoffrey William Richard Hugh FitzClarence, 5th Earl of Munster KBE PC (
17 February 1906 –26 August 1975 ), was a British peer and Conservative politician.Munster was the son of Major the Hon. Harold Edward FitzClarence, seventh son of
William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster . His great-grandfatherGeorge Augustus Frederick FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster , was the eldest illegitimate son of King William IV by his mistressDorothy Jordan . Munster's mother was Frances Isabel Eleanor Keppel. He succeeded his uncle as fifth Earl of Munster in 1928 and took his seat on the Conservative benches in theHouse of Lords . In 1934 he was appointed aLord-in-Waiting (government whip in the House of Lords) in the National Government ofRamsay Macdonald , a post he held until 1938, the last three years under the premiership firstly ofStanley Baldwin and secondly ofNeville Chamberlain . In June 1938 Chamberlain appointed MunsterPaymaster-General , an office he held until January 1939, when he was madeUnder-Secretary of State for War . He remained in this position until September 1939.Munster returned to the government in January 1943 when
Winston Churchill appointed himParliamentary Secretary for India and Burma , a post he held until October 1944, and then served asUnder-Secretary of State for the Home Department until July 1945 when Labour came to power. When Churchill became Prime Minister for a second time in 1951 Munster was appointedUnder-Secretary of State for the Colonies , an office he retained until 1954, and was thenMinister without Portfolio between 1954 and 1957. In 1954 he was admitted to the Privy Council. Apart from his political career he was alsoLord Lieutenant of Surrey from 1957 to 1973.Lord Munster married Hilary, only child of Edward Kenneth Wilson, in 1928. He died in August 1975, aged 69, and was succeeded in his titles by his second cousin Edward Charles FitzClarence, 6th Earl of Munster. Lady Munster died in 1979.
References
*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). "Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage" (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.
* [http://www.angeltowns.com/town/peerage/ Leigh Rayment's Peerage Page]
* [http://www.thepeerage.com/ www.thepeerage.com]
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