Edward FitzGerald, 7th Duke of Leinster

Edward FitzGerald, 7th Duke of Leinster (6 May 1892 – 8 March 1976), known as Lord Edward FitzGerald before 1922 was Ireland's Premier Peer of the Realm. The third son of the 5th Duke, he unexpectedly inherited the Dukedom from his eldest brother, the Maurice FitzGerald, 6th Duke of Leinster, in 1922. An addicted gambler, he had already signed away his rights to the family's ancestral seat, Carton House, near Maynooth in County Kildare, never expecting that he would actually inherit the property and his title. He moved to live in England.

The duke had married four times: firstly to May Etheridge (d. 1935) in 1913, divorced 1930; secondly to Raffaelle Kennedy (d. 1993) in 1932, divorced 1946; thirdly to Denise Orme (d. 1960, the former wife of the 3rd Baron Churston) in 1946 and finally to Vivien Conner (d. 1992) in 1965. The duke also fathered an illegitimate son, Adrian (b. 1952) by Yvonne Probyn.

Ducal Claims

In 2006 a suite was filed with the Department of Consitutional Affairs by a California man, Paul FitzGerald, in which he claimed that he is the rightful Duke of Leinster. The basis for Mr. FitzGerald's suite is the claim the 5th Duke's second son Lord Desmond FitzGerald wasn't killed in Action during WWI while serving with the Irish Guards. Rather he and his supporters claim Lord Desmond faked his death and immigrated to California (by way of Winnipeg, Canada) where he lived until his death in 1967.

This claim was subsequently dismissed by the Lord Chancellor despite a 30-year campaign by Mr. FitzGerald's family, which has reputedly cost them £1.3million. Lord Falconer of Thoroton said that the title, once regarded as the Irish equivalent of royalty, will remain with Maurice FitzGerald, aged 59, from Oxfordshire. Mr FitzGerald has the right of appealing the Lord Chancellor's decsion to the Queen. [http://www.irishabroad.com/news/irishpost/news/AmericanlosesbattleoverLeinsterdukeclaim280407.asp] ----

It was revealed in 2003 that, though a close friend of King Edward VIII, he was the third lover of the King's mistress Wallis Simpson during the Abdication Crisis in 1936. The duke committed suicide in 1976 by taking an overdose of pentobarbital and was succeeded by his only son by his first wife, the Marquess of Kildare.