Hugh Huntly

https://www.thepeerage.com/p15356.htm#i153554

https://british-miniatures.blogspot.com/2007/10/princess-amelia-por...

Some sources say that in 1803 Princess Amelia fell in love with Sir Charles FitzRoy (1762-1831), an equerry 21 years older than herself, and a younger son of Charles FitzRoy, 1st Baron Southampton. After her death, he became heir to all her property.

According to most Internet sources, the liaison commenced earlier and they are said to have had one child, Hugh Huntly, born 6 Jan 1796 in Dublin and who died in 1829.

However, if conception is taken as say, nine months prior to this, on say, 6 Apr 1795, Amelia would have only been 11 years and 9 months old at the time of conception, and her pregnancy is highly unlikely. Nevertheless, one wonders what gave rise to the speculation.

Presumably the answer is that Hugh Huntly was an illegitimate son of Charles Fitzroy, but of a mother who died in childbirth, and Amelia becoming aware of the child, indicated to Fitzroy she was willing to recognise Huntly as her step-son, in the event she was able to later marry Fitzroy.

Although Hugh Huntly died in 1829, he had married and had one child, Charles Hugh Grafton Fitzroy Beachcroft Huntly, (19 Nov 1819 - 15 Aug 1889) who became Civil Commissioner of Albany, South Africa and whose obituary is included in The Illustrated London News for 7 Sep 1889. Charles himself had 10 children, so that even today there are people who may believe they are descended from Princess Amelia, although as outlined above, this is unlikely.

It is not clear whether Amelia was formally married to FitzRoy, but she considered herself married to him and signed her correspondence with the initials “AFR”, for Amelia FitzRoy. The Queen was told of the affair by a servant, but turned a blind eye. Amelia knew she could not legally marry FitzRoy due to the provisions of the Royal Marriages Act, but she hoped to gain Privy Council consent after she attained the age of 25. However, her poor health precluded that course of action and she died at the age of 27 in 1810.

Sir Charles Fitzroy later married Eliza Barlow on 21 Sep 1816, but they seem not to have had any children and he died in 1831. Although not certain, it seems as a widow Lady Eliza Fitzroy lived at the home of the Duke of Grafton for the 1841 census and she may have then died in 1850.

Contained within the collection are two other miniatures of George III which depict him more as he would have been at the time of Princess Amelia's death, one in wax by Catherine Andras (1775-1860) and the other by an unknown artist.

According to a New York Times report quoting an 1895 book entitled "The Life of Sir Henry Halford Bart", Sir Henry Halford (1766-1844 and shown here) was doctor to Princess Amelia and she disclosed to him the fact of her secret marriage, begging him to tell the King. Halford refused, but it did fall to him to communicate the fact of Amelia's death.

Sir Henry said to the King that he was going to "try his piety", alluding to the King's somewhat obscure notion that every death that took place in his family was meant to be a trial of his faith. The King immediately replied that he supposed Amelia was dead. Sir Henry assented and the King began talking to himself in a rambling way "Poor girl!" he exclaimed when he had become more composed. See NEW PUBLICATIONS; THE PHYSICIAN OF FOUR SOVEREIGNS

Even when Sir Henry Halford asked George III if he wished to know the provisions of Princess Amelia's will, the King did not realise the possibility of a secret marriage to Fitzroy. "Certainly, certainly, I want to know," the King said with great eagerness.

Sir Henry reminded the King that at the beginning of his illness he had appointed Fitzroy to ride with Princess Amelia; how the King had left Fitzroy with her at Weymouth; how it was natural and proper that she should leave Fitzroy some token for these services; that excepting jewels she had nothing to leave, and had bequeathed them all to Fitzroy. That the Prince of Wales, thinking jewels a very inappropriate bequest for a man, had instead given Fitzroy a pecuniary compensation for the jewels. The Prince then distributed slight tokens to all the attendants and friends of the Princess, giving the bulk of the jewels to Princess Mary, Princess Amelia's most constant and kindest of nurses. Upon this the poor King exclaimed, ' Quite right, just like the Prince of Wales;' and no more was said. (It is even possible the miniature of George III by Princess Amelia, was given as a token to an attendant or friend as part of that process.)