Edward FitzGerald, 7th Duke of Leinster, etc. (6 May 1892 – 8 March 1976), known as Lord Edward FitzGerald before 1922, was an Anglo-Irish peer. He was Duke of Leinster from 1922 until his death.
Contents
Biography
Leinster was the youngest of the three sons born to Gerald, 5th Duke of Leinster, and his wife, the former Lady Hermione Duncombe. His mother died aged 30 in 1895. The child was thought to be the biological son of Hugo Charteris, 11th Earl of Wemyss.
For a short period, Leinster was a second lieutenant (on probation) in the Irish Guards, British Army, but resigned his commission on 4 December 1912. He served in the army during the First World War. In January 1915, he was made a temporary lieutenant in the 8th Battalion, Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding). He took part in the Gallipoli campaign.
He inherited the Dukedom in February 1922, upon the death of his eldest brother, Maurice FitzGerald, 6th Duke of Leinster, who never married and was confined to a mental institution at the time of his death.
An addicted gambler, Leinster enjoyed an extravagant lifestyle, including motor racing. He had already signed away his possible reversionary rights to the family's ancestral seat, Carton House, near Maynooth in County Kildare, not expecting that he would inherit the property and the title. He chose to live in England and his estates remained in the possession of the beneficiary, Sir Harry Mallaby-Deeley, 1st Baronet, during the Duke's lifetime.