Lord Otho FitzGerald

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific-prefix = The Right Honourable

| name = Lord Otho FitzGerald

| honorific-suffix = PC

| image = Lord Otho FitzGerald.png

| imagesize = 200px

| caption = "A Message from The Queen" – Lord Otho FitzGerald, by Leslie Ward, 1873.

| order1 = Comptroller of the Household

| term_start1 = 12 December 1868

| term_end1 = 17 February 1874

| monarch1 = Victoria

| primeminister1 = William Gladstone

| predecessor1 = Viscount Royston

| successor1 = Lord Henry Somerset

| office2 = Member of Parliament
for Kildare

| alongside2 = William H. F. Cogan

| term_start2 = 1865

| term_end2 = 1874

| predecessor2 = Richard More O'Ferrall
William H. F. Cogan

| successor2 = Charles Henry Meldon
William H. F. Cogan

| birth_date = 10 October 1827

| birth_place =

| death_date = {{death-date and age|19 November 1882|10 October 1827}}

| death_place =

| nationality = British

| party = Liberal

| alma_mater =

| parents = Augustus FitzGerald, 3rd Duke of Leinster
Lady Charlotte Augusta Stanhope

| spouse = {{marriage|Ursula, Lady Londesborough
|14 December 1861|1882|reason=died}}

}}

Lord Otho Augustus FitzGerald PC (10 October 1827 – 19 November 1882) was a British soldier and Liberal politician. He notably served as Comptroller of the Household under William Gladstone between 1868 and 1874. He was also a noted amateur composer.

Early life

Although the family home of the Duke of Leinster was Carton House near Maynooth, County Kildare (Ireland), FitzGerald was born at Harrington House, Northamptonshire (England), the home of his mother. He was the third son of Augustus FitzGerald, 3rd Duke of Leinster, by his wife Lady Charlotte Augusta Stanhope. Charles FitzGerald, 4th Duke of Leinster, was his elder brother.[http://thepeerage.com/p287.htm#i2865 thepeerage.com Rt. Hon. Lord Otho Augustus FitzGerald] Another brother, Gerald Fitzgerald (1821–1886) was, like Otho, an amateur composer, photographerExamples of his photography are included in the Photographic Albums for the years 1855 and 1857 held in the Royal Photographic Society Collection at the V&A Museum, London and a noted artist. His sister, Lady Jane Seymour FitzGerald, was the wife of George Repton, an MP for St Albans{{Rayment-hc|s|1|date=March 2012}} and Warwick.{{Rayment-hc|w|1|date=March 2012}} was a British Conservative Party politician{{Cite book |last=Mair |first=Robert Henry |title=Debrett's Illustrated House of Commons and the Judicial Bench 1881 |url=https://archive.org/stream/debrettshouseo1881londuoft#page/197/mode/1up |year=1881 |publisher=Dean & Son |location=London |page=259}}

His paternal grandparents were William FitzGerald, 2nd Duke of Leinster and Emilia Olivia St George (a daughter of the 1st Baron St George). His maternal grandparents were General Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl of Harrington and Jane Fleming (a daughter of Sir John Fleming, 1st Baronet), a lady of the Bedchamber to the Queen Charlotte.{{cite web|title=Jane Stanhope (née Fleming), Countess of Harrington (1755–1824), Lady of the bedchamber to Queen Charlotte and a society hostess|url=http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp63960/jane-stanhope-nee-fleming-countess-of-harrington|publisher=National Portrait Gallery, London}}

Career

Fitzgerald was an officer in the Royal Horse Guards and served as a Gentleman of the Bedchamber to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. He entered the House of Commons in 1865 as member for Kildare, a seat he held until 1874.{{Rayment-hc|k|1|date=March 2012}} In 1866 he was sworn of the Privy Council{{London Gazette |issue=23126 |date=12 June 1866 |page=3423 }} and made Treasurer of the Household under Lord Russell,{{London Gazette |issue=23115 |date=11 May 1886 |page=2899 }} a post he only held until the fall of the Liberal government in June of that year.{{London Gazette |issue=23137 |date=13 July 1866 |page=3984 }} He returned to office as Comptroller of the Household under William Gladstone in 1868,{{London Gazette |issue=23452 |date=22 December 1868 |page=6776 }} a post he retained until the government fell in 1874.{{London Gazette |issue=24071 |date=3 March 1874 |page=1453 }}

=Musical compositions=

Fitzgerald probably enjoyed a private musical education. He published piano music in Dublin with Robinson & Bussell (later Henry Bussel). Works include:Taken from the online catalogues of the National Library of Ireland (http://catalogue.nli.ie) and the British Library (http://catalogue.bl.uk).

The Spirit of the Ball (c.1850)
The Irish Steeple Chase Galop (c.1860)
The Mirage Valses (c.1860)
The Mistletoe Waltzes (not dated)
The Staff Polka (not dated)

The composer Oscar Krahmer dedicated his piano work The Garrison Ball Galop (1857) to Otho Fitzgerald.Copy in the National Library of Ireland, call number Add Mus 6691.

Personal life

On 14 December 1861 Lord Otho married Ursula Lucy Grace, Lady Londesborough ({{nee}} Bridgeman), daughter of Vice Admiral Charles Orlando Bridgeman and widow of Lord Londesborough. This was regarded by his contemporaries as a fortune-hunting match.{{citation needed|date=March 2011}} They had two children:Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, volume 2, page 2300.

Gerald Otho FitzGerald (1862–1919), a Major in the King's Royal Rifle Corps who died unmarried and without issue.
Ina Blanche Georgie FitzGerald (1864–1910), who married Maj. Arthur Leopold Paget, a son of Col. Leopold Grimston Paget (a son of Hon. Berkeley Paget and grandson of the 1st Earl of Uxbridge), in 1885.

Fitzgerald for a while owned Oakley Court on the Thames, at Bray in Berkshire. He died at Bray in November 1882, aged 55. Lady Otho FitzGerald only survived him by a year and died in November 1883. They are buried at St Andrew's Church, Clewer.