Rosa Frederica Baring FitzGeorge
Encyclopedia
Rosa Frederica Baring FitzGeorge (9 March 1854 - 10 March 1927), was the second daughter of Mr. William Henry Baring, J.P. and Elizabeth Hammersly, of Norman Court, Hampshire, England. She was a descendent of the famous Sir Francis Baring of the 18th Century English Baring banking family that had rescued the British Royal Family
in challenging times. Her maternal uncle was Thomas Weguelin, partner of Thomson, Bonar, and Company of London, Director and Governor of the Bank of England
.
, Surrey Court, England
and had two children, a son Esme Arkwright, and a daughter Sarah Gertrude (Vera) Arkwright, who later through 2 marriages became Vera Bate Lombardi (b.1885 London - d. 1948 Rome).
At age 32, while unhappily married to Captain Arkwright, Rosa allegedly had an affair with the 17-year-old Adolphus Cambridge, 1st Marquess of Cambridge
(13 August 1868 – 23 October 1927), later the Duke of Teck, younger brother of the future Queen Mary
of Teck
at the Baring home Norman Court, Hampshire, England.
Rosa became pregnant and gave birth to Sarah Gertrude (Vera) Arkwright in 1885, after her marriage to Captain Arkwright. Coincidently, The Duke of Teck
’s mother, Duchess of Teck and her children returned to England from British debtor’s exile to Europe in 1885 through a loan from Rosa Baring Arkwright’s father Mr. William Henry Baring, which secured and positioned the future of Queen Mary
of Teck
consort to King George V.
The Arkwright marriage ended in divorce in 1885, allegedly with a disguised royal family cover-up that involved a transaction between the Duchess of Teck and the Baring family to insure silencing the under aged Duke of Teck
's affair and guaranteeing a royal, although morganatic, marriage for Rosa to George William Adolphus FitzGeorge. Rosa abandoned her illegitimate child Sarah Gertrude (Vera) Arkwright in infancy to be raised by Captain Arkwright's family to focus on her new socially promising marriage.
Among the conditions made between Rosa Baring FitzGeorge and the Duchess of Teck, was that the child Sarah Gertrude (Vera) (christened Arkwright) be given up at birth to the care of the Arkwright family, and that the family keep a low profile, obey the agreement with a discreetly undisclosed payment and monies to support the child. The Arkwrights housed Vera in a virtually isolated rural area until she went to live with her godmother Margaret Cambridge, Marchioness of Cambridge
’s brother Hugh Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster
.
- 2 September 1907 Lucerne
). He was the eldest of three sons of Duke of Cambridge
and Louisa Fairbrother (the other sons being Admiral Sir Adolphus FitzGeorge
and Colonel Sir Augustus FitzGeorge). He was a male-line descendent of George III, W. F. Hanover, and King of Great Britain. His parents went through a ceremony of marriage in contravention of the Royal Marriages Act of 1772 while his mother was pregnant with his third brother. He and his brothers did not hold Royal titles, and were ineligible to succeed to the Duchy of Cambridge.
Rosa Baring Fitzgeorge and Colonel George William Adolphus FitzGeorge had three children: Mabel Iris, George Daphne and George William.
Queen Victoria grew tired of financial bailouts of both Teck
and FitzGeorge families. The Queen did not approve of Rosa Baring FitzGeorge or the Duchess of Teck and their manipulations with the British Royal Family
to improve their status. Rosa FitzGeorge later used the title ‘Lady FitzGeorge’ in New York pursuing wealthy American families to find a husband for her daughter Vera.
Rosa Baring FitzGeorge was not friendly with the families of her two husbands. She made "plenty of capital of the royal blood in the veins of her husband" and as the daughter-in-law of HRH Prince George
, Duke of Cambridge
, Rosa flourished in New York and Chicago as “Lady FitzGeorge. According to the Marquise de Fontenoy in her book "Revelations of the High Life Within Royal Palaces" first printed in 1892 and published later in "Royal Musings", "Rosa Federica Baring FitzGeorge's marriage to Colonel FitzGeorge, who died in 1907, "gave great offense" to his father, HRH Prince George
, Duke of Cambridge
, who was Queen Victoria's first cousin. King Edward VII bestowed knighthoods on the Duke's two younger sons, Adolphus and Augustus, but not on George. This omission was largely due to Colonel Fitzgeorge's marriage to Rosa Baring and his constant financial problems. Rosa did not reveal her first marriage to Arkwright at the time of her marriage to Colonel FitzGeorge, nor that she had two children, Esme and Vera. Vera Bate Lombardi's daughter Bridget Bate Tichenor stated, "This bigamy issue was later magnified by the revelation of Vera's illegitimate birth and the controversy that surrounded it within the Royal Family
."
By her second marriage to George William Adolphus FitzGeorge:
was never legally adopted by her FitzGeorge stepfather, yet was presented socially in the UK and Europe as FitzGeorge. Vera Bate Lombardi was born with the highest connections possible with Royal Family alliances that cared deeply for her. Through her mother’s abandonment, she became the surrogate god child of Margaret Cambridge, Marchioness of Cambridge
, wife of Prince Adolphus, Duke of Teck
and sister of Hugh Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster
.
As Vera Bate Lombardi grew into a young adult, Rosa Baring FitzGeorge, who had neglected and ignored her daughter as a child, grew jealous of her beauty, talent, and popularity. In contrast to her former attitude , Rosa self-effacingly insisted that Vera use the FitzGeorge surname to insure her future financial security.
Rosa Fredericka Baring Fitzgeorge was the maternal grandmother of Magic Realist painter Bridget Bate Tichenor
, who lived in Mexico from 1956–1990.
British Royal Family
The British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in her or his role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with...
in challenging times. Her maternal uncle was Thomas Weguelin, partner of Thomson, Bonar, and Company of London, Director and Governor of the Bank of England
Bank of England
The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694, it is the second oldest central bank in the world...
.
First marriage
She married first to Captain Frank Wigsell Arkwright August 29, 1878 at SandersteadSanderstead
Sanderstead is a village in London Borough of Croydon, located on high ground at the edge of the built-up area of Greater London. From 1915 to 1965 it formed a parish in the Coulsdon and Purley Urban District of Surrey. Having been a farming community in previous centuries, Sanderstead is now...
, Surrey Court, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and had two children, a son Esme Arkwright, and a daughter Sarah Gertrude (Vera) Arkwright, who later through 2 marriages became Vera Bate Lombardi (b.1885 London - d. 1948 Rome).
At age 32, while unhappily married to Captain Arkwright, Rosa allegedly had an affair with the 17-year-old Adolphus Cambridge, 1st Marquess of Cambridge
Adolphus Cambridge, 1st Marquess of Cambridge
Adolphus Cambridge, 1st Marquess of Cambridge, GCB, GCVO, CMG , born Prince Adolphus of Teck and later The Duke of Teck , was a member of the British Royal Family and a younger brother of Queen Mary, the consort of King George V...
(13 August 1868 – 23 October 1927), later the Duke of Teck, younger brother of the future Queen Mary
Mary of Teck
Mary of Teck was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, as the wife of King-Emperor George V....
of Teck
Teck
Teck was a ducal castle in the kingdom of Württemberg, immediately to the north of the Swabian Jura and south of the town of Kirchheim unter Teck , taking its name from the ridge, 2544 feet high, which it crowned. It was destroyed in the German Peasants' War...
at the Baring home Norman Court, Hampshire, England.
Rosa became pregnant and gave birth to Sarah Gertrude (Vera) Arkwright in 1885, after her marriage to Captain Arkwright. Coincidently, The Duke of Teck
Teck
Teck was a ducal castle in the kingdom of Württemberg, immediately to the north of the Swabian Jura and south of the town of Kirchheim unter Teck , taking its name from the ridge, 2544 feet high, which it crowned. It was destroyed in the German Peasants' War...
’s mother, Duchess of Teck and her children returned to England from British debtor’s exile to Europe in 1885 through a loan from Rosa Baring Arkwright’s father Mr. William Henry Baring, which secured and positioned the future of Queen Mary
Mary of Teck
Mary of Teck was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, as the wife of King-Emperor George V....
of Teck
Teck
Teck was a ducal castle in the kingdom of Württemberg, immediately to the north of the Swabian Jura and south of the town of Kirchheim unter Teck , taking its name from the ridge, 2544 feet high, which it crowned. It was destroyed in the German Peasants' War...
consort to King George V.
The Arkwright marriage ended in divorce in 1885, allegedly with a disguised royal family cover-up that involved a transaction between the Duchess of Teck and the Baring family to insure silencing the under aged Duke of Teck
Duke of Teck
Duke of Teck was, in medieval times, a title borne by the head of a principality named Teck in the Holy Roman Empire, centered around Teck castle in Germany. That territory was held by a branch line of the Zähringen dynasty from 1187 to 1439, known historically as the first House of Teck...
's affair and guaranteeing a royal, although morganatic, marriage for Rosa to George William Adolphus FitzGeorge. Rosa abandoned her illegitimate child Sarah Gertrude (Vera) Arkwright in infancy to be raised by Captain Arkwright's family to focus on her new socially promising marriage.
Among the conditions made between Rosa Baring FitzGeorge and the Duchess of Teck, was that the child Sarah Gertrude (Vera) (christened Arkwright) be given up at birth to the care of the Arkwright family, and that the family keep a low profile, obey the agreement with a discreetly undisclosed payment and monies to support the child. The Arkwrights housed Vera in a virtually isolated rural area until she went to live with her godmother Margaret Cambridge, Marchioness of Cambridge
Margaret Cambridge, Marchioness of Cambridge
Margaret Evelyn Cambridge, Marchioness of Cambridge was the sixth child and third daughter of the 1st Duke of Westminster and the wife of the 1st Marquess of Cambridge...
’s brother Hugh Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster
Hugh Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster
Hugh Richard Arthur Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster GCVO DSO was the son of Victor Alexander Grosvenor, Earl Grosvenor and Lady Sibell Mary Lumley, the daughter of the 9th Earl of Scarborough...
.
Second Marriage
Rosa Baring married a second time November 25, 1885 in Paris, France to Colonel George William Adolphus FitzGeorge (24 August 1843 LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
- 2 September 1907 Lucerne
Lucerne
Lucerne is a city in north-central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of that country. Lucerne is the capital of the Canton of Lucerne and the capital of the district of the same name. With a population of about 76,200 people, Lucerne is the most populous city in Central Switzerland, and...
). He was the eldest of three sons of Duke of Cambridge
Duke of Cambridge
Duke of Cambridge is a title which has been conferred upon members of the British royal family several times. It was first used as a designation for Charles Stuart , the eldest son of James, Duke of York , though he was never formally created Duke of Cambridge...
and Louisa Fairbrother (the other sons being Admiral Sir Adolphus FitzGeorge
Adolphus FitzGeorge
Rear-Admiral Sir Adolphus Augustus Frederick FitzGeorge KCVO RN was a Rear-Admiral in the Royal Navy.-Biography:...
and Colonel Sir Augustus FitzGeorge). He was a male-line descendent of George III, W. F. Hanover, and King of Great Britain. His parents went through a ceremony of marriage in contravention of the Royal Marriages Act of 1772 while his mother was pregnant with his third brother. He and his brothers did not hold Royal titles, and were ineligible to succeed to the Duchy of Cambridge.
Rosa Baring Fitzgeorge and Colonel George William Adolphus FitzGeorge had three children: Mabel Iris, George Daphne and George William.
Queen Victoria grew tired of financial bailouts of both Teck
Teck
Teck was a ducal castle in the kingdom of Württemberg, immediately to the north of the Swabian Jura and south of the town of Kirchheim unter Teck , taking its name from the ridge, 2544 feet high, which it crowned. It was destroyed in the German Peasants' War...
and FitzGeorge families. The Queen did not approve of Rosa Baring FitzGeorge or the Duchess of Teck and their manipulations with the British Royal Family
British Royal Family
The British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in her or his role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with...
to improve their status. Rosa FitzGeorge later used the title ‘Lady FitzGeorge’ in New York pursuing wealthy American families to find a husband for her daughter Vera.
Rosa Baring FitzGeorge was not friendly with the families of her two husbands. She made "plenty of capital of the royal blood in the veins of her husband" and as the daughter-in-law of HRH Prince George
Prince George, Duke of Cambridge
Prince George, Duke of Cambridge was a member of the British Royal Family, a male-line grandson of King George III. The Duke was an army officer and served as commander-in-chief of the British Army from 1856 to 1895...
, Duke of Cambridge
Duke of Cambridge
Duke of Cambridge is a title which has been conferred upon members of the British royal family several times. It was first used as a designation for Charles Stuart , the eldest son of James, Duke of York , though he was never formally created Duke of Cambridge...
, Rosa flourished in New York and Chicago as “Lady FitzGeorge. According to the Marquise de Fontenoy in her book "Revelations of the High Life Within Royal Palaces" first printed in 1892 and published later in "Royal Musings", "Rosa Federica Baring FitzGeorge's marriage to Colonel FitzGeorge, who died in 1907, "gave great offense" to his father, HRH Prince George
Prince George, Duke of Cambridge
Prince George, Duke of Cambridge was a member of the British Royal Family, a male-line grandson of King George III. The Duke was an army officer and served as commander-in-chief of the British Army from 1856 to 1895...
, Duke of Cambridge
Duke of Cambridge
Duke of Cambridge is a title which has been conferred upon members of the British royal family several times. It was first used as a designation for Charles Stuart , the eldest son of James, Duke of York , though he was never formally created Duke of Cambridge...
, who was Queen Victoria's first cousin. King Edward VII bestowed knighthoods on the Duke's two younger sons, Adolphus and Augustus, but not on George. This omission was largely due to Colonel Fitzgeorge's marriage to Rosa Baring and his constant financial problems. Rosa did not reveal her first marriage to Arkwright at the time of her marriage to Colonel FitzGeorge, nor that she had two children, Esme and Vera. Vera Bate Lombardi's daughter Bridget Bate Tichenor stated, "This bigamy issue was later magnified by the revelation of Vera's illegitimate birth and the controversy that surrounded it within the Royal Family
Royal family
A royal family is the extended family of a king or queen regnant. The term imperial family appropriately describes the extended family of an emperor or empress, while the terms "ducal family", "grand ducal family" or "princely family" are more appropriate to describe the relatives of a reigning...
."
Children
By her first marriage to Frank Wigsell Arkwright:- 1. Esme Arkwright
- 2.Sarah Gertrude Arkwright, also known as Vera Bate LombardiVera Bate LombardiVera Bate Lombardi, born Sarah Gertrude Arkwright, was a British socialite and close associate of Coco Chanel. The mother of Bridget Bate Tichenor, she may have been the illegitimate daughter of Adolphus Cambridge, 1st Marquess of Cambridge...
(1885 - 1948)
By her second marriage to George William Adolphus FitzGeorge:
- 1. Mabel Iris FitzGeorge (23 September 1886 – 13 April 1976) married in 1912 to Robert Balfour, had issue (Victor FitzGeorge-Balfour). Married secondly, in 1945 to Vladimir Emmanuelovich, Prince Galitzin, no issue.
- 2. George Daphne FitzGeorge (23 February 1889 – 1 June 1954) married in 1915 to Sir George Foster Earle, divorced in 1926, no issue.
- 3. Commander George William Frederick FitzGeorge(12 October 1892 – 13 June 1960) married in 1915 to Esther Melina Vignon, divorced in 1927, no issue. Married secondly, in 1934 to France Bellanger, divorced in 1957, no issue.
Illegitimate Daughter
Shrouded in rumours of royal illegitimacy, Rosa Baring FitzGeorge’s second child Vera Bate LombardiVera Bate Lombardi
Vera Bate Lombardi, born Sarah Gertrude Arkwright, was a British socialite and close associate of Coco Chanel. The mother of Bridget Bate Tichenor, she may have been the illegitimate daughter of Adolphus Cambridge, 1st Marquess of Cambridge...
was never legally adopted by her FitzGeorge stepfather, yet was presented socially in the UK and Europe as FitzGeorge. Vera Bate Lombardi was born with the highest connections possible with Royal Family alliances that cared deeply for her. Through her mother’s abandonment, she became the surrogate god child of Margaret Cambridge, Marchioness of Cambridge
Margaret Cambridge, Marchioness of Cambridge
Margaret Evelyn Cambridge, Marchioness of Cambridge was the sixth child and third daughter of the 1st Duke of Westminster and the wife of the 1st Marquess of Cambridge...
, wife of Prince Adolphus, Duke of Teck
Duke of Teck
Duke of Teck was, in medieval times, a title borne by the head of a principality named Teck in the Holy Roman Empire, centered around Teck castle in Germany. That territory was held by a branch line of the Zähringen dynasty from 1187 to 1439, known historically as the first House of Teck...
and sister of Hugh Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster
Hugh Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster
Hugh Richard Arthur Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster GCVO DSO was the son of Victor Alexander Grosvenor, Earl Grosvenor and Lady Sibell Mary Lumley, the daughter of the 9th Earl of Scarborough...
.
As Vera Bate Lombardi grew into a young adult, Rosa Baring FitzGeorge, who had neglected and ignored her daughter as a child, grew jealous of her beauty, talent, and popularity. In contrast to her former attitude , Rosa self-effacingly insisted that Vera use the FitzGeorge surname to insure her future financial security.
Rosa Fredericka Baring Fitzgeorge was the maternal grandmother of Magic Realist painter Bridget Bate Tichenor
Bridget Bate Tichenor
Bridget Bate Tichenor , also known as Bridget Tichenor or B.B.T., was a Mexican surrealist painter of fantastic art in the school of magic realism and a fashion editor...
, who lived in Mexico from 1956–1990.
External links
- http://www.thepeerage.com/p15929.htm