Augustus FitzClarence

Played by Russ

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Vital Statistics

Name: Augustus FitzClarence 

Title: Lord (courtesy title, life only)

Nickname: August, Gus

Birthday: March 1, 1805

Age: 29

Religion: Church of England

Marital Status: Single

Job/Profession: Colonel in the British Army  (Military Adviser to Army for Indian subcontinent);

    Businessman, with investments in England and Indian subcontinent

Living Situation: He is temporarily staying in a small apartment at Clarence House, while
    he has certain changes made to the home he purchased in in London, about 3 miles
    north of Buckingham Palace and Parliament, 1 Gloucester Gate, Regent's Park, London

Appearance

Height: 6'2"

Build: Athletic

Eyes: Blue

Hair: Brown

Complexion: Caucasian

Scars/Other: A few minor scars from childhood accidents; another set of scars just above

   his left knee that is from an injury sustained while he was in India

Celebrity Image: Henry Cavill

Personality

Augustus is difficult to read and sometimes difficult to become acquainted with. Initially he can seem aloof or disinterested, but this is simply because he prefers to observe his surroundings before he becomes involved in anything. He's very intelligent and calculating -- at times even manipulative when he needs to be. As a boy he was very shy and compassionate, even sensitive, but certain experiences throughout his adolescence and young adulthood have forced him to learn to hide those sensitivities and follow his mind rather than his heart.

His intentions always seem a bit obscure, even to himself, and an air of mystery follows him. He holds a certain amount of bitterness in his heart for his father and his situation in life, but he tries not to let that bitterness rule his actions, having seen the results of allowing that to happen. There's a part of him, as much as he hates to admit it, that is constantly striving to impress his father. He has never really believed he can do so.

He has also, save for a detour on his way to India nine years ago to serve as an aide to a British ambassador to Turkey, and then several months in 1831, been in the Indian subcontinent, working hard to prove himself, at least as a military officer, to his father, and to demonstrate that the faith of several of his Princely uncles was well deserved. in the process, and after discovering what the East India Company did to manipulate the Army into combat, several times, he decided to serve himself financially. He is still not sure if he feels more guilty over a few additional deaths he added to his total, or just throwing away all presumption of his claim to total honesty. Some of the pain of that process still burns in him. On the other hand, he learned much of several of the languages and cultures of India, and the current administrator for Britain is a man he trusts to do things right, for the Indians and for Britain, and has made clear his intentions to support all that the man does.

Though he has never quite felt at ease in London, he is trying to make the best of his situation by beginning to establish a business presence. He has always planned to carry some of his successes in India with him back to England, and although that plan has been advanced more quickly than initially intended, a hint of the darker side of his reputation has preceded him and he has a few contracts under development. He feels quite lucky that ALL his reputation had not returned with him from the subcontinent. August has decided to contact remaining business partners to sell some of his less savory elements of his Indian businesses, and to recruit several merchants to carry over some of his trusted associates with the various artifacts he left behind. This leaves him worrying a bit about how some of his associates may treat that.

Since he is coming to believe his leg may never support full time field status, he is searching for something honest to do in his homeland, and considering what kind of life he can have there.

Personal History

Augustus is the second youngest child and the youngest son of King William IV, although at the time of Augustus' birth, his father was The Duke of Clarence and St. Andrews. His mother, Dorothea Bland, was an actress and the longtime mistress of his father. He was born and spent the first years of his life with his parents and siblings at Bushy House in London. His memories from this period are fond ones. He was fortunate in that his father claimed him and his siblings despite their illegitimacy, though he was shielded for a short time from what his illegitimacy actually meant. By the time his father married, in 1818, he had been off to school at Winchester (1817-1819), and then in Hanover (1819-1823). While he never lived for long with the Duchess, she always treated him and his siblings with deep respect and some care. His own mother had been ousted in several years before his father's marriage and died in France while he was still a child. He had never gotten over that she died destitute, even if the King would not allow that for her children.

Along with some of his other younger siblings, Augustus was privately tutored at Bushy Park. He was known for his exceptional intelligence and quiet, calm demeanor. He was close to his mother, so when his parents' relationship came to an end, her departure (along with the departure of his sisters) was difficult for him. He was only six years old at the time. He received little explanation for this and his father merely told him that it was time that he start learning to become a man.

He remained for two more years at Bushy Park before he was sent to a prestigious boarding school, returning home only for holidays and summers. It was at school where he came to understand what it meant to be an illegitimate son. His classmates, many of whom where heirs to large fortunes and great titles, were quick to point out what it meant whenever they had an opportunity. For a time, he took it in stride, but his temper came to get the best of him when they began to call his mother a whore, along with other worse obscenities. More than a few times it came to blows and his father started receiving notices stating that while Augustus displayed an incredible level of intelligence, his mental state was cause for some concern. When his father confronted him about the fights, he never tried to explain himself, afraid to shame him.

One summer, August was exploring Bushy Park on horseback as he often did while home, when he met a sweet young girl who was the daughter of a neighboring earl. At the age of 11, they were fast friends, often meeting secretly in the gardens adjoining their lands to play. Unlike most of those back at school, she was nice to him. Years passed and the two were almost inseparable while August was home on breaks. He would often let her ride his horse since she complained that her father didn't like to let her ride unless it was sidesaddle. Sometimes they would simply climb their favorite tree and talk. One day when they were fourteen, she kissed him. Ironically, that was the same day her father found them. The man was cruel, and after some harsh words and heavy fists that served to inform August that he would never let his daughter be courted by a bastard, nor would he ever let him see her again, he took her away. She was sent back to her family's lands just south of Scotland. It wasn't the bullying or the beatings that taught him his place in life... it was the encounter with the father of a girl he loved.

Shortly after the incident, he begged his father to let him travel with his uncle to his family's domain of Hanover to study at the University of Göttingen. Thinking it was best that August get away from London for awhile, he agreed. August was encouraged to join the clergy or pursue a career in medicine. While he continued to study both theology and science, he also began to study military strategy. He was left with a desire to improve his situation despite his circumstances, and he knew the best way to do that was through the military, as his older brothers had done. Two years after arriving in Hanover, he decided to train in warfare in Prussia without his father's approval. He briefly lost favor with the Duke when he discovered this, but a Field Marshal whom August had quickly earned the respect of, wrote the Duke requesting his permission to allow August to enter formal training. His uncle, Ernest Augustus, also backed the request and William reluctantly agreed.

He was 18 when he was granted a commission as a captain in the Hanoverian Light Dragoons. Within a year, he was promoted to major. A year later, he returned to England and was granted an equal commission in the British Army as a cavalry officer. It was 1825, and shortly after his return, when he volunteered to go to India to protect British interests. It had been only a few short years since the cholera epidemic had forced many of the few surviving British soldiers back to England and few were eager to return. It had even claimed the life of his older brother a few years before, but Augustus saw opportunity. It was a risk he was willing to take.

Always an adventurer at heart, India gave him what he was looking for. It was an escape from the burdens of his parentage and it was also a new beginning. Over his years in India, he amassed a great fortune, though his methods of doing so were somewhat questionable. He orchestrated several well-paying contracts with the East India Company and also made a number of carefully placed investments that resulted in excellent payoffs. Not only for him, but for some old school friends in England and in Hanover who had the faith to invest with him.

He was briefly recalled to London in 1831 shortly after his father's coronation. By that time, he'd reached the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. His father knighted him and also appointed him a Lord during his visit. The King also used him of a sign of his willingness to make new Lords who could vote for his own reforms - and it worked out rather well for the Crown, August supposed he should have been grateful, and outwardly he tried to be, but he couldn't help but feel like his father was simply trying to appease him. August had grown to hate court appearances, though, and even more so now that his father was king. It brought him more attention than he preferred, and most of it was negative attention. As soon as he was able, he returned to India.

He spent another three years in India, eventually earning the rank of Colonel. While there were not any major military conflicts during this time period, he was known as a force to be reckoned with during any skirmishes or riots that arose. He became more entwined with the East India Company and at one point was offered a high-ranking and well-paying position with them, but he ultimately turned it down, disliking the politics that came along with the position. August also had plans of building his own business empire and joining the East India Company did not align with that goal.

The course that he had mapped for himself was derailed in early 1834 when a skirmish he was involved in resulted in a very serious injury to his leg. He was lucky to survive, so the surgeons told him, and as soon as he was deemed fit enough for the journey back to England, he was put on a ship to make the rest of his recovery in London at the request of his father, who had been advised of the situation. Augustus has only recently returned to London and although he insists that he is fine, he knows he will soon be potentially forced to make the decision to resign if his leg does not fully heal. The limp he has is barely noticeable, though it is by great effort on his part. He is currently staying in a small apartment at his father's residence of Clarence House, though he is looking over a few tracts of land to buy for himself, something he hopes to do soon. He knows his being at Clarence House is against the recommendation of his father's closest advisers. The king has also begun pushing the issue of marriage, but this is something Augustus is not yet taking seriously. 

Family Relationships

Father - King William IV

Stepmother - Adelaide of Saxe Meinengen

Mother - Dorothea Bland (1761-1816)

Brother - George FitzClarence, First Earl of Munster

Brother - Henry Edward (1795-1817)

Sister - Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley

Sister - Lady Mary Fox

Brother - Lord Frederick FitzClarence

Sister - Elizabeth Hay, Countess of Erroll

Brother - Lord Adolphus FitzClarence

Sister - Lady Augusta Hallyburton

Sister - Amelia Hary, Viscountess Falkland

Grandfather - King George III (1738-1820)

Grandmother - Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1761-1818)

Uncle - Ernest, Duke of Cumberland

Uncle - Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex

Cousin - Alfred Murray, Earl of Dunmore

Cousin - Amelia Hohenzollern, Princess of Prussia

Cousin - Sophia Blackwood, Dowager Baronetess

Uncle - Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge

Second Cousin (?) - Victoria, Heir Apparent

Others...

Other Relationships

Malcolm Alexander Rory Gordon, Duke of Gordon, Earl of Huntly, Earl of Norwich, Viscount of Inverness. They had met briefly at August's knighting and recently met again on the road while heading to the Races.

Griffin Ulysses Fitzgerald0-de Ross, Baron de Ros. The two were close when they were at Westminster, and formed a long-lasting friendship and voluminous correspondence ranging from science and industry to the nature of change in Britain and other countries, to philosophy and natural philosophy, with regular meetings until August left for India. At this point, Griffin became and investor in August's Indian ventures, and invested August's own money, much to their mutual pleasure. They are expecting to see more of each other while August is stuck in England due to his wounds. 

Additional Information

Passions: Reading/learning, journaling, writing, riding, swordsmanship, horsemanship, the country, scotch, traveling. new languages, interesting cultural idea and exchanges

Displeasures: His relationship with his father, crowds, the city, politics, worries about whether his darker business interests will catch up with him in England

Greatest Ambition: Earning his own permanent title

Darkest Fear: Seeming vulnerable, or failing

Languages: English, German, French, Latin, Greek, Arabic, Hindi, Bengal, Telegu

Whig or Tory? He prefers not to identify with either party, but his ideals are probably most in line with the Whigs; although there are certain Tory ideals he appreciates as well. He tries to stay out of politics unless it directly affects his ambitions.

Love or Duty? There was a time when he would have picked love and there was a time when he would have picked duty. Now, his interests have become a bit more selfish.

Sense or Sensibility? Sense

Destiny or Free Will? He does his best to forge his own destiny, but he certainly believes that fate plays a part in it

Smoking: Bad for his wind, and he doesn't like it. No.

Food: He has grown to love Indian food and hopes to find some of it back in Britain 

Drink. Scotch, Hard Cider, Fruit Juices, Hot Cocoa

Place: He loves Hanover and much of the Indian subcontinent, and loves to travel in general 

Person: His sisters and some of his cousins; he has a strong faith in his family, aside from his father

Women: Clean, smart, learned, bold, brassy .... and titled ... at least for marrying

Religion: Too many to choose from, and pretends to be Church of England

Honesty: Yes, Maybe. No .... well yes, really, but who is actually honest?

Day or Night: Loves the night, and when he can, he will sometimes stay up reading until dawn

Art or Science: He loves many of the art forms of India, but ultimately he loves science more

Land or Sea? Loves the land, but gets very excited at the prospects of an ocean voyage to a new place

Friends or Fortune? He wants to build his fortune, but he would treasure having close friends even more

August, age 17