Celebrity Genealogy      Research - My Family

The Fascinating Royal Connections of Thomas Arthur Fitzhardinge Kingscote

Thomas Arthur Fitzhardinge Kingscote holds a fascinating place in my extended family tree. Through marriage, he was the uncle of the wife of my 4th cousin, Charles Thomas Bruce. Charles married Gwendolen Mary Speir, daughter of Emily Gifford and Robert Francis Gifford, 2nd Baron Gifford. Emily Gifford, in turn, was the sister of Eva Gifford, who married my other 4th cousin, Major General Henry Trotter, 4th Baron of Mortonhall.

That means I have two separate branches of my family—both 4th cousins—who married into the same noble Gifford family. But the connections don’t stop there. Thomas Arthur Fitzhardinge Kingscote himself descended from the Fitzhardinge family, the same lineage as Swinburne Frederica Charlotte Fitzhardinge-Berkley, mother of Eva Gifford. Tracing these intertwined family lines took multiple screens, charts, and a lot of patience to untangle!

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The Noble Lineage of the Kingscote Family

The Kingscote family has held the manor of Kingscote in Gloucestershire since the 11th century, making it one of England’s oldest landed families. Thomas Arthur Fitzhardinge Kingscote was the son of Colonel Thomas Henry Kingscote and his second wife, Honourable Mary Anne Bloomfield, daughter of Lieutenant-General Benjamin Bloomfield, 1st Baron Bloomfield.

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A Distinguished Career Serving the British Royal Family

Thomas Arthur Fitzhardinge Kingscote dedicated much of his life to royal service. He held several prestigious positions within the British court, including:

• Gentleman of the Cellars

• Gentleman Usher to Queen Victoria, then to King Edward VII, and later King George V

 

In 1901, he was appointed a Member of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO). After decades of loyal service, he was promoted to Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) in 1920. Upon retiring in 1919, he was named an Extra Gentleman Usher, a distinguished recognition of his long royal career.

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A Legacy of Royal and Noble Connections

It’s remarkable to discover yet another family member who worked closely with the British Royal Family, joining the ranks of several of my relatives who also served or interacted with Queen Victoria, King Edward VII, and King George V.

When I first uncovered noble connections in my family tree, I was both surprised and thrilled. To learn that multiple relatives—both direct and extended—were not only British nobles but also trusted members of the royal household is truly exciting.

It makes me wonder: did any of them ever imagine that generations later, their stories would all come together under one family’s shared history?