Henry James Fitzroy, Earl of Euston

Henry James FitzRoy, Earl of Euston DL (28 November 1848 – 10 May 1912) was the eldest son and heir apparent of Augustus FitzRoy, 7th Duke of Grafton.

Euston married a music hall artiste Kate Walsh, daughter of John Walsh, on 29 May 1871 at St. Michael's Church, Worcester. Described as "one of the most notorious women in London" she was at least ten years his senior. They had no children, and separated after three years, Euston securing a government position in Australia. Having discovered that Walsh had contracted a bigamous marriage, he returned to London to seek an annulment. At great expense Walsh's presumed husband was located in New Zealand and brought to London. In a case that was termed "stranger than fiction", at the last moment of the cross examination of Walsh's husband in court it was discovered that three years prior to marrying her, he had wedded another woman. His marriage to Walsh was therefore invalid, and hers to Euston legitimate. Walsh remained Lady Euston until she died in 1903, predeceasing Lord Euston by nine years.

In 1890, Euston was embroiled in the Cleveland Street scandal when he was accused of visiting a male brothel at 19 Cleveland Street in London by The North London Press, an obscure radical weekly newspaper. Euston sued for libel. At the trial Euston admitted that when walking along Piccadilly he had been given a card by a tout which read "Poses plastiques. C. Hammond, 19 Cleveland Street". Euston testified that he went along to the house, believing Poses plastiques to mean a display of female nudes. He paid a sovereign to get in. On entry, Euston said he was appalled to discover the "improper" nature of the place and immediately left. The defence witnesses contradicted each other, and could not describe Euston accurately. The final defence witness, John Saul, was a male prostitute who admitted to earning his living by leading an "immoral life" and "practising criminality". The jury did not believe the defence witnesses and found in favour of Euston.H. Montgomery Hyde, an eminent historian of homosexuality, later wrote that there was little doubt that Euston was telling the truth and only visited 19 Cleveland Street once because he was misled by the card. However, Robert Cliburn, a young man who specialised in blackmailing older homosexual men, told Oscar Wilde that Euston was one of his victims.

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