Lord Edward "Fitz", Earl Fitzherbert

Edward "Fitz" Fitzherbert, Earl Fitzherbert (1886-?) is a fictional character and one of the characters in the Century Trilogy by Ken Follett.

He is the oldest child of George Fitzherbert and ____ ____ who own thousands of acres of land across Yorkshire and Wales. Fitz is the older brother of Maud Fitzherbert.

Before the events of the series, Fitz was the ninth richest man in Britain. He had an undistinguished military career. He attended the Sandhurst military training camp, spent three years with the Welsh Riffles, and ended his military career as a captain. Upon his marriage, Fitz left the military as honorary honorary colonel of the South Wales Territorials. After his time in the military he took his seat in the House of Lords in the Upper Chamber of British Parliament as a conservative. He married his Russian wife Princess Bea in 1911. They tried for children multiple times over the course of three years, but every pregnancy ended in a miscarriage.

At the beginning of the Century Trilogy-- in the book titled Fall of Giants-- Fitz is staying at his estate named Ty Gwyn ("white house" in Welsh). During his time there, he is enchanted by Ethel Williams a beautiful housemaid. They start an affair and eventually Ethel becomes pregnant. Just before getting the news of Ethel's pregnancy, Fitz finds out that his wife Bea is also pregnant. Due to the previous miscarriages Fitz cares for Bea with the utmost caution. Due to this reason, among others, he hires a lawyer to work out a deal with Ethel. Ethal agrees to keep her child's patronage a secret in exchange for a house in London.