Royal Dukedoms
In the British traditions, a royal duke is a duke who is a member of the British Royal Family, entitled to the style of His Royal Highness. Royal dukedoms are Substantive titles. Like most other substantive titles they are created for legitimate sons and male line grandsons of the British monarch, usually upon reaching their majority or marriage.[1] The titles can be inherited but cease to be "royal" once they pass beyond the grandsons of a monarch. As with any peerage, once the title becomes extinct, it may subsequently be recreated by the reigning monarch at any time.
Royal status of dukedoms
In the United Kingdom, there is nothing intrinsic to any dukedom that makes it "royal". Rather, these peerages are called royal dukedoms because they are created for, and held by, a member of the royal family who is entitled to the style Royal Highness. Although the term "royal duke" therefore has no official meaning per se, the category "Duke of the Blood Royal" was acknowledged as a rank conferring special precedence at court in the unrevoked 20th clause of the Lord Chamberlain's order of 1520.[2][3] This decree accorded precedence to any peer related by blood to the sovereign above all others of the same degree within the peerage. The order did not apply within Parliament, nor did it grant precedence above the Archbishop of Canterbury or other Great Officers of State such as is now enjoyed by royal dukes. But it placed junior "Dukes of the Blood Royal" above the most senior non-royal duke, junior "Earls of the Blood Royal" above the most senior non-royal earl (cf. Earldom of Wessex), etc. It did not matter how distantly related to the monarch the peers might be (presumably they ranked among each other in order of succession to the Crown). Although the 1520 order is theoretically still in effect, in fact the "Blood Royal" clause seems to have fallen into desuetude by 1917 when George V limited the style of Royal Highness to children and male-line grandchildren of the Sovereign. Thus peers of the blood royal who are neither sons nor grandsons of a sovereign are no longer accorded precedence above other peers.
Under the 20 November 1917, letters patent of King George V, the titular dignity of Prince or Princess and the style Royal Highness are restricted to the legitimate children of a sovereign, the children of a sovereign's sons, and the eldest living son of the eldest son of a Prince of Wales.Vorlage:Efn
When the current Duke of Gloucester and Duke of Kent are succeeded by their eldest sons, the Earl of Ulster and the Earl of St. Andrews, respectively, those peerages (or rather, the 1928 and 1934 creations of them) will cease to be royal dukedoms, instead the title holders will become "ordinary" dukes.[4] The third dukes of Gloucester and Kent will each be styled "His Grace" because as great-grandsons of George V, they are not princes and are not styled HRH. Similarly, upon the death of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught (1850–1942) (the third son of Queen Victoria), his only male-line grandson, Alastair, Earl of MacDuff (1914–43), briefly succeeded to his peerages and was styled "His Grace". Before the 1917 changes, his style and title had been His Highness Prince Alastair of Connaught.
Current royal dukedoms
The current royal dukedoms, held as principal titles, in order of precedence, are:
| Dukedom | Holder | Year Created | Subsidiary Titles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duke of Edinburgh | Prince Philip | 1947 | Earl of Merioneth Baron Greenwich |
| Duke of Cambridge | Prince William | 2011 | Earl of Strathearn Baron Carrickfergus |
| Duke of York | Prince Andrew | 1986 | Earl of Inverness Baron Killyleagh |
| Duke of Gloucester | Prince Richard[5] | 1928 | Earl of Ulster Baron Culloden |
| Duke of Kent | Prince Edward[6] | 1934 | Earl of St Andrews Baron Downpatrick |
The following dukedoms are currently held as secondary titles by members of the royal family:
- Duke of Cornwall is a secondary title of the Sovereign's eldest son in England,[1][7] currently held by Charles, Prince of Wales. In addition to the dukedom of Cornwall, a peerage, the heir apparent also enjoys a life interest in the Duchy of Cornwall.
- Duke of Rothesay is a secondary title of the Sovereign's heir apparent in Scotland, currently held by Prince Charles,[1] who is properly called "HRH The Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay" (rather than "HRH The Prince of Wales") while in Scotland.
With the exceptions of the dukedoms of Cornwall and Rothesay (which can only be held by the eldest living son of the sovereign who is also the heir-apparent), these dukedoms are hereditary according to the letters patent that created them.[1] Those patents each contain the standard remainder to "heirs male of his body".
By law the British monarch also holds, and is entitled to the revenues of, the Duchy of Lancaster. Within the borders of the County Palatine of Lancashire, therefore, Elizabeth II is hailed as "The Queen, The Duke of Lancaster" (even when the monarch is a Queen regnant, by tradition she does not use the title Duchess).[1] However, legally the monarch is not the Duke of Lancaster: peerages are in origin held feudally of the sovereign who, as the fount of honour, cannot hold a peerage of him- or herself. The situation is similar in the Channel Islands, where the monarch is addressed as Duke of Normandy, but only in accordance with tradition. He or she does not hold the legal title of Duke of Normandy.
Former royal dukedoms
The following is a list of dukedoms previously created for members of the royal family, but which have subsequently merged in the crown, become extinct or have otherwise ceased to be royal dukedoms.
Extinct Dukedoms
| Title | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Duke of Albemarle | Deprived in 1399. | Non-royal dukedom created in 1660 (extinct 1688); non-royal Earldom of Albemarle (created 1697) is extant. |
| Duke of Clarence[1] | Forfeit in 1478. | Earldom of Clarence (created 1881) is a subsidiary title of the suspended Dukedom of Albany. |
| Duke of Clarence and Avondale | Extinct in 1892. | |
| Duke of Clarence and St Andrews | Merged in the crown in 1830. | Earldom of St Andrews (created 1934) is a subsidiary title of the extant Dukedom of Kent. |
| Duke of Connaught and Strathearn[1] | Extinct in 1942. | Earldom of Strathearn (created 2011) is a subsidiary title of the extant Dukedom of Cambridge. |
| Duke of Cumberland[1] | Extinct in 1765. | |
| Duke of Cumberland and Strathearn | Extinct in 1790. | |
| Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh | Extinct in 1834. | |
| Duke of Hereford | Merged in the crown in 1399 | Non-royal Viscountcy of Hereford (created 1550) is extant. |
| Duke of Kendal[1] | Extinct in 1667. | Non-royal dukedom created in 1719 (extinct 1743). |
| Duke of Kent and Strathearn | Extinct in 1820. | |
| Duke of Kintyre and Lorne | Extinct in 1602 | |
| Duke of Ross | Extinct in 1515 | |
| Duke of Sussex | Extinct in 1843. | |
| Duke of Windsor | Extinct in 1972. | |
| Duke of York and Albany | Extinct in 1827. |
Extant as non-Royal Dukedoms
| Title | Royal creation | Current status |
|---|---|---|
| Duke of Bedford | Extinct in 1495. | Non-royal dukedom created in 1694 is extant. |
| Duke of Norfolk | Extinct in 1483. | Non-royal dukedom created in 1483 is extant. |
| Duke of Somerset | Extinct in 1500. | Non-royal dukedom created in 1547 is extant. |
Suspended Dukedoms
Under the Titles Deprivation Act 1917 the holders of the following dukedoms, who were simultaneously British princes and members of royal and princely families of Germany, were deprived of their British titles having sided with Germany during First World War. The Act provides that a successor of a person thus deprived of a peerage can petition the Crown for revival of the title. No such descendant has done so as of 2017.
| Title | Current claimant |
|---|---|
| Duke of Albany[1] | Prince Hubertus of Saxe Coburg and Gotha |
| Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale | Prince Ernst August of Hanover |
Royal dukedoms created since 1726
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Forms of address
- Address: His/Her Royal Highness The Duke/Duchess of (X)
- Speak to as: Your Royal Highness
- After: Sir/Madam
Coronet
While non-royal dukes are entitled to a coronet of eight strawberry leaves, to bear at a coronation and on his coat of arms, royal dukes are entitled to princely coronets (four crosses patée alternating with four strawberry leaves). The coronets of the royal family are dictated by letters patent. The Duke of York bears by letters patent, and the Duke of Edinburgh was granted in 1947 use of, the coronet of a child of the sovereign (four crosses patée alternating with four fleurs-de-lis), while the Duke of Cornwall and of Rothesay has use of the Prince of Wales Coronet, the Duke of Cambridge the coronet of a child of the heir-apparent and the current Dukes of Gloucester and of Kent, as grandsons of a sovereign bear the corresponding coronet.
At coronations, apart from the differentiation of princely coronets from ducal coronets, a royal duke is also entitled to six rows of ermine spots on his mantle, as opposed to the four rows borne by an "ordinary" duke.
-
Crown of the Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay -
Coronet of the Duke of Cambridge -
Coronet of the Dukes of Edinburgh and of York -
Coronet of the Dukes of Gloucester and of Kent
See also
- Substantive title
- Dukes in the United Kingdom
- List of dukedoms in the peerages of Britain and Ireland
- List of dukes in the peerages of Britain and Ireland
- List of peerages created for British princes
- Princess Royal
Notes
Vorlage:Notelist Vorlage:Reflist Vorlage:Reflist Vorlage:Reflist Vorlage:Reflist
References
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh (Hrsg.): [[Burke's Peerage|Burke's Guide to the Royal Family]]. Burke's Peerage Ltd/Shaw Publishing Co., London 1973, ISBN 0-220-66222-3, Appendix C: Titles Traditionally Associated with the Royal Family, S. 183, 336–337.
- ↑ Francois Velde: Order of Precedence in England and Wales. Heraldica.org, abgerufen am 17. November 2010.
- ↑ Squibb, G.D.: Order of Precedence in England and Wales. Clarendon Press, Oxford, England 1981, The Lord Chamberlain's Order of 1520, as amended in 1595, S. 99–101.
- ↑ Eilers, Marlene. Queen Victoria's Descendants. Rosvall Royal Books, Falkoping, Sweden, 1997. p. 45. Vorlage:ISBN
- ↑ The Duke of Gloucester. The official website of the British Monarchy
- ↑ The Duke of Kent. Official website of the British Monarchy
- ↑ The Prince of Wales: styles and titles.
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