by Paul James
October 31 2004

The sons of British sovereigns are usually given peerages at some point in their lives, and since the 14th century their senior title has been in the degree of duke – the highest rank in the British peerage. The only exception to that rule has been the present Queen’s youngest son, Prince Edward, whose highest title is Earl of Wessex, but has been promised a dukedom in due course.

Although the title existed in Europe (English kings held French dukedoms) it didn’t exist as an English title until Edward III decided that his sons should have a noble rank higher than that of his earls. In 1337, he began by conferring the dukedom of Cornwall on his eldest son, Edward Prince of Wales (“the Black Prince”). This dukedom was different from all subsequent ones in that succession to the title was limited to the sovereign’s eldest son and heir, and the title did not cease to exist when the holder inherited the crown – it went immediately to his eldest son or became dormant if there was no son. The title was also endowed with large estates – the Duchy of Cornwall – which provided the duke with an income. Although a significant portion of the duchy’s lands was in the county of Cornwall, the two are not geographically the same. Today, the largest part of the duchy is in the neighbouring county of Devon, and it has valuable holdings in other parts of England, too, including London.

An exception to the condition limiting the duchy to the sovereign’s eldest son was made very early in its existence, when the Black Prince died and Edward III issued a charter conferring the dukedom on the Black Prince’s son, the future Richard II. Despite the existence of the 1337 charter which conferred the dukedom on the king’s eldest son forever, it was felt necessary to re-create the dukedom for Henry IV’s son (the future Henry V) in 1399, and for Edward IV’s son (the future Edward V), in 1471.

The title has passed in accordance with the 1337 charter ever since. The duke is usually known by the more senior title of Prince of Wales, but whereas this title had to be created each time, succession to the dukedom is automatic, and so there were times when the heir was known as Duke of Cornwall, in the intervening period between becoming son and heir of the sovereign and being created Prince of Wales. This was the case with Prince Charles between 1952 and 1958.

The next two royal dukedoms were created on the same day in 1362. Edward III’s second surviving son, Lionel of Antwerp, was created Duke of Clarence, and his third son, John of Gaunt, became Duke of Lancaster. The first generation of royal dukes was completed with the creation of the dukedoms of York (for Edmund of Langley) and of Gloucester (for Thomas of Woodstock), both on the same day in 1385.

Like Cornwall, Lancaster came with a duchy which survives today. The title itself merged with the crown when John of Gaunt’s son and successor seized the throne as King Henry IV in 1399. The dukedom was recreated for his son but merged with the crown when he succeeded as King Henry V in 1413. Henry was the only person ever to have been Duke of both Cornwall and Lancaster. Since his accession, the dukedom has never been re-created and the duchy has been held by the Crown.

The first dukedom of Clarence ended after only six years with the death of Lionel of Antwerp in 1368, without a son and heir. The title was conferred on Thomas, second son of Henry IV, in 1412, and then on George, brother of Edward IV, in 1461. George was attainted (his title was suspended) in 1477 and murdered in the Tower of London the following year. He had a son, the Earl of Warwick, who didn’t inherit the dukedom because of the attainder and was himself later found guilty of treason and executed under Henry VII. The title wasn’t used again until it was conferred on William, third son of George III in 1789. He succeeded to the throne as William IV in 1830. The last creation of the Clarence dukedom was for the heir of the future Edward VII, Albert Victor, in 1890. He died two years later. Despite being created five times, the dukedom of Clarence was never inherited by a second duke.

The most frequently created royal dukedom is York, which has been created eleven times, but never inherited by a second or subsequent duke except in its first manifestation. In 1460, during the Wars of the Roses, the grandson of the first duke laid claim to the Crown, and in the following year his son succeeded in deposing Henry VI and became Edward IV. Their claim was not based on their York descent, though, but on descent from the daughter of Lionel Duke of Clarence (Philippa, Countess of Ulster).

All subsequent dukes of York have been either the second son or next brother of a sovereign, and all have either inherited the throne (Henry VIII, Charles I, James II, George V, George VI) or died without a son to succeed them. The present duke, Prince Andrew, appears set to continue the tradition!

The fourth of the original dukedoms, Gloucester, passed from its first holder, Thomas of Woodstock, to his son, Humphrey, who died childless in 1399. The title was subsequently created for another Humphrey, brother of Henry V, who died heirless, and then for Richard, brother of Edward IV, who became King Richard III in 1483. The title was revived for one of Charles II’s brothers in 1659, who died childless, and then for Henry, brother of George III in 1764. That creation became extinct with the death of Henry’s son in 1834. Its current creation, for the Queen’s uncle, Prince Henry, occurred in 1928, and his son Richard is now the second duke of the current creation.

The fifth royal dukedom, Bedford, was created for a brother of Henry V in 1414 and the title died with him in 1472. It hasn’t been a royal dukedom since. No further new ducal titles were created for an English prince until 1664, or for the son of a monarch until 1726. No royal dukedoms at all were created during the sixteenth century (although the dukedom of Cornwall was inherited twice, by the future Henry VIII and future Edward VI), which reflects the lack of sons in the Tudor dynasty.

The next new title to be created was Duke of Cambridge, for a son of James Duke of York (James II and VII) in the 1660s. He died at only six months old before his father became king, and it was re-created for another son who also died young. The next creation was in 1706, for the son of the Elector of Hanover (later George I), who eventually became George II. The Cambridge dukedom’s last creation was for Adolphus, son of George III. His son, the second duke, married in contravention of the Royal Marriages Act, and so the title couldn’t pass to his children, who were illegitimate. However, Cambridge was revived as a marquessate for the second duke’s nephew, the Duke of Teck (brother of Queen Mary), when he renounced his German titles in 1917. That title became extinct in 1981

The dukedom of Cumberland was first created for Charles I’s German cousin, Prince Rupert of the Rhine, in 1644, then again for Queen Anne’s Danish husband, George, in 1689. It was revived in 1726 for Prince William Augustus, son of George II, the infamous “Butcher Cumberland”, who died without issue, and again for Henry, son of Frederick Prince of Wales, before its currently suspended creation in 1799, of which more below.

Scotland had only 3 royal ducal titles prior to the union of 1707. The first was Rothesay, created in 1398, which, like Cornwall, was reserved for the eldest son and heir of the sovereign, and is now held by Prince Charles. Created on the same day as Rothesay was the first dukedom of Albany, for Robert, a son of Robert II. This dukedom became extinct on the death of his son, and was re-created for a son of James II in 1458, again becoming extinct on the death of the second holder. Both the future Charles I and James II were created dukes of Albany in Scotland, as well as being dukes of York in England. The Hanoverians used the joint title Duke of York and Albany three times before Albany was used on its own again for Leopold, son of Queen Victoria (see below).

The third Scottish royal dukedom was Ross, which was first created for James, son of James III, in 1504. The second creation, in 1515, was for Alexander, son of James IV, who died in infancy. The title hasn’t been used since.

After the union of 1707, the first new title was Duke of Edinburgh (a Scottish title, but in the peerage of Great Britain) was first created for Frederick, eldest son of George II, in 1726, before he became Duke of Cornwall and Prince of Wales, and was inherited on his death by the future George III. The next duke, Alfred, son of Queen Victoria, had no surviving heirs. It was created for a third time for Prince Philip. Its present heir is the Prince of Wales, but a new creation of the dukedom has been promised for Prince Edward after Charles becomes king.

Only three further new titles were created, although others existed as the second part of ducal titles. The dukedom of Kent was created for Queen Victoria’s father in 1799, Sussex was created for his brother Augustus in 1801, and Connaught for Arthur, son of Queen Victoria, in 1874.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, some of these dukedoms had “double titles”, including place-names from two of the three constituent kingdoms of the UK. These included York and Albany, Cumberland and Strathearn, Cumberland and Teviotdale, Gloucester and Edinburgh, Clarence and St.Andrews, Kent and Strathearn and Connaught and Strathearn. The last such title was Clarence and Avondale (George V’s older brother).

Two royally-created dukedoms still exist but have been suspended since 1917, because their holders fought for Germany in the First World War. The first was Cumberland, conferred on Ernest Augustus, a son of George III, in 1799. The Dukes of Cumberland succeeded to the throne of Hanover in 1837 (because Victoria, as a woman, was barred). They lost the kingdom to Prussia in 1866 but remained German princes. The second suspended dukedom is Albany, conferred on Queen Victoria’s son Leopold in 1881 His son, Charles Edward, also inherited the German duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1900, and so was first and foremost a German prince during World War I. Both princes have living heirs in Germany who are entitled to petition for the restoration of their British titles, but none has done so.

We now have five royal dukes – Cornwall & Rothesay, Gloucester, Kent, Edinburgh and York, and one potential royal duke, Prince Harry. Although the second son of a monarch is often given York, this is likely still to be held by Prince Andrew by the time Harry comes up for consideration (usually at the time of marriage), and so we can speculate about which title will be revived for Harry. Clarence, Cambridge, and Sussex are amongst those available, or, perhaps like Prince Edward’s earldom of Wessex, something totally unexpected will be chosen. Alternatively, in this increasingly egalitarian age, it might be decided to dispense with the tradition of royal peerages altogether.