Titles of Royalty and Nobility within the British Monarchy: Duke

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11th Duke of Beaufort., David Somerset, Duke, Duke of Cambridge, Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Peerage of England, Peerage of Scotland, Royal Dukedom, Royal Titles

In this post I will examine the title of Duke, both royal and non-royal. The non-royal first.

Duke (from the Latin dux, leader). Outside of King or Queen this is the highest and most important rank within the nobility. Since its inception in the 14th century, there have been less than 500 dukes. Currently there are just 27 dukedoms in the peerage, held by 24 different people.

The correct way to formally address a duke or duchess is ‘Your Grace’. The eldest son of a duke will use one of the duke’s subsidiary titles, as a courtesy title, whilst other children will use the honorary title ‘Lord’ or ‘Lady’ in front of their Christian names.

His Grace, David Somerset, 11th Duke of Beaufort and is a male-line descendent of the House of Plantagenet, albeit through two illegitimate lines.

He and his family were descended in the male line from Edward III of England; the first Somerset was a legitimised son of Henry Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, whose grandfather was a legitimized son of John of Gaunt. By the time he succeeded as Duke he was therefore considered the senior representative of the House of Plantagenet, through a legitimised line. Somerset’s father was the heir presumptive to the Dukedom of Beaufort and the large estates attached to it.

In the British peerage, a Royal Duke is a member of the British royal family, entitled to the titular dignity of prince and the style of His Royal Highness, who holds a dukedom.

Dukedoms are the highest titles in the British roll of peerage, and the holders of these particular dukedoms are princes of the blood royal. The holders of the dukedoms are royal, not the titles themselves. They are titles created and bestowed on legitimate sons and male-line grandsons of the British monarch, usually upon reaching their majority or marriage.

The titles can be inherited but cease to be called “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, members of the royal family who are entitled to the titular dignity of prince and 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.

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 King 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.

Assuming that Alexander Windsor, Earl of Ulster and George Windsor, Earl of St Andrews succeed their fathers to become third Duke of Gloucester and third Duke of Kent respectively, their peerages (as created in 1928 and 1934) will cease to be royal dukedoms; instead their holders will become “ordinary” dukes.

The third dukes of Gloucester and Kent will each be styled His Grace because, as great-grandsons of King George V, they are not princes and are not styled HRH. Similarly, upon the death of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn (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 had been His Highness Prince Alastair of Connaught.

The Prince of Wales is also a Royal Duke. Prior to becoming the Prince of Wales he had been created Duke of Cambridge by Queen Elizabeth II on his wedding day in 2011. This is a title he still possesses.

When his father became King Charles III the Duke of Cambridge automatically became the Duke of Cornwall in the Peerage of England. This title is hereditary and is inherited by the eldest son of the sovereign.

The next day after inheriting the Duchy of Cornwall the King created his son Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester.

The Duchy of Cornwall was created in 1337 by Edward III of England for his son and heir, Edward of Woodstock (also known as “The Black Prince”). A charter was also created which ruled that the eldest son of the king would be the duke of Cornwall.

Along with the Duchy of Cornwall the Duke of Cambridge also inherited other titles automatically: he became, as the eldest son of the monarch, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles, and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland.

In Scotland the Prince of Wales is known as the Duke of Rothesay. Duke of Rothesay which is also a Royal Dukedom, and was a title of the heir apparent to the throne of the Kingdom of Scotland before 1707, of the Kingdom of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and now of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

It is the title mandated for use by the heir apparent when in Scotland, in preference to the titles Duke of Cornwall (which also belongs to the eldest living son of the monarch, when and only when he is also heir apparent, by right) and Prince of Wales (traditionally granted to the heir apparent), which are used in the rest of the United Kingdom and overseas.

The title is named after Rothesay on the Isle of Bute, but is not associated with any legal entity or landed property, unlike the Duchy of Cornwall.

March 30, 2002: Death of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother

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14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, Duke of York, Empress of India, Glamis Castle, King George VI of the United Kingdom, Peerage of Scotland, Prince Albert, Princess Margaret, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother

Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was the last Empress of India from her husband’s accession as King-Emperor in 1936 until the British Raj was dissolved in August 1947. After her husband died, she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II.

Early life

Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the youngest daughter and the ninth of ten children of Claude Bowes-Lyon, Lord Glamis (later the 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne in the Peerage of Scotland), and his wife, Cecilia Cavendish-Bentinck. Her mother was descended from British Prime Minister William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland, and Governor-General of India Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley, who was the elder brother of another prime minister, Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington.

Wedding of Prince Albert, Duke of York, and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon

Prince Albert, Duke of York—”Bertie” to the family—was the second son of King George V. He initially proposed to Elizabeth in 1921, but she turned him down, being “afraid never, never again to be free to think, speak and act as I feel I really ought to”. When he declared he would marry no other, his mother, Queen Mary, visited Glamis to see for herself the girl who had stolen her son’s heart.

She became convinced that Elizabeth was “the one girl who could make Bertie happy”, but nevertheless refused to interfere. At the same time, Elizabeth was courted by James Stuart, Albert’s equerry, until he left the Prince’s service for a better-paid job in the American oil business.

In February 1922, Elizabeth was a bridesmaid at the wedding of Albert’s sister, Princess Mary, to Viscount Lascelles. The following month, Albert proposed again, but she refused him once more.

Eventually, in January 1923, Elizabeth agreed to marry Albert, despite her misgivings about royal life. Albert’s freedom in choosing Elizabeth, not a member of a royal family, though the daughter of a peer, was considered a gesture in favour of political modernisation; previously, princes were expected to marry princesses from other royal families. They selected a platinum engagement ring featuring a Kashmir sapphire with two diamonds adorning its sides.

They married on April 26, 1923, at Westminster Abbey. Unexpectedly, Elizabeth laid her bouquet at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior on her way into the abbey, in memory of her brother Fergus.

Elizabeth became styled Her Royal Highness The Duchess of York. Following a wedding breakfast at Buckingham Palace prepared by chef Gabriel Tschumi, the new Duchess and her husband honeymooned at Polesden Lacey, a manor house in Surrey owned by the wealthy socialite and friend Margaret Greville. They then went to Scotland, where she caught “unromantic” whooping cough.

Elizabeth came to prominence in 1923 when she married the Duke of York. The couple and their daughters Elizabeth and Margaret embodied traditional ideas of family and public service. The Duchess undertook a variety of public engagements and became known for her consistently cheerful countenance.

In 1936, Elizabeth’s husband unexpectedly became king when his older brother, Edward VIII, abdicated in order to marry the American divorcée Wallis Simpson.

Elizabeth then became queen consort. She accompanied her husband on diplomatic tours to France and North America before the start of the Second World War. During the war, her seemingly indomitable spirit provided moral support to the British public. After the war, her husband’s health deteriorated, and she was widowed at the age of 51. Her elder daughter, aged 25, became the new queen.

After the death of Queen Mary in 1953, Elizabeth was viewed as the matriarch of the British royal family. In her later years, she was a consistently popular member of the family, even when other members were suffering from low levels of public approval. She continued an active public life until just a few months before her death at the age of 101, which was seven weeks after the death of her younger daughter, Princess Margaret.

History of the Titles of the Prince of Wales: Part VI

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Baron Kilkeel, Baron of Renfrew, King Henry II of England, King William I of England, King’s Council, Parliament, Peerage, Peerage of England, Peerage of Ireland, Peerage of Scotland, Peerage of the United Kingdom, the prince of Wales

Baron. A title of Nobility.

In this section on the History of the titles of the Prince of Wale I will focus on the title of Baron.

HRH The Baron of Renfrew

In the Peerage of England, the Peerage of Great Britain, the Peerage of Ireland and the Peerage of the United Kingdom (but not in the Peerage of Scotland), barons form the lowest rank, placed immediately below viscounts. A female of baronial rank has the title baroness. The Scottish equivalent of an English baron is a Lord of Parliament.

The word baron comes from the Old French baron, which, in turn comes from a late Latin word barō which mean “man; servant, soldier, mercenary” (so used in Salic law; Alemannic law has barus in the same sense). The 7th century scholar Isidore of Seville thought the word Baron was from Greek βᾰρῠ́ς “heavy” (because of the “heavy work” done by mercenaries). However, the majority of scholars believe the word is of Old Frankish origin, cognate with Old English beorn meaning “warrior, nobleman”.

History

The rank of Baron was introduced into the English feudal system by William I (1066-1087). The introduction of the title of baron in England was to distinguish those men who had pledged their loyalty to the king. As stated in the my previous entry, during the Anglo-Saxon period in the kingdom of England, the king’s companions held the title of earl. In Scotland the equivalent title for Earl was that of thane. All who held their feudal barony by right of the king, meaning the king as his immediate overlord, were known as barones regis (“barons of the king”), bound to perform a stipulated annual military service, and obliged to attend his council.

There are different types of barons and it can get confusing. Originally, those who held land directly from the king, via their military service, from earls downwards, all held the title of baron. Under King Henry II, the Dialogus de Scaccario already distinguished between greater barons, those who held per baroniam by knight’s service, and lesser barons, those who held manors. Technically, Lords of Manors are barons, or freemen, however they are not entitled to be styled as such.

Within a century of the Norman Conquest of 1066, an example is the case of Thomas Becket in 1164, there arose the practice of sending to each greater baron a personal summons demanding his attendance at the King’s Council. The practice of sending a baron to the king’s council later evolved into the Parliament and then even later into the House of Lords. This practice was incorporated in Magna Carta of 1215 though not ever baron was chosen.

HRH The Baron Carrickfergus

The lesser barons of each county would receive a single summons from the sheriff and would meet as a group. A single representatives would be elected to attend the king’s council on behalf of the group. These representatives developed into the Knights of the Shire, and were elected by the County Court that was presided over by the sheriff.

The sheriffs of each county themselves formed the precursor of the House of Commons. This created a definite distinction between Sheriff (Commons) and Barons (Peers) which eventually had the effect of restricting the barons alone the privileges and duties of peerage.

Later, the king started to create new baronies in one of two ways: by a writ of summons directing a chosen man to attend Parliament, and in an even later development by letters patent. Writs of summons became the normal method in medieval times, displacing the method of feudal barony, but creation of baronies by letters patent is the sole method adopted in modern times.

The feudal aspect of the role of the Barons ended with the practice of summons by writ to the king’s council, thus Barons were no longer relate directly to land-holdings. With no more feudal baronies needed thenceforth this type of baron were no longer created. However, it would take the Modus Tenendi Parliamenta of 1419, the Tenures Abolition Act 1660, the Feudal Tenure Act (1662), and the Fines and Recoveries Act of 1834, until titles of feudal baronies became obsolete and without legal force.

HRH Baron Kilkeel

In the twentieth-century Britain introduced the concept of non-hereditary life peers who have a seat in the House of Lords with all appointees to this distinction have (thus far) been at the rank of baron. In accordance with the tradition applied to hereditary peers they too are formally addressed in parliament by their peers as “The Noble Lord.”

As nobles grew in both stature and power it became the tradition that baronies were, and are, often used by their holders as subsidiary titles. An example is that a baronies is frequently used as courtesy titles for the son and heir of an Earl or higher-ranked peer. The Scottish baronial title tends to be used when a landed family is not in possession of any United Kingdom peerage title of higher rank, subsequently granted, or has been created a knight of the realm.

Several members of the royal family with the style of Royal Highness are also titled Barons. For example, HRH The Prince of Wales is also The Baron of Renfrew. I will get into the history of that specific title in a later post. Similarly, his eldest son HRH The Duke of Cambridge is also The Baron Carrickfergus. HRH The Duke of Sussex was recently granted the title Baron Kilkeel in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. HRH The Duke of York is The Baron Killyleagh. Some non-royal Barons are somehow related to the royal family, for example Maurice Roche, 6th Baron Fermoy is William’s first cousin once removed, through William’s late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, who was the 4th Baron Fermoy’s granddaughter.

Coronet

A person holding a peerage in the rank of baron is entitled to a coronet bearing six silver balls (called pearls) around the rim, equally spaced and all of equal size and height. The rim itself is neither jeweled, nor “chased” (which is the case for the coronets of peers of higher degree). The actual coronet is mostly worn on certain ceremonial occasions, such as the coronation of a new monarch, but a baron can bear his coronet of rank on his coat of arms above the shield. In heraldry, the baron’s coronet is shown with four of the balls visible.

Style of address

Normally one refers to or addresses Baron [X] as Lord [X] and his wife as Lady [X]. Women who hold baronies in their own right may be styled as Baroness [X],[10] or Lady [X]. In direct address, they can also be referred to as My Lord, Your Lordship, or Your Ladyship, but never as My Lady (except in the case of a female judge). The husband of a Baroness in her own right gains no title or style from his wife. Children of Barons and Baronesses in their own right, whether hereditary or for life, have the style The Honourable [Forename] [Surname]. After the death of the father or mother, the child may continue to use the style The Honourable.