| Dukedom of Cambridge | |
| Creation Date: | 29 April 2011 (announced) 26 May 2011 (Letters Patent) |
| Creation: | Fifth |
| First Holder: | Charles Stuart |
| Remainder To: | the 1st Duke's heirs male of the body lawfully begotten |
| Status: | Extant |
Duke of Cambridge is a hereditary title of nobility in the British royal family, one of several royal dukedoms in the United Kingdom. The title is named after the city[1] of Cambridge in England. It is heritable by male descendants by primogeniture, and has been conferred upon various members of the British royal family several times throughout history.
The title of Duke of Cambridge, first created in 1660, superseded an earlier title of Earl of Cambridge. The title became extinct several times before being revived in 2011, when Queen Elizabeth II bestowed it on her grandson Prince William on 29 April 2011 upon his marriage to Catherine Middleton. Catherine became known as the Duchess of Cambridge.
The title was first granted in 1660 by Charles II of England (immediately following the Restoration of the monarchy) to his infant eldest nephew Charles Stuart (1660–1661), the first son of the Duke of York (later King James II), though he was never formally created Duke of Cambridge as he died at the age of six months. The first officially recognised creation of the dukedom was in the Peerage of England in 1664, when King Charles II granted the title to his next eldest surviving nephew James Stuart, the infant second son of the Duke of York, who died early in 1667 at the age of three, when the title again became extinct. The title was then granted later that year by King Charles II to his next eldest surviving nephew Edgar Stuart, the third son of the Duke of York, who also died in infancy, in 1671 at the age of three, when the title became extinct the third time. The Duke of York's fourth son Charles (his eldest son by his second wife) was also styled Duke of Cambridge in 1677, but died when about a month old, not having lived long enough to be formally created duke.
The title was recreated by Queen Anne in 1706 who granted it to George Augustus (later King George II), son of the Elector of Hanover (later King George I), her distant cousin (both being descended from King James I). When the title was created George Augustus was third in line to the throne, after his grandmother Sophia and his father. When he ascended to the throne as King George II in 1727, the dukedom merged with the Crown.[2]
The title was again recreated in the peerage of the United Kingdom and was granted in 1801 by King George III to his seventh son Prince Adolphus (1774–1850), then aged 27. Following his death in 1850 the title was inherited by his only son Prince George, 2nd Duke of Cambridge, whose three sons were barred from inheriting the title as his marriage had been in violation of the Royal Marriages Act 1772. Thus on the death of the 2nd Duke in 1904 the title again became extinct.[3]
During the period leading up to the 1999 wedding of Prince Edward, the youngest son of Queen Elizabeth II, some people speculated that the Dukedom of Cambridge or Sussex were the most likely to be granted to him, and The Sunday Telegraph later reported that Prince Edward was at one point set to be titled Duke of Cambridge.[4] Instead, Prince Edward was created Earl of Wessex, and it was announced that he would eventually be created the next Duke of Edinburgh after his father.[5]
On 29 April 2011, the day of his wedding, it was announced that Queen Elizabeth II had created her grandson Prince William Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Strathearn and Baron Carrickfergus,[2] titles relating respectively to places in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, three of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom. The letters patent granting these titles received the great seal on 26 May 2011.
| Charles Stuart
House of Stuart
1660–1661| | 22 October 1660
Worcester House, London
son of James, Duke of York (later King James II) and Anne Hyde| not married| 5 May 1661
Whitehall Palace, London
aged 6 months
|}
Also: Earl of Cambridge and Baron of Dauntsey (1664)| James Stuart
House of Stuart
1664–1667| | 12 July 1663
St James's Palace, London
son of James, Duke of York (later King James II) and Anne Hyde| not married| 20 June 1667
Richmond Palace, London
aged 3
|}
Also: Earl of Cambridge and Baron of Dauntsey (1667)| Edgar Stuart
House of Stuart
1667–1671|| 14 September 1667
St James's Palace, London
son of James, Duke of York (later King James II) and Anne Hyde| not married| 8 June 1671
Richmond Palace, London
aged 3
|}
| Charles Stuart
House of Stuart
1677–1677| | 7 November 1677
St James's Palace, London
son of James, Duke of York (later King James II) and Mary of Modena| not married| 12 December 1677
St James's Palace, London
aged 35 days
|}
Also: Marquess of Cambridge, Earl of Milford Haven, Viscount Northallerton and Baron Tewkesbury (1706)| Prince George
House of Hanover
1706–1727
Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay (1714)| | 30 October / 9 November 1683
Herrenhausen, Hanover
son of Prince George of Brunswick-Lüneburg (later King George I) and Sophia Dorothea of Celle| 22 August 1705
Caroline of Ansbach
10 children| 25 October 1760
Kensington Palace, London
aged 76
|-| colspan=5|Prince George succeeded as George II in 1727 upon his father's death, and his titles merged with the crown.
|}
Also: Earl of Tipperary and Baron Culloden (1801)| Prince Adolphus
House of Hanover
1801–1850
| | 24 February 1774
Buckingham Palace, London
son of King George III and Queen Charlotte| 18 June 1818
Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel
3 children| 8 July 1850
Cambridge House, London
aged 76
|-| Prince George
House of Hanover
1850–1904| | 26 March 1819
Cambridge House, Hanover
son of Prince Adolphus and Princess Augusta| 8 January 1847
Sarah Fairbrother
3 children| 17 March 1904
London
aged 84|-| colspan=5|Prince George's marriage to Sarah Fairbrother produced three sons. However, due to the Royal Marriages Act 1772, the marriage was invalid (he had not asked for Queen Victoria's approval to marry) and his children were thus illegitimate and could not succeed to his titles; so, accordingly, all his titles became extinct on his death.
|}
Also: Earl of Strathearn and Baron Carrickfergus (2011)| Prince William
House of Windsor
2011–present
Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay (2022)| | 21 June 1982
St Mary's Hospital, London
eldest son of Charles III and Lady Diana Spencer| 29 April 2011
Catherine Middleton
3 children| Living (age)
|}
If William becomes king, his titles, including the dukedom, will merge with the crown. However, if he dies before becoming king, then his sons are eligible to inherit the dukedom: