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.[1] 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.
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.[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 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.
When the present Duke of Gloucester and Duke of Kent are successed by their heirs (currently Alexander Windsor, Earl of Ulster and George Windsor, Earl of St Andrews, respectively) their peerages (as created in 1928 and 1934) will cease to be royal dukedoms; instead their holders will become "ordinary" dukes.[4] The third dukes of Gloucester and Kent will each be styled His Grace because, as great-grandsons of King George V (or more distant relations, if the present Dukes outlive their sons), 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 current royal dukedoms, held as principal titles, in order of precedence, are:
| Dukedom | Holder | Year created | Subsidiary titles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duke of Sussex | Prince Harry | 2018 | Earl of Dumbarton Baron Kilkeel |
| Duke of York | Prince Andrew | 1986 | Earl of Inverness Baron Killyleagh |
| Duke of Edinburgh | Prince Edward | 2023 | Earl of Wessex Earl of Forfar Viscount Severn |
| Duke of Gloucester | Prince Richard | 1928 | Earl of Ulster Baron Culloden |
| Duke of Kent | Prince Edward | 1934 | Earl of St Andrews Baron Downpatrick |
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 contain the standard remainder to "heirs male of his body", with the exception of the Dukedom of Edinburgh, which is a life peerage and will become extinct on the death of the current Duke.[6] The Dukedom of Edinburgh is the first dukedom created for life in the Royal Family since the granddaughter of Edward I of England, Margaret of Brotherton, was created the Duchess of Norfolk for life (in her own right) in 1397.
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, the monarch is hailed as "The King/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.
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.
| 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 | 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 | Extinct in 1943 | Earldom of Strathearn (created 2011) is a subsidiary title of the extant Dukedom of Cambridge | |
| Duke of Cumberland | Extinct in 1765 | ||
| Duke of Cumberland and Strathearn | Extinct in 1790 | ||
| Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh | Extinct in 1834 | Separate Dukedoms of Gloucester and Edinburgh are extant. | |
| Duke of Hereford | Merged in the crown in 1399 | Non-royal Viscountcy of Hereford (created 1550) is extant | |
| Duke of Kendal | Extinct in 1667 | Non-royal dukedom created in 1719 (extinct 1743). | |
| Duke of Kent and Strathearn | Extinct in 1820 | Earldom of Strathearn (created 2011) is a subsidiary title of the extant Dukedom of Cambridge. | |
| Duke of Kintyre and Lorne | Extinct in 1602 | Non-royal Marquessate of Kintyre and Lorne (created 1701) is a subsidiary title of the extant Dukedom of Argyll | |
| Duke of Ross | Extinct in 1515 | ||
| Duke of Windsor | Extinct in 1972 | The title that was given to King Edward VIII after his abdication. Non-royal Barony (created 1529) and Viscountcy of Windsor (created 1905) are subsidiary titles of the extant Earldom of Plymouth. Non-royal Earldom of Windsor (created 1796) is a subsidiary title of the extant Marquessate of Bute. | |
| Duke of York and Albany | Extinct in 1827 |
| 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 |
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 the 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.
| Title | Created | Deprived holder | Current claimant |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duke of Albany | 1881 | Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha | Prince Hubertus of Saxe Coburg and Gotha |
| Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale | 1799 | Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover | Prince Ernst August of Hanover |
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 cross pattées alternating with four strawberry leaves). The coronets of the royal family are dictated by letters patent. The Dukes of Sussex, of York and of Edinburgh bear by letters patent the coronet of a child of the sovereign (four crosses patées alternating with four fleurs-de-lis), while the Duke of Cornwall, Rothesay and Cambridge has use of the Prince of Wales' coronet, and the current dukes of Gloucester and of Kent, as grandsons of a sovereign bear the corresponding coronet of a royal duke.
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.