| Dukedom of Clarence | |
| Creation Date: | 1362 1412 1461 |
| Extinction Date: | 1368 1421 1478 |
Duke of Clarence was a substantive title created three times in the Peerage of England. The title Duke of Clarence and St Andrews has also been created in the Peerage of Great Britain, and Duke of Clarence and Avondale and Earl of Clarence in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The titles have traditionally been awarded to junior members of the English and British royal family, and all are now extinct.
The title was first granted to Lionel of Antwerp, the second son of King Edward III, in 1362, as he had married a de Clare heiress with estates including Clare in Suffolk. Since he died without sons, the title became extinct.
The title was again created in favour of Thomas of Lancaster, the second son of King Henry IV, in 1412. Upon his death, too, the title became extinct.
The last creation in the Peerage of England was for George Plantagenet, brother of King Edward IV, in 1461. The Duke forfeited his title in 1478, after he had been convicted of treason against his brother. He allegedly met his end by being drowned in a butt of Malmsey (according to William Shakespeare).
A fourth creation in England was suggested and planned to take effect; the title of Duke of Clarence was going to be given to Lord Guilford Dudley, husband of Lady Jane Grey, upon her coronation, as she declined to make her husband king. However, she was deposed before this could take effect.
Two double dukedoms, of Clarence and St Andrews and of Clarence and Avondale, were later created for British royal princes. The title also took the form of an earldom for Queen Victoria's son Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, and his son Prince Charles Edward, the Clarence earldom being a subsidiary title.
The title does not refer to the minor River Clarence in Pas-de-Calais, northern France, but is said by Polydore Vergil to originate[1] from the manor and castle of Clare in Suffolk, the Caput baroniae of a feudal barony, which was held by Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence, in right of his wife, the heiress Elizabeth de Burgh, 4th Countess of Ulster, ultimate descendant and heiress of the previous holder, the de Clare family; Clare was among the many estates which she brought to her husband. After the Union of the Crowns in 1603, the holders of the title were also given titles named after Scottish places: St Andrews and Avondale.
The title was first created for Lionel, a younger son of King Edward III who in 1352 had married Elizabeth de Burgh, 4th Countess of Ulster, the sole heiress via a female line of Gilbert de Clare, 8th Earl of Gloucester. The name Clarence referred to the feudal barony of Clare in Suffolk, and as the holder of it (and others) by right of his wife Lionel was given that title.
| Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence
| | 29 November 1338
Antwerp, Duchy of Brabant (now Belgium)
son of Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault| Elizabeth de Burgh, 4th Countess of Ulster
15 August 1352 - 10 December 1363
1 child
Violante Visconti
28 May 1368
no children| 7 October 1368
Alba, Piedmont
aged 29
|}
Died without male issue.
| Thomas of Lancaster, Duke of Clarence
| | Autumn 1387
son of Henry IV of England and Mary de Bohun| Margaret Holland
1411
no children| 22 March 1421
Battle of Baugé, Anjou, France
aged 33
|}
Died without legitimate male issue.
| George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence
| | 21 October 1449
Dublin Castle, Ireland
son of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York and Cecily Neville, Duchess of York| Isabel Neville
11 July 1469
4 children| 18 February 1478
Tower of London, London
aged 28
|}
Executed for treason in 1478 and honours forfeited.
The Dukedom is currently vacant. While there was some speculation that it was one of the options available for Prince Harry upon his wedding with Meghan Markle, press reports also noted the Dukedom's chequered past, including scandals and unfounded rumours of criminality related to Prince Albert Victor.[2] [3] Prince Harry was ultimately awarded the Dukedom of Sussex.