Duke of Cambridge

This article is about the title. For the current holder of the title, see Prince William, Duke of Cambridge.
Dukedom of Cambridge
Creation date 29 April 2011
Monarch Elizabeth II
Peerage Peerage of the United Kingdom
First holder HRH Prince William
Present holder HRH Prince William,
Duke of Cambridge
Heir apparent HRH Prince George of Cambridge
Remainder to the 1st Duke's heirs male of the body lawfully begotten
Subsidiary titles Earl of Strathearn
Baron Carrickfergus
TRH the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Catherine

Duke of Cambridge is a title (named after the city of Cambridge in England) which has been conferred upon members of the British royal family several times. The title is heritable to descendants of the titleholder in accordance with rights of primogeniture. The wife of the titleholder is called Duchess of Cambridge.

The title goes back to the 17th century, and superseded an earlier title of Earl of Cambridge. The title became extinct several times, before being revived after a hiatus of over a hundred years in 2011, when it was bestowed upon Prince William on 29 April 2011 upon his marriage on the same day to Catherine Middleton.

History

The title was first granted to Charles Stuart (1660–1661), the first son of James, Duke of York (later James II of England), though he was never formally created Duke of Cambridge because he had died at the age of six months. The first officially recognised creation of the dukedom was in the Peerage of England in 1664, when James Stuart, second son of the James, Duke of York by his first wife, was granted the title, but he died early in 1667 at the age of three, and the title again became extinct. The title was then granted later that year to the third son of the Duke of York by his first wife, Edgar Stuart, but he then died in 1671 at the age of three, and the title again became extinct. The Duke of York's eldest son by his second wife, Charles Stuart, 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 in 1706 and granted to George Augustus, son of George Louis, Hereditary Prince of Hanover and Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (who would in 1714 become King George I). When George Augustus ascended to the throne as King George II in 1727, the dukedom merged with the crown.[1]

The title was again recreated and given, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, to Prince Adolphus, the seventh son of George III.[2] The title was inherited in 1850 by his only son, Prince George, 2nd Duke of Cambridge, but upon his death in 1904, without a legitimate heir, the title again became extinct.[3]

The grandson (though a female line) of the first Duke of the fourth creation, Adolphus, Duke of Teck, who was the brother of Mary of Teck, George V's wife, was created Marquess of Cambridge (including Earl of Eltham, and Viscount Northallerton) in 1917 when he gave up his German titles and took the surname "Cambridge".[4] Upon the death of the second Marquess without any male heirs, the marquessate became extinct.

During the period leading up to the 1999 wedding of The Prince Edward, the youngest son of Queen Elizabeth II, experts 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.[5] 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.[6]

On 29 April 2011, the day of his wedding, it was announced that Prince William was to be created Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Strathearn and Baron Carrickfergus.[1] The letters patent granting these titles received the great seal on 26 May 2011.[7]

Dukes of Cambridge

Styled (1660 - 1661)

Duke Portrait Birth Marriages Death
Charles Stuart
House of Stuart
1660–1661		 no portrait 22 October 1660
Worcester House, London
son of James, Duke of York, and Anne Hyde		 not married 5 May 1661
Whitehall Palace, London

First creation (1664 - 1667)

Duke Portrait Birth Marriages Death
James Stuart
House of Stuart
1664–1667
also: Earl of Cambridge, Baron of Dauntsey (1664–1667)		 12 July 1663
St James's Palace, London
son of James, Duke of York, and Anne Hyde		 not married 20 June 1667
Richmond Palace, London

Second creation (1667 - 1671)

Duke Portrait Birth Marriages Death
Edgar Stuart
House of Stuart
1667–1671
also: Earl of Cambridge, Baron of Dauntsey (1667–1671)		 no portrait 14 September 1667
St James's Palace, London
son of James, Duke of York, and Anne Hyde		 not married 8 June 1671
Richmond Palace, London

Styled (1677 - 1677)

Duke Portrait Birth Marriages Death
Charles Stuart
House of Stuart
1677–1677		 no portrait 7 November 1677
St James's Palace, London
son of James, Duke of York, and Princess Mary of Modena		 not married 12 December 1677
St James's Palace, London

Third creation (1706 - 1727)

Duke Portrait Birth Marriages Death
Prince George Augustus
House of Hanover
1706–1727
also: Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay (1714–1727)		 30 October / 9 November 1683O.S./N.S.
Herrenhausen Palace or Leine Palace, Hanover
son of George Louis, Prince-Elector, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, and Sophia Dorothea of Celle		 22 August 1705
Caroline of Ansbach		 25 October 1760
Kensington Palace, London
Prince George succeeded as George II in 1727 upon his father's death, and his titles merged with the crown.

Fourth creation (1801 - 1904)

Duke Portrait Birth Marriages Death
The Prince Adolphus
House of Hanover
1801–1850
also: Earl of Tipperary, Baron Culloden (1801–1850)		 24 February 1774
Buckingham Palace, Westminster
son of George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz		 18 June 1818
Princess Augusta of Hesse-Cassel		 8 July 1850
Cambridge House, Piccadilly, London
Prince George
House of Hanover
1850–1904
also: Earl of Tipperary, Baron Culloden (1850–1904)		 26 March 1819
Cambridge House, Hanover
son of Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, and Princess Augusta of Hesse-Cassel		 8 January 1847
Sarah Fairbrother		 17 March 1904
Gloucester House, Piccadilly, London

Fifth creation (2011 - present)

Duke Portrait Birth Marriages Death
Prince William
House of Windsor
2011–present
also: Earl of Strathearn, Baron Carrickfergus (2011–present)		 21 June 1982
St. Mary's Hospital, London
son of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer		 29 April 2011
Catherine Middleton

Line of succession

The heir apparent to the extant dukedom and the subsidiary titles is the son of Prince William, Prince George of Cambridge (born 2013); but should Prince William become King, the title will again merge with the Crown.

Marquesses of Cambridge (1917 - 1981)

Family tree

References

  1. 1 2 "Announcement of Titles: Statement issued by the press secretary to The Queen". The Royal Household. 29 April 2011. Retrieved 2012-04-30.
  2. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 15429. p. 1403. 21 November 1801. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  3. ↑ Tim Ross (16 November 2010). "Could William and Kate be the next Duke and Duchess of Cambridge?". The Telegraph. telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
  4. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 30374. pp. 11592–11594. 9 November 1917. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  5. ↑ Richard Eden (12 December 2010). "Royal wedding: Prince William asks the Queen not to make him a duke". The Telegraph (telegraph.co.uk). Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  6. ↑ "The Earl of Wessex-Styles and Titles". The Royal Household. Retrieved 2012-04-30.
  7. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 59798. p. 10297. 1 June 2011. Retrieved 20 September 2015.

See also

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