List of dukes in the peerages of Britain and Ireland facts for kids

This is a list of the 30 present dukes in the peerages of the Kingdom of England, Kingdom of Scotland, Kingdom of Great Britain, Kingdom of Ireland, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 1927 and after. For a more complete historical listing, including extinct, dormant, abeyant, forfeit dukedoms in addition to these extant ones, see List of dukedoms in the peerages of Britain and Ireland.

History

In the Peerage of England, the title of duke was created 74 times (using 40 different titles: the rest were recreations). Three times a woman was created a duchess in her own right; Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland, chief mistress of Charles II of England, Anne Scott, 1st Duchess of Buccleuch, wife of Charles II's eldest illegitimate son, the Duke of Monmouth, and Cecilia Underwood, Duchess of Inverness, wife of Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex, whose marriage was in contravention of the Royal Marriages Act 1772 and therefore she was not allowed to share her husband's rank. In addition, the Dukedom of Marlborough was once inherited by a woman, the 2nd Duchess of Marlborough, through a special remainder, as happened to the Dukedom of Hamilton when it was inherited by Anne Hamilton, 3rd Duchess of Hamilton and also the royal Dukedom of Fife, which was created for the Earl Fife by Queen Victoria, on the occasion of his marriage to Louise, Princess Royal, eldest daughter of the future King Edward VII. A second dukedom of Fife was created in 1900 that could pass through the female line, which was eventually inherited by Princess Alexandra, 2nd Duchess of Fife. Out of the 74 times, 37 titles are now extinct (including the two women's), 16 titles were forfeit or surrendered, 10 were merged with the Crown, and 11 are extant (see list below). The first, Cornwall, is a title that automatically goes to the heir apparent (if and only if he is also the eldest living son of the Sovereign). One of the duchies that was merged into the Crown, Lancaster, still provides income to the sovereign. All but three of the non-royal ducal titles which became extinct did so before the 20th century (the Duke of Leeds became extinct in 1964, the Duke of Newcastle in 1988, and the Duke of Portland in 1990). The last English dukedom to be forfeit became so in 1715. The last British dukedom to become extinct was the title of Duke of Portland in 1990.

The oldest six titles – created between 1337 and 1386 – were Duke of Cornwall (1337), Duke of Lancaster (1351), Duke of Clarence (1362), Duke of York (1385), Duke of Gloucester (1385), and Duke of Ireland (1386). The Duke of Ireland was a title used for only two years and is somewhat confusing since only a small portion of Ireland was really under the control of England in 1386; it is not to be confused with the dukedoms of the Peerage of Ireland. Clarence has not been used since 1478, when George (the brother of Edward IV) was executed for treason. (However Clarence has since been used as half of a double title, most recently until 1892 when Victoria's grandson (and son of the Prince of Wales), the Duke of Clarence and Avondale, died at the age of 28). The titles of Duke of York and the Duke of Gloucester have both become extinct more than once and been re-created as titles within the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Both titles are reserved for princes (and their descendants). The Duke of Lancaster has merged with the Crown and so is held by the monarch.

Besides the dukedoms of Cornwall and Lancaster, the oldest extant title is that of Duke of Norfolk, dating from 1483 (the title was first created in 1397). The Duke of Norfolk is considered the premier duke of England. The premier duke of Scotland is the Duke of Hamilton and Brandon. The premier duke of Ireland is the Duke of Leinster.

Order of precedence

Heraldic representation of the Coronet of a British duke.

The general order of precedence among dukes is:

1. Dukes in the Peerage of England, in order of creation
2. Dukes in the Peerage of Scotland, in order of creation
3. Dukes in the Peerage of Great Britain, in order of creation
4. Dukes in the Peerage of Ireland created before 1801, in order of creation
5. Dukes in the Peerage of the United Kingdom and dukes in the Peerage of Ireland created after 1801, in order of creation

Whilst the general order of precedence is set according to the age of the peerage, the sovereign's Grace may accord any peer higher precedence than his date of creation would warrant. The royal dukes are dukes of the United Kingdom, but rank higher in the order of precedence than the age of their titles warrants, due to their close relationship to the monarch. The Duke of Cornwall holds precedence above all dukes, royal and non-royal, and is the Duke of Rothesay, and of Cambridge.

Dukes in the peerages of Britain and Ireland

#	Title	Creation	Arms	Current holder	Age	Acceded	Peerage	Notes
1.	Duke of Cornwall	1337		Prince William, 25th Duke of Cornwall	42	2022	England	Also Duke of Rothesay in the Peerage of Scotland 1398 and Duke of Cambridge in the Peerage of the United Kingdom 2011 – see below
2.	Duke of Norfolk	1483		Edward Fitzalan-Howard, 18th Duke of Norfolk	68	2002	England	Hereditary Earl Marshal of England, responsible for royal ceremony.
3.	Duke of Somerset	1547		John Seymour, 19th Duke of Somerset	71	1984	England
4.	Duke of Richmond	1675		Charles Gordon-Lennox, 11th Duke of Richmond	69	2017	England	Also Duke of Lennox in the Peerage of Scotland (1675) – see below
5.	Duke of Grafton	1675		Henry FitzRoy, 12th Duke of Grafton	46	2011	England
6.	Duke of Beaufort	1682		Henry Somerset, 12th Duke of Beaufort	72	2017	England
7.	Duke of St Albans	1684		Murray Beauclerk, 14th Duke of St Albans	85	1988	England
8.	Duke of Bedford	1694		Andrew Russell, 15th Duke of Bedford	62	2003	England
9.	Duke of Devonshire	1694		Peregrine Cavendish, 12th Duke of Devonshire	80	2004	England
10.	Duke of Marlborough	1702		James Spencer-Churchill, 12th Duke of Marlborough	69	2014	England
11.	Duke of Rutland	1703		David Manners, 11th Duke of Rutland	65	1999	England
—	Duke of Rothesay	1398		Prince William, 24th Duke of Rothesay	42	2022	Scotland	Also Duke of Cornwall in the Peerage of England (1337) – see above
12.	Duke of Hamilton	1643		Alexander Douglas-Hamilton, 16th Duke of Hamilton	46	2010	Scotland	Also Duke of Brandon in the Peerage of Great Britain (1711) – see below
13.	Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry	1663 / 1684		Richard Scott, 10th Duke of Buccleuch	70	2007	Scotland
—	Duke of Lennox	1675		Charles Gordon-Lennox, 11th Duke of Lennox	69	2017	Scotland	Also Duke of Richmond in the Peerage of England (1675) – see above
14.	Duke of Argyll	1701		Torquhil Campbell, 13th Duke of Argyll	56	2001	Scotland	Also Duke of Argyll in the Peerage of the United Kingdom (1892) – see below
15.	Duke of Atholl	1703		Bruce Murray, 12th Duke of Atholl	64	2012	Scotland
16.	Duke of Montrose	1707		James Graham, 8th Duke of Montrose	89	1992	Scotland
17.	Duke of Roxburghe	1707		Charles Innes-Ker, 11th Duke of Roxburghe	43	2019	Scotland
—	Duke of Brandon	1711		Alexander Douglas-Hamilton, 13th Duke of Brandon	46	2010	Great Britain	Also Duke of Hamilton in the Peerage of Scotland (1643) – see above
18.	Duke of Manchester	1719		Alexander Montagu, 13th Duke of Manchester	62	2002	Great Britain
19.	Duke of Northumberland	1766		Ralph Percy, 12th Duke of Northumberland	68	1995	Great Britain
20.	Duke of Leinster	1766		Maurice FitzGerald, 9th Duke of Leinster	76	2004	Ireland
21.	Duke of Wellington	1814		Charles Wellesley, 9th Duke of Wellington	79	2014	United Kingdom
22.	Duke of Sutherland	1833		Francis Egerton, 7th Duke of Sutherland	84	2000	United Kingdom
23.	Duke of Abercorn	1868		James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Abercorn	90	1979	Ireland
24.	Duke of Westminster	1874		Hugh Grosvenor, 7th Duke of Westminster	33	2016	United Kingdom
—	Duke of Gordon	1876		Charles Gordon-Lennox, 6th Duke of Gordon	69	2017	United Kingdom	Also Duke of Richmond in the Peerage of England (1675) and Duke of Lennox in the Peerage of Scotland (1675) - see above
—	Duke of Argyll	1892		Torquhil Campbell, 6th Duke of Argyll	56	2001	United Kingdom	Also Duke of Argyll in the Peerage of Scotland (1701) – see above
25.	Duke of Fife	1900		David Carnegie, 4th Duke of Fife	63	2015	United Kingdom
26.	Duke of Gloucester	1928		Prince Richard, 2nd Duke of Gloucester	80	1974	United Kingdom
27.	Duke of Kent	1934		Prince Edward, 2nd Duke of Kent	89	1942	United Kingdom
28.	Duke of York	1986		Prince Andrew, 1st Duke of York	64	1986	United Kingdom
—	Duke of Cambridge	2011		Prince William, 1st Duke of Cambridge	42	2011	United Kingdom	Also Duke of Rothesay in the Peerage of Scotland (1398) and Duke of Cornwall in the Peerage of England (1337) – see above.
29.	Duke of Sussex	2018		Prince Harry, 1st Duke of Sussex	40	2018	United Kingdom
30.	Duke of Edinburgh	2023		Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh	60	2023	United Kingdom	Life peerage

List of heirs of dukes in the peerages of the British Isles

Heirs apparent

Heirs presumptive

Dukes without heirs

See also

• British nobility
• Dukes in the United Kingdom
• List of dukedoms in the peerages of Britain and Ireland
• Royal dukedoms in the United Kingdom
• Duchies in England
• Category:Coats_of_Arms_of_UK_Dukes

Sources

• Burke′s Peerage and Gentry