Titles Deprivation Act 1917 facts for kids
| Act of Parliament | |
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| Long title | An Act to deprive Enemy Peers and Princes of British Dignities and Titles. |
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| Citation | 7 & 8 Geo. 5. c. 47 |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 8 November 1917 |
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Status: Current legislation
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| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Revised text of statute as amended | |
The Titles Deprivation Act 1917 was a special law passed in the United Kingdom. It allowed the government to take away British noble titles and royal ranks from people who were enemies of the UK during World War I.
Why the Act Was Needed
The British royal family had many relatives in Germany's royal families. For example, when Queen Victoria became queen in 1837, her uncle, the Duke of Cumberland, became King of Hanover. He kept his British titles and royal rank. Also, Queen Victoria married Prince Albert, who was from a German family. Their descendants also held German titles.
During World War I, some of these German relatives, like Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover, were British princes and dukes. But they were also officers in the German Army, fighting against Britain!
Some members of Parliament, like J. G. Swift MacNeill, thought this was wrong. Starting in 1914, he kept asking why these people still had British titles and seats in the House of Lords. Even though Prime Ministers H. H. Asquith and David Lloyd George were not sure at first, MacNeill kept pushing for a change. Later, Horatio Bottomley took over the campaign.
In 1915, King George V removed some German and Austrian royals from the list of Knights of the Order of the Garter. However, he couldn't take away their noble titles (like Duke or Earl) without a new law. So, in 1917, Parliament passed the Titles Deprivation Act. This law finally allowed them to remove these important titles.
How the Special Committee Worked
The new law allowed the King to create a special group called a committee. This committee was part of the Privy Council, which is a group of important advisors to the King.
The committee's job was to find British nobles or princes who had fought against the King or his allies during the war. They also looked for those who had supported Britain's enemies.
Here's how the process worked:
- The committee would gather information and then list the names of people they found.
- This list was then shown to both parts of Parliament (the House of Lords and the House of Commons).
- If Parliament didn't disagree with the list within 40 days, it went to the King.
- The King would then officially take away the titles from the people on the list.
The law also said that if someone lost their title, their children or future family members could ask the King to give the title back later. However, the law did not affect any land or property that these people owned.
The King chose several important people for this committee, including:
- Lord Finlay (a top judge)
- Viscount Sandhurst (a royal official)
- The Marquess of Lansdowne
- The Marquess of Crewe
- Lord Newton
- Lord Stamfordham (the King's private secretary)
- Lord Sumner (another top judge)
The committee officially started its work on November 27, 1917. They finished their report on August 1, 1918. Since Parliament agreed, the King signed an order on March 28, 1919, taking away the titles.
Titles Lost Because of the Act
On March 28, 1919, the King's order officially removed the titles from these people:
- His Royal Highness Charles Edward, Duke of Albany, Earl of Clarence and Baron Arklow
- His Royal Highness Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale, and Earl of Armagh
- His Highness Prince Ernest Augustus of Cumberland (the son of the Duke of Cumberland)
- Henry, Viscount Taaffe of Corren and Baron of Ballymote
The Dukedom of Albany and the Dukedom of Cumberland and Teviotdale were two of the main titles lost. The title of Viscount Taaffe was also taken away. The Taaffe family had moved from Ireland to Austria in the 1700s and served the Austrian emperor, even though they still held their Irish title.
No one from the families of the Duke of Albany or the Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale has ever asked for their titles to be given back. The last person who could have asked for the Viscount Taaffe title, Richard Taaffe, died in 1967 without doing so. This means that title no longer exists.
