Duke (title of nobility)
Duke is a British title of nobility that corresponds to the German duke . The title is the highest rank of nobility within the peerage and thus the highest rank of nobility in the United Kingdom after the royal family. The feminine form of Duke is "Duchess".
In the British Isles there was no comparable title until the 14th century, although in Anglo-Saxon times the title Ealdorman and the later Earl was sometimes translated with the Latin Dux . Only in the High Middle Ages did English kings temporarily hold the French titles Duc of Normandy and Aquitaine .
For the first time the title of duke in the Kingdom of England was on February 9, 1337 by King Edward III. bestowed on his son Edward of Woodstock as Duke of Cornwall . The next Duketitel awarded Edward III. on March 6, 1351 to his second cousin Henry of Grosmont as Duke of Lancaster . The first two Duketitel in the Kingdom of Scotland were first published on April 28, 1398 by King Robert III. bestowed on his eldest son David as the Duke of Rothesay and his brother Robert as the Duke of Albany .
For the first time in 1670 with Barbara Palmer as 1st Duchess of Cleveland the Duketitel was awarded to a woman.
Duketitel still in existence are those of the Dukes of Abercorn , Argyll , Atholl , Beaufort , Bedford , Brandon , Buccleuch , Devonshire , Fife , Gordon , Lennox , Grafton , Hamilton , Leinster , Lennox , Manchester , Marlborough , Montrose , Norfolk , Northumberland , Queensberry , Richmond , Roxburghe , Rutland , Somerset , St. Albans , Sutherland , Wellington and Westminster . The titles given within the royal family are those of the Dukes of Cambridge , Cornwall , Edinburgh , Gloucester , Kent , Rothesay , Sussex and York . Five people own several dukedoms (the Duke of Cornwall is also Duke of Rothesay, the Duke of Richmond is also Duke of Lennox and Duke of Gordon; the Duke of Buccleuch is also Duke of Queensberry; the Duke of Hamilton is also Duke of Brandon; the Duke of Argyll has his title twice, namely in Scottish and British peerage).
Today only the title of Duke of Cornwall ("Dukedom of Cornwall") is directly connected with ducal lands, the Duchy of Cornwall ("Duchy of Cornwall"); its owner is the heir to the throne, who draws the majority of his private income from it. In addition, there are the lands of the Duchy of Lancaster ("Duchy of Lancaster"), which are privately owned by the British monarch and from which he derives most of his private income. The independent peer title of the Duke of Lancaster expired in 1413 when it was merged with the crown and since then has no longer formally existed as "Dukedom".
Dukes are above all other peers in the protocol order of priority, but have no further privileges as lower-ranking peers. In contrast to crowned or mediatized dukes of the continent, dukes were never recognized as equal to royal families , and the marriage of daughters of a duke with foreign royal princes was therefore generally not considered befitting.
The Duketitel is today a pure distinction of status without territorial violence. Dukes, if they are not royal princes, written with the suffix "His Grace" ( styled addressed) and "My Grace" ( adressed ). The crown of rank of a duke consists of a golden browband with eight prongs, which are set with golden strawberry leaves. The hat and lining, when worn, are the same as those of the other peers. The parliamentary cloak is scarlet and has four ermine trimmings.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Walter Alison Phillips: Duke . In: Encyclopædia Britannica . Volume 8, London 1911, p. 651.
- ↑ Burke's genealogical and heraldic history of the peerage, baronetage, and knightage, Privy Council, and order of preference . Burke's Peerage Ltd., London 1949, p. Xli.
literature
- Walter Alison Phillips: Duke . In: Encyclopædia Britannica . Volume 8, London 1911, p. 650 f.
- Duke. In: Burke's genealogical and heraldic history of the peerage, baronetage, and knightage, Privy Council, and order of preference . Burke's Peerage Ltd., London 1949, pp. Ccvi.
