Duke of Beaufort
Duke of Beaufort is a hereditary British title in the Peerage of England . The name Beaufort refers to the Beaufort Castle (today Montmorency-Beaufort ) in the Aube department ( France ) - it is the only existing British dukes that refers to a place outside the British Isles .
The Dukes are descendants of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster , and King Edward III. in the male line. Beaufort Castle was owned by John of Gaunt. Even if they are illegitimate, they are the last direct male descendants of the Plantagenets . Since comparing the DNA of King Richard III. with living male descendants of the 5th Duke of Beaufort who do not match the Y chromosome type , this statement is, however, questioned.
The Dukes' family home is Badminton House in Badminton (Gloucestershire) .
Award
The title was created on December 2, 1682 by King Charles II for Henry Somerset, 3rd Marquess of Worcester . He was a descendant of Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester , an illegitimate son of Henry Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset , a military leader for the House of Lancaster in the Wars of the Roses .
Subordinate title
The current Duke of Beaufort bears the following minor titles, which also belong to the Peerage of England: 14th Marquess of Worcester (created 1642), 18th Earl of Worcester (created 1514), 13th Earl of Glamorgan (created 1645) and 13th. Baron Beaufort , of Caldecote Castle in the County of Monmouth.
The Duke's eldest son and heir is the courtesy Marquess of Worcester , and his eldest son is that of an Earl of Glamorgan . His eldest son, a possible great-grandson of the title holder, has the courtesy title Viscount Grosmont . The latter two titles go back to an award to Edward Somerset , who later became the 2nd Marquess of Worcester, by King Charles I in 1644. The titles were not recognized because of formal deficiencies in the award patent during the restoration of the monarchy under King Charles II . Deviating from the rule, there are no corresponding subordinate titles of the duke for these courtesy titles. The use of these courtesy titles has nevertheless become established.
List of the Dukes of Beaufort (1682)
- Henry Somerset, 1st Duke of Beaufort (1629-1700)
- Henry Somerset, 2nd Duke of Beaufort (1684–1714)
- Henry Scudamore, 3rd Duke of Beaufort (1707-1745)
- Charles Somerset, 4th Duke of Beaufort (1709–1756)
- Henry Somerset, 5th Duke of Beaufort (1744-1803)
- Henry Somerset, 6th Duke of Beaufort (1766–1835)
- Henry Somerset, 7th Duke of Beaufort (1792-1853)
- Henry Somerset, 8th Duke of Beaufort (1824–1899)
- Henry Somerset, 9th Duke of Beaufort (1847-1924)
- Henry Somerset, 10th Duke of Beaufort (1900–1984)
- David Somerset, 11th Duke of Beaufort (1928-2017)
- Henry Somerset, 12th Duke of Beaufort (* 1952)
The heir ( Heir apparent ) is the eldest son of the current title holder, Robert Somerset, Marquess of Worcester (* 1989).
See also
In addition to England, France also had the same title of duke (duc de Beaufort): see Duke of Beaufort (France) .
Web links
- Beaufort, Duke of (E, 1682) at Cracroft's Peerage
- Leigh Rayment's Peerage Page