Dukes in the United Kingdom


Duke, in the United Kingdom, is the highest-ranking hereditary title in all five Peerages in [the United Kingdom|peerage]s of the British Isles. A duke thus outranks all other holders of titles of nobility.
The wife of a duke is known as a duchess, which is also the title of a woman who holds a dukedom in her own right, referred to as a duchess suo jure; her spouse, however, does not receive any title. In the order of precedence in the United Kingdom, non-royal dukes without state offices or positions generally take precedence before all other nobility, in order of date of creation, but after royalty and certain officers of state.

Royal dukedoms

A royal duke is a duke who is a member of the British royal family, entitled to the style of "His Royal Highness".
The current royal dukedoms are, in order of precedence of their holders :
  1. Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Duke of Cambridge held by William, Prince of Wales
  2. Duke of Sussex, held by Prince Harry
  3. Duke of York, held by Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, but not currently used
  4. Duke of Edinburgh, held by Prince Edward
  5. Duke of Gloucester, held by Prince Richard
  6. Duke of Kent, held by Prince Edward
With the exceptions of the dukedoms of Cornwall and Rothesay as well as the last creation of the dukedom of Edinburgh, royal dukedoms are hereditary, according to the terms of the letters patent that created them, which usually contain the standard remainder to the "heirs male of his body lawfully begotten." The British monarch also holds and is entitled to the revenues of the Duchy of Lancaster, and within the borders of the County Palatine of Lancashire is by tradition saluted as "The Duke of Lancaster" even though the title is technically extinct, while, in the Channel Islands, the monarch is The Duke of Normandy. Even when the monarch is a Queen regnant, she does not use the title of Duchess.

Non-royal dukedoms

There are the following extant non-royal dukes in the United Kingdom :
  1. Duke of Abercorn, Duke of Châtellerault
  2. Duke of Argyll,
  3. Duke of Atholl
  4. Duke of Beaufort
  5. Duke of Bedford
  6. Duke of Buccleuch, Duke of Queensberry
  7. Duke of Devonshire
  8. Duke of Fife
  9. Duke of Grafton
  10. Duke of Hamilton , Duke of Brandon
  11. Duke of Leinster
  12. Duke of Manchester
  13. Duke of Marlborough
  14. Duke of Montrose
  15. Duke of Norfolk
  16. Duke of Northumberland
  17. Duke of Richmond, Duke of Gordon,, Duke of Lennox, Duke of Aubigny
  18. Duke of Roxburghe
  19. Duke of Rutland
  20. Duke of Somerset
  21. Duke of St Albans
  22. Duke of Sutherland
  23. Duke of Wellington
  24. Duke of Westminster

Forms of address

Coronet

A British or Irish duke is entitled to a coronet bearing eight conventional strawberry leaves on the rim of the circlet. The physical coronet is worn only at coronations. Any peer can bear his coronet of rank on his coat of arms above the shield.