List of dukes in the peerages of Britain and Ireland
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. Out of the 74 times, 37 titles are now extinct, 16 titles were forfeit or surrendered, 10 were merged with the Crown, and 11 are extant. The first, Cornwall, is a title that automatically goes to the heir apparent. 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 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.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. A second dukedom of Fife was created in 1900 that could pass through the female line; this was eventually inherited by Princess Alexandra, 2nd Duchess of Fife.
The oldest six titles—each created between 1337 and 1386—were Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Lancaster, Duke of Clarence, Duke of York, Duke of Gloucester, and Duke of Ireland. 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 was executed for treason. The titles of Duke of York and the Duke of Gloucester have both become extinct more than once and both have been re-created as titles within the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Both titles are reserved for princes. The Duke of Lancaster has merged with the Crown and so is held by the monarch; the duchy of Lancaster provides a large private income to the monarch, in much the same way as the duchy of Cornwall does to the Prince of Wales.
Besides the dukedoms of Cornwall and Lancaster, the oldest extant title is that of Duke of Norfolk, dating from 1483. 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
The general order of precedence among dukes is:- Dukes in the Peerage of England, in order of creation
- Dukes in the Peerage of Scotland, in order of creation
- Dukes in the Peerage of Great Britain, in order of creation
- Dukes in the Peerage of Ireland created before 1801, in order of creation
- Dukes in the Peerage of the United Kingdom and dukes in the Peerage of Ireland created after 1801, in order of creation