Royal dukedoms in the United Kingdom

In the British peerage, a royal duke is a member of the British royal family, entitled to the titular dignity of prince and the style of His Royal Highness, who holds a dukedom. Dukedoms are the highest titles in the British roll of peerage, and the holders of these particular dukedoms are princes of the blood royal. The holders of the dukedoms are royal, not the titles themselves. They are titles created and bestowed on legitimate sons and male-line grandsons of the British monarch, usually upon reaching their majority or marriage. The titles can be inherited but cease to be called "royal" once they pass beyond the grandsons of a monarch. As with any peerage, once the title becomes extinct, it may subsequently be recreated by the reigning monarch at any time.

Royal status of dukedoms

In the United Kingdom, there is nothing intrinsic to any dukedom that makes it "royal". Rather, these peerages are called royal dukedoms because they are created for, and held by, members of the royal family who are entitled to the titular dignity of prince and the style Royal Highness. Although the term "royal duke", therefore, has no official meaning per se, the category "Duke of the Blood Royal" was acknowledged as a rank conferring special precedence at court in the unrevoked 20th clause of the Lord Chamberlain's order of 1520. This decree accorded precedence to any peer related by blood to the sovereign above all others of the same degree within the peerage. The order did not apply within Parliament, nor did it grant precedence above the archbishop of Canterbury or other Great Officers of State such as is now enjoyed by royal dukes. But it placed junior "Dukes of the Blood Royal" above the most senior non-royal duke, junior "Earls of the Blood Royal" above the most senior non-royal earl, etc. It did not matter how distantly related to the monarch the peers might be. Although the 1520 order is theoretically still in effect, in fact the "Blood Royal" clause seems to have fallen into desuetude by 1917 when King George V limited the style of Royal Highness to children and male-line grandchildren of the sovereign. Thus peers of the blood royal who are neither sons nor grandsons of a sovereign are no longer accorded precedence above other peers.
When the present Duke of Gloucester and Duke of Kent are succeeded by their heirs their peerages will cease to be royal dukedoms; instead their holders will become "ordinary" dukes. The third dukes of Gloucester and Kent will each be styled His Grace because, as great-grandsons of King George V, they are not princes and are not styled HRH. Similarly, upon the death of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn , his only male-line grandson, Alastair, Earl of Macduff, briefly succeeded to his peerages and was styled His Grace. Before the 1917 changes, his style had been ''His Highness Prince Alastair of Connaught.''

Current royal dukedoms

The current royal dukedoms, in order of precedence, are:

Dukedom	Holder	Year created	Subsidiary titles
Duke of Cornwall	William, Prince of Wales	1460	Duke of Rothesay: Earl of Carrick Baron of Renfrew Lord of the Isles Prince and Great Steward of Scotland Duke of Cambridge: Earl of Strathearn Baron Carrickfergus
Duke of Rothesay	William, Prince of Wales	1398	Duke of Rothesay: Earl of Carrick Baron of Renfrew Lord of the Isles Prince and Great Steward of Scotland Duke of Cambridge: Earl of Strathearn Baron Carrickfergus
Duke of Cambridge	William, Prince of Wales	2011	Duke of Rothesay: Earl of Carrick Baron of Renfrew Lord of the Isles Prince and Great Steward of Scotland Duke of Cambridge: Earl of Strathearn Baron Carrickfergus
Duke of Sussex	Prince Harry	2018	Earl of DumbartonBaron Kilkeel
Duke of Edinburgh	Prince Edward	2023	Earl of Wessex Earl of Forfar Viscount Severn
Duke of Gloucester	Prince Richard	1928	Earl of Ulster Baron Culloden
Duke of Kent	Prince Edward	1934	Earl of St Andrews Baron Downpatrick

The Dukedoms of Cambridge, Sussex, Gloucester, and Kent are hereditary according to the letters patent that created them. Those patents contain the standard remainder to "heirs male of his body". However, if Prince William outlives his father and becomes King, the Dukedom of Cambridge will merge with the crown at that time and not be inherited by his son.
The Dukedom of Edinburgh is a life peerage and will become extinct on the death of the current Duke.
Duke of Cornwall is a title automatically held by the Sovereign's eldest son in England. In addition to the dukedom of Cornwall, a peerage, the holder also enjoys a life interest in the Duchy of Cornwall. Duke of Rothesay is a title automatically held by the Sovereign's heir apparent in Scotland, who is properly called "HRH The Prince William, Duke of Rothesay" in Scotland.
By law the British monarch also holds, and is entitled to the revenues of, the Duchy of Lancaster. Within the borders of the County Palatine of Lancashire, therefore, the monarch is hailed as "The King/Queen, The Duke of Lancaster". However, legally the monarch is not the Duke of Lancaster: peerages are in origin held feudally of the sovereign who, as the fount of honour, cannot hold a peerage of him- or herself. The situation is similar in the Channel Islands, where the monarch is addressed as Duke of Normandy, but only in accordance with tradition. He or she does not hold the legal title of Duke of Normandy.

Former royal dukedoms

The following is a list of dukedoms previously created for members of the royal family, but which have subsequently merged in the crown, become extinct or have otherwise ceased to be royal dukedoms.

Extinct dukedoms

Extinct as royal dukedoms

Suspended dukedoms

Under the Titles Deprivation Act 1917 the holders of the following dukedoms, who were simultaneously British princes and members of royal and princely families of Germany, were deprived of their British titles, having sided with Germany during the First World War. The Act provides that a successor of a person thus deprived of a peerage can petition the Crown for revival of the title. No such descendant has done so.

Title	Created	Deprived holder	Current claimant
Duke of Albany	1881	Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha	Prince Hubertus of Saxe Coburg and Gotha
Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale	1799	Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover	Prince Ernst August of Hanover

It was announced on 30 October 2025 that King Charles III had begun a "formal process" to remove Prince Andrew's style, titles, and honours. His name was subsequently removed from the Roll of the Peerage. Removal from the Roll of the Peerage prohibits formal use of the title, but the title remains extant, but not in use.

Title	Created	Deprived holder	Current claimant
Duke of York	1986	Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor	–

Royal dukedoms created since 1726

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Reign of King George II">George II of Great Britain">King George II

Reign of King George III">George III of the United Kingdom">King George III

Reign of [Queen Victoria]

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Reign of King George VI">George VI">King George VI

Reign of Queen Elizabeth II">Elizabeth II">Queen Elizabeth II

Reign of King Charles III">Charles III">King Charles III

Forms of address

Address: His/Her Royal Highness The Duke/Duchess of
Speak to as: Your Royal Highness
After: Sir/Madam
Coronet

While non-royal dukes are entitled to a coronet of eight strawberry leaves, to bear at a coronation and on his coat of arms, royal dukes are entitled to princely coronets. The coronets of the royal family are dictated by letters patent. The Dukes of Sussex, of York and of Edinburgh bear by letters patent the coronet of a child of the sovereign, while the Duke of Cornwall, Rothesay and Cambridge has use of the Prince of Wales' coronet, and the current dukes of Gloucester and of Kent, as grandsons of a sovereign bear the corresponding coronet of a royal duke.
At coronations, apart from the differentiation of princely coronets from ducal coronets, a royal duke is also entitled to six rows of ermine spots on his mantle, as opposed to the four rows borne by an "ordinary" duke.