Duke of Edinburgh

Duke of Edinburgh, named after the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, is a substantive title that has been created three times for members of the British royal family since 1726. The current holder is Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth II.

Dukedom of Edinburgh
Creation date20 November 1947
CreationThird
MonarchKing George VI
PeeragePeerage of the United Kingdom
Present holderPrince Philip
Heir apparentPrince Charles
Remainder tothe 1st Duke's heirs male of the body lawfully begotten
Subsidiary titlesEarl of Merioneth
Baron Greenwich
StatusExtant
Prince Frederick Louis (1707–1751) was the first Duke of Edinburgh, from 1726 to his death.

1726 creation

Prince George was the second Duke of Edinburgh, before he became George III.

The title was first created in the Peerage of Great Britain on 26 July 1726 by King George I, who bestowed it on his grandson Prince Frederick, who also became Prince of Wales the following year. The subsidiary titles of the dukedom were Baron of Snowdon, in the County of Caernarvon, Viscount of Launceston, in the County of Cornwall, Earl of Eltham, in the County of Kent,[1] and Marquess of the Isle of Ely.[2] These titles were also in the Peerage of Great Britain. The marquessate was apparently erroneously gazetted as Marquess of the Isle of Wight[1] although Marquess of the Isle of Ely was the intended title. In later editions of the London Gazette the Duke is referred to as the Marquess of the Isle of Ely.[3][4] Upon Frederick's death, the titles were inherited by his son Prince George. When Prince George became King George III in 1760, the titles "merged into the Crown", and ceased to exist.

1866 creation

Queen Victoria re-created the title, this time in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, on 24 May 1866 for her second son Prince Alfred, instead of Duke of York, the traditional title of the second son of the Monarch. The subsidiary titles of the dukedom were Earl of Kent and Earl of Ulster, also in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.[5] When Alfred became the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1893, he retained his British titles. His only son Alfred, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha committed suicide in 1899, so the Dukedom of Edinburgh and subsidiary titles became extinct upon the elder Alfred's death in 1900.

1947 creation

The title was created for a third time on 19 November 1947 by King George VI, who bestowed it on his son-in-law Philip Mountbatten, when he married Princess Elizabeth. Subsequently, Elizabeth was styled "HRH The Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh" until her accession in 1952. The subsidiary titles of the dukedom are Earl of Merioneth and Baron Greenwich, of Greenwich in the County of London. Like the dukedom, these titles are also in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.[6] Earlier that year, Philip had renounced his Greek and Danish royal titles (he was born a Prince of Greece and Denmark, being a male-line grandson of King George I of Greece and male-line great-grandson of King Christian IX of Denmark) along with his rights to the Greek throne. In 1957, Philip became a Prince of the United Kingdom.[7]

Dukes of Edinburgh

First creation, 1726

DukePortraitBirthMarriagesDeath
Prince Frederick
House of Hanover
1726–1751
also: Marquess of the Isle of Ely, Earl of Eltham, Viscount Launceston, Baron Snowdon (1726–1729);
Prince of Wales (1729), Duke of Cornwall (1337), Duke of Rothesay (1398)
1 February 1707
Leineschloss, Hanover
son of King George II and Queen Caroline
Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha
17 April 1736
9 children
31 March 1751
Leicester House, Leicester Square, London
aged 44
Prince George
House of Hanover
1751–1760
also: Marquess of the Isle of Ely, Earl of Eltham, Viscount Launceston, Baron Snowdon (1751–1760);
Prince of Wales (1751)
4 June 1738
Norfolk House, London
son of Prince Frederick and Princess Augusta
Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
8 September 1761
15 children
29 January 1820
Windsor Castle, Windsor
aged 81
Prince George succeeded as George III in 1760 upon his grandfather's death, and his titles merged with the crown.

Second creation, 1866

DukePortraitBirthMarriagesDeath
Prince Alfred
House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
1866–1900
also: Earl of Kent and Earl of Ulster (1866)
6 August 1844
Windsor Castle, Windsor
son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert
Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia
23 January 1874
6 children
30 July 1900
Schloss Rosenau, Coburg
aged 55
Prince Alfred and Grand Duchess Maria had one son, who predeceased him; and all his titles became extinct on his death.

Third creation, 1947

DukePortraitBirthMarriagesDeath
Prince Philip
House of Glücksburg
1947–present
also: Earl of Merioneth and Baron Greenwich (1947)
10 June 1921
Mon Repos, Corfu
son of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg
Queen Elizabeth II
20 November 1947
4 children
 
now 99 years, 234 days old

Possible future creations

It was announced in 1999, at the time of the wedding of Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, that he would follow his father as Duke of Edinburgh. This is unlikely to happen by direct inheritance, as Prince Edward is the youngest of Prince Philip's three sons. Rather, the title is expected to be newly created for Prince Edward after it "eventually reverts to the Crown"[8] after "both the death of the current Duke of Edinburgh and the Prince of Wales' succession as King".[9]

Line of succession

Although the following individuals are in the line of succession to the Dukedom, they are also in line of succession to the throne. As a consequence, should one of the following individuals become king while Duke, the Dukedom of Edinburgh would cease to exist, as it would merge with the Crown.

Family tree

Family Tree: Dukes of Edinburgh

Fictional Duke of Edinburgh

A fictional Duke of Edinburgh appears in the 1980s sitcom The Black Adder. Rowan Atkinson plays the title character, Prince Edmund, who is granted the title Duke of Edinburgh by his father, a fictitious King Richard IV. Interestingly the series is set in 1485, before the real life first creation and therefore before the title existed.

See also

References

  1. "No. 6494". The London Gazette. 12 July 1726. p. 1.
  2. "Peerages: Eames to Emly". Leighrayment.com. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  3. "No. 6741". The London Gazette. 4 January 1728. p. 2.
  4. "No. 9050". The London Gazette. 16 April 1751. p. 1.
  5. "No. 23119". The London Gazette. 25 May 1866. p. 3127.
  6. "No. 38128". The London Gazette. 21 November 1947. p. 5496.
  7. "No. 41009". The London Gazette. 22 February 1957. p. 1209.
  8. "The Earl of Wessex". Royal.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 3 December 2010. Retrieved 30 October 2010.
  9. Whitaker's Almanack 2010, page 46 'Peers of the Blood Royal'

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