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Monday, March 13, 2017

2nd reading of bill to remove titles of foes




March 13, 1917

The House of Lords today passed the "second reading of the bill to deprive enemy princes of British titles and dignities," reports the Chicago Daily Tribune.   This vote took place after the British government promised to "refer the bill to a special committee" for further consideration.

The Marquess of Lansdowne agreed that this bill applied only to the Duke of Albany, the Duke of Cumberland, and Prince Albert of Schleswig-Holstein, all of whom are related to the British related to the royal family.

Lord Landsdowne admitted that the bill is a "mere concession to public opinion, and requires more examination than had previously received."

The Duke of Albany is also the reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.  He was born Prince Charles Edward,  the posthumous son of Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, youngest son of Queen Victoria, and Princess Helen of Waldeck und Pyrmont.


The Duke of Cumberland is married to Princess Thyra of Denmark, youngest sister of Queen Alexandra.   He is the son of the late King Georg V of Hannover, who was born Prince George of Cumberland, the only child of Prince Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, fifth son of King George III.  In 1837, following the death of his brother, King William IV,  the Duke of Cumberland succeeded to the Hanover throne as his niece, Victoria, the new British queen, was barred from the Hanoverian succession due to Salic law.  

The Duke's only surviving son, Prince Ernst August, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, is married to Kaiser Wilhelm II's only daughter, Viktoria Luise.


Prince Albert of Schleswig-Holstein is the second, but the eldest surviving son of Princess Helena and her husband, Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein.  He is the heir presumptive to his first cousin, Duke Ernst Gunther of Schleswig-Holstein.

Both the Duke of Albany and Prince Albert were born in England, and are grandchildren of Queen Victoria.  They are first cousins of King George V.    The Duke of Cumberland is the King's uncle.  Both Dukes are British princes.

4 comments:

  1. Does the Duke of Cumberland have a port wine birth mark?

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  2. Don't think so ... Probably the photo has a stain

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  3. I wonder how much further along they got before they realized that Prince Albert had no British titles to be deprived of.

    Perhaps that's why they went to the trouble of digging up a nondescript Austrian-Irish noble (Viscount Taaffe) to take the fall in his place...

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  4. He was not a part of the bill, only mentioned -- and Albert had a desk job in Berlin, which he asked for so he would not have to fight against his mother's family.

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