An earldom seems less likely as Harry's children will have the rank of daughters and younger sons of a duke (if he is given no peerage at all.) This is due to George V's Letters Patent that limited the HRH and title prince and princess to the children of the Sovereign, grandchildren of the sovereign in the male line, and the eldest son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales.
"Whitehall, 11th December, 1917.
The KING has been pleased by Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, bearing date the 30th ultimo, to define the styles and titles to be borne henceforth by members of the Royal Family. It is declared by the Letters Patent that the children of any Sovereign of the United Kingdom and the children of the sons of any such Sovereign and the eldest living son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales shall have and at all times hold and enjoy the style, title or attribute of Royal Highness with their titular dignity of Prince or Princess prefixed to their respective Christian names or with their other titles of honour; that save as aforesaid the titles of Royal Highness, Highness or Serene Highness, and the titular dignity of Prince and Princess shall cease except those titles already granted and remaining unrevoked; and that the grandchildren of the sons of any such Sovereign in the direct male line (save only the eldest living son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales) shall have the style and title enjoyed by the children of Dukes."
Queen Elizabeth issued a Letters Patent in 2012, shortly before the birth of Prince George, extending the HRH and the title of prince or princess to all the children of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales. The primary reason for this was the Succession to the Crown Act, which allows for the succession of the eldest child, regardless of sex. If she had not issued the new Letters Patent and the Duke of Cambridge's first child was a girl, she would have been styled as the Lady Charlotte Windsor and her younger brother would have been styled as HRH Prince George of Cambridge until their grandfather succeeded to the throne and they were all automatically upgraded to royal highnesses and princes and princes.
"The Queen has been pleased by Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the Realm dated 31 December 2012 to declare that all the children of the eldest son of The Prince of Wales should have and enjoy the style, title and attribute of Royal Highness with the titular dignity of Prince or Princess prefixed to their Christian names or with such other titles of honour."
Harry's children will have the style and title of children of a duke whether he has a peerage or not. If he is created a Duke, the eldest son will have a courtesy peerage. Unless Charles issues a new Letters Patent that further limits the HRH and title of Princess and Princess, Harry's children will have an automatic upgrade when their grandfather becomes king. Two possible scenarios: When Meghan is expecting her first child, the Queen could issue a new Letters Patent that extends the HRH and title of Prince or Princess to Harry's children so they will be royal during her lifetime or Harry could decide that he does not want his children to be royal and they will have the title and style of children of a duke.
For the sake of this post, let me speculate on the possible dukedom. Cross off your list the following titles: Connaught, Cumberland, Teviotdale, and Albany.
Connaught is in the Republic of Ireland. Cumberland and Teviotdale and Albany are in abeyance, although, the dukedom of Albany may be eligible for recreation. Queen Victoria created the title for her youngest son, Prince Leopold, in 1881. He was created Duke of Albany, Earl of Clarence, and Baron Arklow. Leopold died in March 1884. His second child, a son, Charles Edward, was born posthumously in July 1884, and, at birth, succeeded to his father's peerages. Charles Edward, as Carl Eduard, succeeded his paternal uncle, Alfred, as Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
The Titles Deprivation Act (1917) stripped Prince Ernst August of Hanover (1878-1923) and Carl Eduard, the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1884-1954), both of whom were on Germany's side during the First World War. Ernst August was the head of the House of Hanover and Carl Eduard was the grandson of Queen Victoria. The Titles Deprivation Act included a provision that would allow an heir to the title to claim it if he had not fought for Germany during the First World War. This means Ernst August's son, Prince Ernst August, the Duke of Brunswick and Lüneburg, was also barred from succeeding because he served in the war. The latter's son, Ernst August IV (1914-1987) was eligible to petition Parliament for reinstatement. In the mid-1990s, several German papers reported that the present head of the House of Hanover, Prince Ernst August V (1954) was going to petition the British Parliament for reinstatement of the peerages. Ernst August issued a statement denying the reports.
Carl Eduard's eldest son, Prince Johann Leopold (1906-1972) was too young to serve in the First World War. Johann Leopold's eldest son, Ernst Leopold (1935-1996) claimed the use of the Albany title, and even used it on stationery (Herzog von Albany). He did not have the right to do this because his father never sought permission to marry, according to the requirements of the Royal Marriages Act.
The reason for the Dukedom of Albany to be available is due to the Royal Marriages Act. Carl Eduard was married per the Act, but none of his children, including his sons, sought permission from the British Sovereign to marry.
Carl Eduard's eldest son, Prince Johann Leopold's marriage was morganatic, and he and his male descendants were ineligible for the Coburg titles and estates. The succession devolved in Carl Eduard's youngest son, Prince Friedrich Josias, whose son, Prince Andreas, is the present head of the family.
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| Patrick Montague-Smith would become the editor of Debrett's Peerage. This letter to the editor was published on July 30, 1949. |
The marriages are Carl Eduard's children were not legal in the United Kingdom, according to the l Marriages Act. In other words, Carl Eduard's sons were not eligible for the Albany dukedom because Johann Leopold never sought approval for his marriage, thus, rendering the dukedom available for recreation.
Sussex is a popular possibility. The first Duke of Sussex (Prince Augustus) was given to his sixth son by King George III. Both of Prince Augustus' marriages were in contravention of the Royal Marriages act. Neither of his two wives was styled as the Duchess of Sussex. Miss Markle would become the first to be styled as HRH The Duchess of Sussex.
Clarence. Another possibility. Bad vibes about George Plantagenet (1449-1478), brother of Richard III, who was created Duke of Clarence in 1461. Drowning in a butt of malmsey, allegedly.
Meghan is a descendant of Lionel, Duke of Clarence, son of Edward III.
https://vita-brevis.org/2017/11/wentworth-connection/
William IV, the fourth son of George III succeeded to the throne in 1830. Clarence House was named for this duke.
The most recent Duke of Clarence (and Avondale) was Prince Albert Victor (1864-1892) of Wales, the elder son of the Prince and Princess of Wales. The cause of death was pneumonia. He caught a chill at the funeral of his father's first cousin, Prince Victor of Hohenlohe-Langenburg at the end of December 1891.
Kendal. There were reports that Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Saafeld, husband of Princess Charlotte of Wales, the heiress presumptive to the throne, was going to be created Duke of Kendal. It never happened. King George, I created his mistress Ehrengard Melusine von der Schulenburg as Duchess of Kendal.
Ross. The peerage was created twice for sons of the King of Scotland, most recently for Alexander (1514-1515), the posthumous son of King James IV.
Several people have mentioned the Dukedom of Hereford, which was created in 1397 for Henry Bolingbroke, son of John of Gaunt. The title merged with the Crown two years later when Bolingbroke usurped the throne from Richard II.
The title will not be recreated due to Viscount Hereford, the oldest extant Viscountcy in the Peerage of England. The viscountcy was created in 1550. The title was created for Walter Devereux, the 9th Baron Ferrers of Chartley.
Strathearn. Another no-go, as William is the Earl of Strathearn.
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British media say maybe the prince will become Duke of Sussex.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Marlene. Sussex was suggested for Edward before he got the Earldom, as I recall. What title do you consider the front runner? Albert Victor, prior to his untimely death, did little (IMO) to add luster to the Clarence title. My personal favorite of the ones you listed is Ross.
ReplyDeleteI suggest Windsor for a long time. Even though HM's uncle was the Duke of Windsor.. This fits and a good ending for the Queen by breathing new light to the title.. I also suggest Sussex, though we did think Edward was going to get that, but didn't.
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ReplyDeleteDuke of Newcastle would be rather new and kind of "modern" for a royal prince !;)
Windsor was a one off. Won't be used again unless another king abdicates/
ReplyDeleteAnother strike against Clarence is that the last Duke of that title is a perennial candidate for being Jack the Ripper. The evidence is flimsy but in Britain's tabloid-sodden culture it'd be a headache they'd want to avoid.
ReplyDeleteOther available ducal titles: Buckingham, Dorset, Portland, Cleveland, Dover, Kingston-upon-Hull.
Maybe a new title once suggested to Churchill, Dukedom of London !! I am surprised it was never ever granted as a title.
ReplyDeleteAfter pulling Wessex, an ancient and now defunct Anglo-Saxon Kingdom out of the hat for Edward, don't rule out Mercia!
ReplyDeleteI hope it is either Windsor or Albany.
ReplyDeleteAlbany has sometimes been paired with York, which is used traditionally for the second son. Since York isn't available, Albany would be a nice substitute.
I personally think Windsor would be great - marrying a divorced American. Would be a nice way of bringing closure to the 1936 crisis, and say that we as a society are different today than we were in 1936. One cannot get much more grand than Duke of Windsor - what a great name to pass on to Harry's son!
Windsor was created as a one-off for a disgraced monarch. Albany has possible heirs
ReplyDeleteThis is an excellent and authoritative article which has been quoted worldwide.
ReplyDeletethanks
ReplyDeleteIt'll be interesting to find out in 20 days time. It could well be a surprise like Wessex was.
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