New-York tribune., 1912-02-15
DUCHESS IN OWN RIGHT
Flies Daughter Only One of
That Rank in England.

copyright. 1912. by the Brentwood Company
England has now. through the death OF
the Duke of Fife. a duchess in her own
right. for the first time in forty years:
that is TO say, since the death of Queen
Victorias left hand aunt, the Duchess Of
Inverness. Whereas the latter, despite her
union TO a member Of the reigning family,
did not enjoy any princely rank, and, in
deed. never really figured at court the
new Duchess of Fife was created a
princess by her grandfather. Edward VII,
on his birthday, November 9, 1906 He be-
slowed a similar title on her younger sis
ter, until then known as Lady Maud Dun
the patronymic of the late Duke of Fife,
and provided that both of the new hedged
princesses should enjoy the predicate of
"highness," and should rank Immediately
after and next to those members of the
reigning family bearing the style of royal
hghness.
That Is to say, the new Duchess of Fife
enjoys the pas" Of all the Princes and
PTincesses Of Battenberg and also Of the
two daughters of Princess Christian of
Schleswig- -Holstein. namely. the Princesses
Louise and Victoria of that ilk. This is
only fair. since the new Duchess of Fife,
or rather I should say her mother, the new
widowed Princess Royal. come Immediately
after the children Of King George in the
line OF succession to the throne.
Should the Duchess of Fife wed com
moner, he would in no sense of the word
share her honors. But her dukedom of
Fife. along with her earldOm of Macduff.
though not her title of princess. nor yet
her qualification of highness, would go at
her death to her son, or failing her son.
TO her daughter, while should she die with
out issue the dukedom and eardom would
descend TO her sister, Princess Maud, and
to the latter's children.
In bestowing these honors on his two
granddau6hters, King Edward neglected
one thing. He failed to designate of what
they were princesses. Presumably he
meant them to figure as Princesses of
Great Britain and ireland. But he neg
lected to arrange for this, and as they
could not very well he described as the
Princesses Dun (Which was their fathers
family nameI. they ended by being de-
scribed both at home and abroad. as the
PrinCesses Of Fife.
DuChesSes in their own right have been
few and far between in England at any
rate. in modern times. The only instance
besides that of the new young Duchess Of
Fife within the last hundred years has
been that of the Duchess of Inverness,
to whom reference has been made above
The Duke Of Sussex, her husband. was
the one of Queen NiCtoria's unCles with
whom she was on the most afIcctionate
terms. who had repeatedly befricnded her
mother and herself against William "
during the latters reign and who had
declined TO be party to all those difTl-
culties on the score of precedence and
rank which were made at the time of her
marriage and during several years after
ward by her other uncles and ROYAL rela-
tives about her consort, Prince Albert.
1t was in recognition of the old dukes
invariable kindness that Queen Victoria
bestowed, shortly before his death. the
title OF Duchess OF Inverness on Lady
Cecilia Buggin widow Of Sir George Bug
gin. daughter OF the second Earl Of Ar
ran, who had contracted i'm 1881 an eccle-
siastical marriage abroad with the Duke
Of Sussex, a union which, though valid
abroad, was Illegal in England owing 10
its having been contracted without the
previous permission of the sovereign in
Council as prescribed by the laws dealing
with members Of the reigning family
The Duchess Of Inverness survived the
Duke of Sussex for thirty-onc years. dy-
ing without issue, and though she was
frequently visited by Queen Victoria and
by the other members of the reIgnine
family. who treated her with the utmost
consideration and kindness. vet she never
appeared at court or at any public func-
tion, living in the strictest retirement in
the apartments at Kensington Palace
which had been placed at her disposal by
Queen Victoria.
For other duchcsses in their own right
It is necessary TO go back 10 the reign Of
Charles H. who bestowed dukedoms upon
several of his fair favorites, including
the title of Duchess Of Portsmouth on
the Bretonne Countess Louise de Querou-
allies. through him tho ancestress of tho
Dukes Of Richmond, and that Of Duchess
Of Cleveland on Barbara Villiers. who
was the ancestress through him OF the
Dukes Of Grafton