Duke of Cambridge

Arms of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge

**Duke of Cambridge**, one of the six current royal dukedoms in the United Kingdom, is a hereditary title of specific rank of nobility in the British royal family. The title (named after the city of Cambridge in England) is heritable by male descendants by primogeniture, and has been conferred upon members of the British royal family several times. The wife of the titleholder is called the Duchess of Cambridge.

The title was first created in 1660 and superseded an earlier title of Earl of Cambridge. The title became extinct several times, before being revived after a hiatus of over a hundred years in 2011, when it was bestowed by Queen Elizabeth II on her eldest grandson Prince William on 29 April 2011 upon his marriage to Catherine Middleton.

## History

The title was first granted in 1660 by King Charles II (immediately following the Restoration of the Monarchy) to his infant eldest nephew Charles Stuart (1660–1661), the first son of the Duke of York (later King James II), though he was never formally created Duke of Cambridge as he died at the age of six months. The first officially recognized creation of the dukedom was in the Peerage of England in 1664, when King Charles II granted the title to his next eldest surviving nephew James Stuart, the infant second son of the Duke of York, who died early in 1667 at the age of three, when the title again became extinct. The title was then granted later that year by King Charles II to his next eldest surviving nephew Edgar Stuart, the third son of the Duke of York, who also died in infancy, in 1671 at the age of three, when the title became extinct the third time. The Duke of York's 4th son Charles (his eldest son by his second wife) was also styled Duke of Cambridge in 1677, but died when about a month old, not having lived long enough to be formally created duke.

The title was recreated by Queen Anne in 1706 who granted it to George Augustus (later King George II), son of the Elector of Hanover (later King George I), her distant cousin and heir apparent (both being descended from King James I). When George Augustus ascended to the throne as King George II in 1727, the dukedom merged with the crown.

The title was again recreated in the peerage of the United Kingdom and was granted in 1801 by King George III to his seventh son Prince Adolphus (1774-1850), then aged 27. Following his death in 1850 the title was inherited by his only son Prince George, 2nd Duke of Cambridge, whose three sons were barred from inheriting the title as his marriage had been in violation of the Royal Marriages Act 1772. Thus on the death of the 2nd Duke in 1904 the title again became extinct.

During the period leading up to the 1999 wedding of Prince Edward, the youngest son of Queen Elizabeth II, experts speculated that the Dukedom of Cambridge or Sussex were the most likely to be granted to him, and *The Sunday Telegraph* later reported that Prince Edward was at one point set to be titled Duke of Cambridge. Instead, Prince Edward was created Earl of Wessex, and it was announced that he would eventually be created the next Duke of Edinburgh after his father.

On 29 April 2011, the day of his wedding, it was announced that Queen Elizabeth II had created her eldest grandson Prince William as Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Strathearn and Baron Carrickfergus, titles relating respectively to the ancient kingdoms of England, Scotland and to the province of Northern Ireland, all within the United Kingdom.

The letters patent granting these titles received the great seal on 26 May 2011. They were illuminated by Andrew Stewart Jamieson.

## Dukes of Cambridge

### Fourth creation, 1801

 **Prince George**House of Hanover1850–1904*also: Earl of Tipperary and Baron Culloden (1801)* |  | 26 March 1819Cambridge House, Hanoverson of Prince Adolphus and Princess Augusta | 8 January 1847Sarah Fairbrother3 children

## Future dukes

If Prince William dies before becoming king, then his sons are eligible to inherit the dukedom:

1. Prince George of Cambridge (born 2013)
2. Prince Louis of Cambridge (born 2018)

If Prince William becomes king, his titles, including the dukedom, will merge with the crown.

## See also

* Duchess of Cambridge
* Duke of Cambridge's Personal Canadian Flag
* Marquess of Cambridge
* Earl of Cambridge

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Announcement of Titles: Statement issued by the press secretary to The Queen. The Royal Household (29 April 2011). Archived from the original on 30 April 2011. Retrieved on 2012-04-30.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Template:London Gazette
3. ↑ Template:London Gazette
4. ↑ Tim Ross (16 November 2010). Could William and Kate be the next Duke and Duchess of Cambridge?. *The Telegraph*. Retrieved on 11 February 2012.
Richard Eden. "Royal wedding: Prince William asks the Queen not to make him a duke", *The Telegraph*, 12 December 2010. Retrieved on 12 December 2010.
6. ↑ The Earl of Wessex-Styles and Titles. The Royal Household. Retrieved on 2012-04-30.
7. ↑ An original Jamieson for a Royal Prince. The Grand Armorial Registry. Retrieved on 4 August 2019.