Duke of Kent is a title that has been created several times in the

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Be ...

s of

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

, most recently as a royal dukedom for the fourth son of

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

. Since 1942, the title has been held by Prince Edward (born 1935),

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

's cousin.

Earliest history

A title associated with Kent first appears anciently with the

Kingdom of Kent la, Regnum Cantuariorum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of the Kentish , common_name = Kent , era = Heptarchy , status = vassal , status_text = , government_type = Monarchy ...

(or Cantware), one of the seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms that later merged to form the

Kingdom of England The Kingdom of England (, ) was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from 12 July 927, when it emerged from various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, until 1 May 1707, when it united with Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. On ...

. The Kings of Cantware (or Kent) date back to about 449. After 825, when the Kingdom of Kent was taken over by Egbert, King of Wessex, Kent became a dependency of

Wessex la, Regnum Occidentalium Saxonum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of the West Saxons , common_name = Wessex , image_map = Southern British Isles 9th century.svg , map_caption = S ...

and was ruled by sub-kings, usually related to the Wessex rulers. The titular kingship became something like the heir-apparent's title, as Aethelwulf, Egbert's son, became King of Kent in 825. By 860, Kent lost its status as a kingdom, becoming absorbed into Wessex.

Earls of Kent

The first title of Kent was that of the

Earl of Kent The peerage title Earl of Kent has been created eight times in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. In fiction, the Earl of Kent is also known as a prominent supporting character in William Shakespeare's tragedy K ...

in the

Peerage of England The Peerage of England comprises all peerages created in the Kingdom of England before the Act of Union in 1707. In that year, the Peerages of England and Scotland were replaced by one Peerage of Great Britain. There are five peerages in th ...

. After the death of

Godwin, Earl of Wessex Godwin of Wessex ( ang, Godwine; – 15 April 1053) was an English nobleman who became one of the most powerful earls in England under the Danish king Cnut the Great (King of England from 1016 to 1035) and his successors. Cnut made Godwin the ...

, his son Leofwine (c. 1035–1066) became

sometime between 1056 and 1058. After Leofwine's death at

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

in 1066,

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...

named his half-brother,

Odo of Bayeux Odo of Bayeux (died 1097), Earl of Kent and Bishop of Bayeux, was the maternal half-brother of William the Conqueror, and was, for a time, second in power after the King of England. Early life Odo was the son of William the Conqueror's mother ...

(c. 1036–1097), who was also

Bishop of Bayeux The Roman Catholic Diocese of Bayeux and Lisieux (Latin: ''Dioecesis Baiocensis et Lexoviensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Bayeux et Lisieux'') is a diocese of the Catholic Church in France. It is coextensive with the Department of Calvados and i ...

, the new Earl of Kent. However, Odo was twice removed from this title. The first occasion was in 1082, when he was imprisoned; the second was in 1088, after aiding in the Rebellion of 1088, after which he fled England. It was not until 1141 that the title returned, this time for William de Ipres; but he was deprived of the title in 1155. In 1227, it was revived for

Hubert de Burgh Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent (; ; ; c.1170 – before 5 May 1243) was an English nobleman who served as Chief Justiciar of England and Ireland during the reigns of King John and of his son and successor King Henry III and, as a consequenc ...

, but became extinct with his death. In 1321, it was again revived for Edmund of Woodstock, and through the marriage of Joan Plantagenet to Thomas Holland, the title passed to the Holland family, which held the title until 1408. In 1461, it was revived for William Neville, and then in 1465 for Edmund Grey. The Grey family held the title until

Henry Grey, 12th Earl of Kent Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Kent, KG, PC (16715 June 1740) was a British politician and courtier. None of his sons outlived him, so his new title became extinct on his death. Though the house he built at Wrest Park in Bedfordshire has gone, parts ...

, who was made Marquess of Kent in 1706 and Duke of Kent in 1710, died without male heirs in 1740. Just before he died, he was awarded an inferior replacement title of Marquess De Grey to allow this to be passed to his heir - his granddaughter (the Dukedom could not be inherited).

Marquess, then Duke of Kent

Henry Grey (1671–1740) succeeded his father, Anthony Grey, as the 12th Earl of Kent in 1702. In 1706, he was elevated to Marquess of Kent, along with Earl of Harold and Viscount Goderich. In 1710 he was elevated once again as Duke of Kent, and following the death of his sons,

Marquess Grey Marquess Grey was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created on 19 May 1740 for Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Kent, with remainder to the male issue of his body and in default thereof to his granddaughter, the Honourable Jemima Campbell, ...

(1740) with a special remainder to his granddaughter. Henry had one son and five daughters with his first wife, Jemima Crew (d. 1728), and one son and one daughter with his second wife, Sophia Bentinck (d. 1741). By the time of Henry's death in 1740, both of his sons had died, Anthony (in 1723) and George (in 1733), leaving the Duke of Kent without a male heir. His granddaughter Lady Jemima Campbell would inherit two titles in her own right, Marchioness Grey and Baroness Lucas; but all Henry's other titles, particularly Duke of Kent, became extinct with his death.

Royal dukedom, 1799

On 23 April 1799 the double dukedom of Kent and Strathearn was given, with the earldom of Dublin, to King George III's fourth son, Prince Edward Augustus. Edward had only one legitimate child, a daughter, Princess Alexandrina Victoria (the future

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

). Upon Edward's death in 1820, the dukedom of Kent and Strathearn became extinct, as he had no legitimate male heir.

Royal earldom, 1866

The next creation of a title of Kent was not that of

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are r ...

Marquess A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman ...

, but rather that of

Earl Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant " chieftain", particu ...

, with the creation of Prince Alfred (1844–1900), the second son of

and Prince Albert, as

Duke of Edinburgh Duke of Edinburgh, named after the city of Edinburgh in Scotland, was a substantive title that has been created three times since 1726 for members of the British royal family. It does not include any territorial landholdings and does not prod ...

Earl of Ulster The title of Earl of Ulster has been created six times in the Peerage of Ireland and twice in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since 1928, the title has been held by the Duke of Gloucester and is used as a courtesy title by the Duke's elde ...

, and of

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

in 1866. The Duke of Edinburgh (who later became the reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha) had only one son, Prince Alfred, who would have inherited his father's titles had he not died before his father in 1899. With Prince Alfred's death in 1900, the earldom became extinct.

Royal dukedom, 1934

In 1934, Prince George (1902–1942), the fourth son of

of the United Kingdom and Queen Mary, was created Duke of Kent,

Earl of St Andrews Duke of Kent is a title that has been created several times in the peerages of Great Britain and the United Kingdom, most recently as a royal dukedom for the fourth son of King George V. Since 1942, the title has been held by Prince Edward ...

and

Baron Downpatrick Duke of Kent is a title that has been created several times in the peerages of Great Britain and the United Kingdom, most recently as a royal dukedom for the fourth son of King George V. Since 1942, the title has been held by Prince E ...

. Prince George had three children before his death in 1942: Prince Edward, Princess Alexandra, and Prince Michael. Prince Edward, upon his father's death, succeeded to his father's peerages. The current Duke of Kent has two sons. King George V's

Letters Patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, tit ...

of 30 November 1917 restricted the style ''Royal Highness'' and the titular dignity of ''Prince'' to the sons of the Sovereign, the male line grandsons of the Sovereign, and the eldest living son of the eldest son of the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rule ...

. Great-grandchildren of the Sovereign in the male line enjoy the

courtesy titles A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but rather is used through custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some con ...

of the children of dukes. Therefore, the heir-apparent to the dukedom of Kent is George, Earl of St. Andrews (b. 1962). Lord St. Andrews married in 1988, and has three children. His son Lord Downpatrick (b. 1988) is second in line to his grandfather's peerages. When Lord St. Andrews succeeds, the dukedom will cease to be a Royal dukedom; as a great-grandson of a sovereign he will be styled ''His Grace The Duke of Kent.'' After Lord St. Andrews and Lord Downpatrick, the current duke's younger son Lord Nicholas Windsor is in remainder to the dukedom, as are the current duke's brother,

Prince Michael of Kent Prince Michael of Kent, (Michael George Charles Franklin; born 4 July 1942) is a member of the British royal family, who is 51st in the line of succession to the British throne as of September 2022. Queen Elizabeth II and Michael were firs ...

, and his son, Lord Frederick Windsor.

Duties

The current Duke of Kent carries out numerous duties for the monarchy, both military and civil. As a

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

, he is the Grand Master of the

United Grand Lodge of England The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) is the governing Masonic lodge for the majority of freemasons in England, Wales and the Commonwealth of Nations. Claiming descent from the Masonic grand lodge formed 24 June 1717 at the Goose & Gridiron ...

, and has served as the President of

The Scout Association The Scout Association is the largest Scouting organisation in the United Kingdom and is the World Organization of the Scout Movement's recognised member for the United Kingdom. Following the origin of Scouting in 1907, the association was fo ...

of the United Kingdom since 1975 and of the

Royal Institution The Royal Institution of Great Britain (often the Royal Institution, Ri or RI) is an organisation for scientific education and research, based in the City of Westminster. It was founded in 1799 by the leading British scientists of the age, inc ...

. He has performed a number of state visits to Commonwealth nations on behalf of the Queen. He has also acted as Counsellor of State. His Royal Highness is the Grand Prior (or Grand Master) of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

. He holds numerous other appointments in the military. The Duke of Kent has been the patron of Endeavour, a national youth organisation, for 29 years.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms anciently associated with Kent is that of a rampant white horse upon a red field. This is primarily associated with the Kingdom of Kent and possibly the earldom as well. Today, this is seen on the Council of Kent's arms and flag. As a direct descendant of Queen Victoria, this is not the coat of arms of the present Duke of Kent. The coat of arms of the Duke of Kent consists of the following: * Arms: those of the Royal Arms, differenced by a label of five points argent (silver, often depicted as white), the points charged with an anchor azure (blue) and a cross gules (red) alternately. * Crest: On a coronet of four crosses-patées alternated with four strawberry leaves a lion statant guardant or (gold), crowned with the like coronet and differenced with a label as in the Arms. * Supporters: The Royal Supporters differenced with the like coronet (as in the crest) and label as in the arms. The standard of the Duke of Kent is a flag version of his arms. The personal badge of the present Duke of Kent is 'E' encircled by the garter of the

Order of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the Georg ...

, surmounted by a Type IV Princes coronet as in the Crest.

Residence

The Duke and Duchess of Kent currently live at Wren House in the grounds of

Kensington Palace Kensington Palace is a royal residence set in Kensington Gardens, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. It has been a residence of the British royal family since the 17th century, and is currently the official L ...

, but their office is based at York House at

St. James's Palace St James's Palace is the most senior royal palace in London, the capital of the United Kingdom. The palace gives its name to the Court of St James's, which is the monarch's royal court, and is located in the City of Westminster in London. Al ...

Dukes of Kent

First creation, 1710

, Henry Grey
1710–1740
''also:

(1740),

Marquess of Kent A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...

(1706),

(1465), Earl of Harold and Viscount Goderich (1706) and Baron Lucas of Crudwell (1663)'' , Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Kent

, 1671 , (1) Hon. Jemima Crew
1695
10 children
(2) Lady Sophia Bentinck
24 March 1729
2 children , 1740 , -

Second creation, 1934

, Prince George

House of Windsor The House of Windsor is the reigning royal house of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms. In 1901, a line of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (itself a cadet branch of the House of Wettin) succeeded the House of Hanover to th ...

1934–1942
''also:

and

(1934)'' , George 1st Kent

, 20 December 1902
York Cottage, Sandringham
son of

and Queen Mary ,

Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent (27 August 1968), born Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark ( el, Μαρίνα), was a Greek princess by birth and a British princess by marriage. She was a daughter of Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark a ...

29 November 1934
3 children , 25 August 1942
Dunbeath
aged 39 , - , Prince Edward

1942–present
''also: Earl of St Andrews and Baron Downpatrick (1934)'' , Prince Edward, Duke of Kent 2013

, 9 October 1935

Belgrave Square Belgrave Square is a large 19th-century garden square in London. It is the centrepiece of Belgravia, and its architecture resembles the original scheme of property contractor Thomas Cubitt who engaged George Basevi for all of the terraces fo ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

son of Prince George and Princess Marina ,

Katharine Worsley Katharine, Duchess of Kent, (born Katharine Lucy Mary Worsley, 22 February 1933) is a member of the British royal family. She is married to Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, a grandson of King George V. The Duchess of Kent converted to Roman Ca ...

8 June 1961
3 children ,
now old , -

Line of succession

Prince George, Duke of Kent Prince George, Duke of Kent, (George Edward Alexander Edmund; 20 December 1902 – 25 August 1942) was a member of the British royal family, the fourth son of King George V and Queen Mary. He was a younger brother of kings Edward VIII and Geo ...

(1902–1942)'' ** Coronet of a Grandchild of the Sovereign

Prince Edward, Duke of Kent Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, (Edward George Nicholas Paul Patrick; born 9 October 1935) is a member of the British royal family. Queen Elizabeth II and Edward were first cousins through their fathers, King George VI, and Prince George, Duke ...

(born 1935) ***(1)

George Windsor, Earl of St Andrews George Philip Nicholas Windsor, Earl of St Andrews (born 26 June 1962) is an English philanthropist, former diplomat and relative of the British royal family. He was a member of HM Diplomatic Service in New York and Budapest. St Andrews became ...

(b. 1962) **** (2)

Edward Windsor, Lord Downpatrick Edward Edmund Maximilian George Windsor, Lord Downpatrick (born 2 December 1988), known professionally as Eddy Downpatrick, is an English fashion designer and former financial analyst. He is the co-founder and creative director of the British fa ...

(b. 1988) *** (3) Lord Nicholas Windsor (b. 1970) **** (4) Albert Louis Philip Edward Windsor (b. 2007) **** (5) Leopold Ernest Augustus Guelph Windsor (b. 2009) **** (6) Louis Arthur Nicholas Felix Windsor (b. 2014) ** (7) Coronet of a Grandchild of the Sovereign

(b. 1942) *** (8) Lord Frederick Windsor (b. 1979)

Family tree

References

External links

The Duke of Kent
at the Royal Family website
Duke of Kent at the Royal Institution
, Ri Channel video, 6 December 1985 {{DEFAULTSORT:Kent, Duke Of Dukedoms in the Peerage of the United Kingdom 1710 establishments in Great Britain 1934 establishments in the United Kingdom Noble titles created in 1710 Noble titles created in 1934