Duke of Cambridge is a

hereditary title Hereditary titles, in a general sense, are nobility titles, positions or styles that are hereditary and thus tend or are bound to remain in particular families. Though both monarchs and nobles usually inherit their titles, the mechanisms often d ...

of nobility in the

British royal family The British royal family comprises Charles III and other members of his family. There is no strict legal or formal definition of who is or is not a member, although the Royal Household has issued different lists outlining who is considere ...

, one of several royal dukedoms in the United Kingdom. The title is named after the city of

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. It is heritable by male descendants by

primogeniture Primogeniture () is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn Legitimacy (family law), legitimate child to inheritance, inherit all or most of their parent's estate (law), estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some childre ...

, and has been conferred upon various members of the British royal family several times throughout history. The title of Duke of Cambridge, first created in 1660, superseded an earlier title of

Earl of Cambridge The title of Earl of Cambridge was created several times in the Peerage of England, and since 1362 the title has been closely associated with the Royal family (see also Duke of Cambridge, Marquess of Cambridge). The first Earl of the fourth cre ...

. The title became extinct several times before being revived in 2011, when Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

bestowed it on her grandson

Prince William William, Prince of Wales (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982), is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales. William was born during the reign of his p ...

on 29 April 2011 upon his marriage to Catherine Middleton. Catherine became known as the Duchess of Cambridge.

History

The title was first granted in 1660 by

Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651 and King of England, Scotland, and King of Ireland, Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest su ...

(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 recognised creation of the dukedom was 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. From that year, the Peerages of England and Scotland were closed to new creations, and new peers were created in a single Peerag ...

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 fourth son

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

(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 (both being descended from King James I). When the title was created George Augustus was third in line to the throne, after his grandmother Sophia and his father. When he 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 The Peerage of the United Kingdom is one of the five peerages in the United Kingdom. It comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Acts of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great B ...

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 Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

, some people speculated that the Dukedom of Cambridge or

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

were the most likely to be granted to him, and ''

The Sunday Telegraph ''The Sunday Telegraph'' is a British broadsheet newspaper, first published on 5 February 1961 and published by the Telegraph Media Group, a division of Press Holdings. It is the sister paper of ''The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Tele ...

'' 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 Duke of Edinburgh, named after the capital city of Scotland, Edinburgh, is a substantive title that has been created four times since 1726 for members of the British royal family. It does not include any territorial landholdings and does not pr ...

after his father. On 29 April 2011, the day of his wedding, it was announced that Queen Elizabeth II had created her grandson Prince William Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Strathearn and

Baron Carrickfergus Baron Carrickfergus is a title in the peerage of the United Kingdom, referring to Carrickfergus in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Its current holder, since its creation on 29 April 2011, is William, Prince of Wales, who was granted the title ...

, titles relating respectively to places in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, three of the

constituent countries of the United Kingdom Since 1922, the United Kingdom has been made up of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales (which collectively make up Great Britain) and Northern Ireland ( variously described as a country, province, jurisdiction or region). The UK prime min ...

. The

letters patent Letters patent (plurale tantum, plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, President (government title), president or other head of state, generally granti ...

granting these titles received the

great seal A great seal is a seal used by a head of state, or someone authorised to do so on their behalf, to confirm formal documents, such as laws, treaties, appointments and letters of dispatch. It was and is used as a guarantee of the authenticity of ...

on 26 May 2011. Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, William and Catherine gained the titles of Prince and Princess of Wales in addition to their titles as Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. They have henceforth been primarily referred to as the Prince and Princess of Wales.

Dukes of Cambridge

''Styled'', 1660

First creation, 1664

''Also:

and Baron of Dauntsey (1664)'' , James Stuart

House of Stuart The House of Stuart, originally spelled Stewart, also known as the Stuart dynasty, was a dynasty, royal house of Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and later Kingdom of Great Britain, Great ...

1664–1667 , , 12 July 1663

St James's Palace St James's Palace is the most senior royal palace in London, England. 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. Although no longer the principal residence ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

son of

James, Duke of York James II and VII (14 October 1633 – 16 September 1701) was King of England and Monarchy of Ireland, Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II of England, Charles II, on 6 February 1 ...

(later King James II) and Anne Hyde , not married , 20 June 1667

Richmond Palace Richmond Palace was a Tudor royal residence on the River Thames in England which stood in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Situated in what was then rural Surrey, it lay upstream and on the opposite bank from the Palace of Westminste ...

aged 3

Second creation, 1667

''Also:

and Baron of Dauntsey (1667)'' , Edgar Stuart

1667–1671 , , 14 September 1667

son of

(later King James II) and Anne Hyde , not married , 8 June 1671

aged 3

''Styled'', 1677

, Charles Stuart

1677–1677 , , 7 November 1677

son of

(later King James II) and

Mary of Modena Mary of Modena (; ) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England, List of Scottish royal consorts, Scotland and Ireland as the second wife of James VII and II. A devout Catholic, Roman Catholic, Mary married the widower James, who was t ...

, not married , 12 December 1677

aged 35 days

Third creation, 1706

''Also: Marquess of Cambridge, Earl of Milford Haven, Viscount Northallerton and Baron Tewkesbury (1706)''

Fourth creation, 1801

''Also: Earl of Tipperary and Baron Culloden (1801)''

Fifth creation, 2011

''Also: Earl of Strathearn and

(2011)''

Line of succession

If William becomes king, his titles, including the dukedom, will merge with the crown. However, if he dies before becoming king, then his sons are eligible to inherit the dukedom: * Coronet of the British Heir Apparent

William, Prince of Wales William, Prince of Wales (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982), is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales. William was born during the reign of his pat ...

(born 1982) **(1) Coronet of a Child of the Heir Apparent

Prince George of Wales Prince George of Wales (George Alexander Louis; born 22 July 2013) is a member of the British royal family. He is the eldest child of William, Prince of Wales, and Catherine, Princess of Wales. George is the eldest grandchild of King Charl ...

(born 2013) ** (2) Coronet of a Child of the Heir Apparent

Prince Louis of Wales Prince Louis of Wales ( ; Louis Arthur Charles; born 23 April 2018) is a member of the British royal family. He is the third and youngest child of William, Prince of Wales, and Catherine, Princess of Wales, and a grandson of Charles III and D ...

(born 2018)

Family tree

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cambridge, Duke of 1660 establishments in England 1801 establishments in the United Kingdom Dukedoms in the Peerage of the United Kingdom 2011 establishments in the United Kingdom British and Irish peerages which merged in the Crown Noble titles created in 1664 Noble titles created in 1667 Noble titles created in 1706 Noble titles created in 1801 Noble titles created in 2011

History

Dukes of Cambridge

''Styled'', 1660

First creation, 1664

Second creation, 1667

''Styled'', 1677

Third creation, 1706

Fourth creation, 1801

Fifth creation, 2011

Line of succession

Family tree

See also

References