Duke of Connaught and Strathearn was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom that was granted on 24 May 1874 by

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 Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

of the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the union of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland into one sovereign state, established by the Acts of Union 1800, Acts of Union in 1801. It continued in this form until ...

to her third son, Prince Arthur. At the same time, he was also granted the subsidiary title of Earl of Sussex.

History

By tradition, members of the sovereign's family received titles associated with England,

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, the four Home Nations that made up the

. The

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

dom of Connaught and Strathearn was named after one of the four

provinces of Ireland There are four provinces of Ireland: Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster. The Irish language, Irish word for this territorial division, , meaning "fifth part", suggests that there were once five, and at times Kingdom of Meath, Meath has be ...

, now known by its modern Irish language-based spelling of

Connacht Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...

. It was seen as the title that, if available, would henceforth be awarded to the British monarch's third son. The first son is the

Duke of Cornwall Duke of Cornwall () is a title in the Peerage of England, traditionally held by the eldest son of the reigning Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarch, previously the English monarch. The Duchy of Cornwall was the first duchy created i ...

(in England) and Duke of Rothesay (in Scotland), and would be made

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

at some point, while the second son would often become

Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of List of English monarchs, English (later List of British monarchs, British) monarchs ...

, if the title was available. The title Strathearn referred to the strath (valley) of the River Earn in Scotland; the ancient title Earl/Mormaer of Strathearn died out in the 15th century. Since the exit of the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State (6 December 192229 December 1937), also known by its Irish-language, Irish name ( , ), was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-ye ...

from the United Kingdom in 1922, titles related to locations in the Free State (and later the Republic of Ireland) have not been awarded (though Prince Edward, Prince of Wales—in 1936 briefly King

Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire, and Emperor of India, from 20 January ...

—was made a Knight of the Order of St Patrick). However, territorial titles relating to

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

have continued to be awarded. After Prince Arthur's death in 1942, the title was inherited by his grandson, Alastair. In the absence of any male heirs, the dukedom became extinct when Alastair died, 15 months after his grandfather. A Canadian military regiment, The British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own), is a Canadian armoured regiment in the 1st Duke's name. A British Indian Army cavalry regiment, the 6th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers (Watson's Horse), was also named for the 1st Duke.

Dukes of Connaught and Strathearn (1874)

Family trees

Possible future creations

The Dukedom is currently vacant. While there were some speculations that it was one of the options available for Prince Harry upon his wedding with Meghan Markle, press reports have also noted that Connaught is now part of the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

, as well as the supposed manner in which the last Duke of Connaught and Strathearn died, thus making it unsuitable. Strathearn is a subsidiary Earldom in the Dukedom of Cambridge.

References

External links