Duke of Sussex is a substantive title, one of several royal dukedoms in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It is a hereditary title of a specific rank of nobility in the British royal family. It has been created twice and takes its name from the historic county of Sussex in England.
First created in 1801, the title lapsed in 1843 but was revived when Queen Elizabeth II bestowed it on her grandson Prince Harry on 19 May 2018 just before his marriage to Meghan Markle, who then became the Duchess of Sussex.
History A title associated with Sussex first appeared with the Kingdom of Sussex, an Anglo-Saxon kingdom that was annexed by the Kingdom of Wessex around 827, that later became part of the Kingdom of England. In charters, Sussex's monarchs were sometimes referred to as ealdormen, or duces in Latin, which is sometimes translated as "dukes".
First creation, 1801 The title of Duke of Sussex was first conferred on 24 November 1801 upon Prince Augustus Frederick, the sixth son of King George III. He was made Baron Arklow and Earl of Inverness at the same time, also in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The title became extinct upon the Prince's death in 1843.
Although the Prince was survived by a son and daughter by Lady Augusta Murray, their marriage (purportedly solemnized at St George's Hanover Square Church, Westminster, in 1793) had been annulled for lack of royal permission under the Royal Marriages Act 1772, rendering the children illegitimate under English law and unable to inherit titles from their father. Both children by the annulled marriage died childless, rendering the issue of their inheritance moot.
On 2 May 1831, the Prince married a second time (and again in contravention of the Royal Marriages Act 1772) to Lady Cecilia Gore at Great Cumberland Place, London. They had no children. On 30 March 1840, she was given the title of Duchess of Inverness in her own right by Queen Victoria.
Second creation, 2018 In 2018, the dukedom of Sussex was recreated and granted to Prince Harry, the grandson of Queen Elizabeth II and 5th great-grandnephew of the previous duke, to mark the occasion of his wedding.Prince Harry and Ms. Meghan Markle: Announcement of Titles, The Royal Household, 19 May 2018. He married Meghan Markle on 19 May 2018; it was announced that day that he would become Duke of Sussex in England, with the subsidiary titles of Earl of Dumbarton in Scotland and Baron Kilkeel in Northern Ireland; Meghan Markle thereby became the first Duchess of Sussex. In 2019, an heir to the dukedom and the other titles, Prince Archie of Sussex, was born.
Dukes of Sussex
1801 creation
Duke Portrait Birth Marriage(s) Death Arms Prince Augustus FrederickHouse of Hanover1801–1843 27 January 1773Buckingham House, Londonson of King George IIIand Queen Charlotte 4 April 1793Lady Augusta Murray2 children2 May 1831Lady Cecilia UnderwoodNo children 21 April 1843Kensington Palace, Londonaged 70Prince Augustus's first marriage to Lady Augusta Murray produced two children. However, due to the Royal Marriages Act 1772,the marriage was invalid (he had not asked for his father's approval to marry) and his children were thus illegitimateand could not succeed to his titles; so, accordingly, all his titles became extinct on his death.
2018 creation
Duke Portrait Birth Marriage(s) Death Arms Prince HarryHouse of Windsor2018–presentalso: Earl of Dumbartonand Baron Kilkeel (2018) 15 September 1984St Mary's Hospital, Londonson of King Charles IIIand Diana, Princess of Wales 19 May 2018Meghan Markle2 children Living (age )
Line of succession
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex (born 1984) (1) Prince Archie of Sussex (born 2019)
Family trees
See also Earl of Sussex
References