In the British peerage, a royal duke is a member of the British royal family, entitled to the titular dignity of prince and the style of His Royal Highness, who holds a dukedom. Dukedoms are the highest titles in the British roll of peerage, and the holders of these particular dukedoms are princes of the blood royal. The holders of the dukedoms are royal, not the titles themselves. They are titles created and bestowed on legitimate sons and male-line grandsons of the British monarch, usually upon reaching their majority or marriage. The titles can be inherited but cease to be called "royal" once they pass beyond the grandsons of a monarch. As with any peerage, once the title becomes extinct, it may subsequently be recreated by the reigning monarch at any time.
Royal status of dukedoms In the United Kingdom, there is nothing intrinsic to any dukedom that makes it "royal". Rather, these peerages are called royal dukedoms because they are created for, and held by, members of the royal family who are entitled to the titular dignity of prince and the style Royal Highness. Although the term "royal duke", therefore, has no official meaning per se, the category "Duke of the Blood Royal" was acknowledged as a rank conferring special precedence at court in the unrevoked 20th clause of the Lord Chamberlain's order of 1520. This decree accorded precedence to any peer related by blood to the sovereign above all others of the same degree within the peerage. The order did not apply within Parliament, nor did it grant precedence above the archbishop of Canterbury or other Great Officers of State such as is now enjoyed by royal dukes. But it placed junior "Dukes of the Blood Royal" above the most senior non-royal duke, junior "Earls of the Blood Royal" above the most senior non-royal earl (cf. Earldom of Wessex), etc. It did not matter how distantly related to the monarch the peers might be (presumably they ranked among each other in order of succession to the Crown). Although the 1520 order is theoretically still in effect, in fact the "Blood Royal" clause seems to have fallen into desuetude by 1917 when King George V limited the style of Royal Highness to children and male-line grandchildren of the sovereign. Thus peers of the blood royal who are neither sons nor grandsons of a sovereign are no longer accorded precedence above other peers. While royal dukes were summoned to the House of Lords, like other dukes until 1999, by the 20th-century they seldom appeared and by convention did not participate.
When the present Duke of Gloucester and Duke of Kent are succeeded by their heirs (currently Alexander Windsor, Earl of Ulster and George Windsor, Earl of St Andrews, respectively) their peerages (as created in 1928 and 1934) will cease to be royal dukedoms; instead their holders will become "ordinary" dukes.Eilers, Marlene. Queen Victoria's Descendants. Rosvall Royal Books, Falkoping, Sweden, 1997. p. 45. The third dukes of Gloucester and Kent will each be styled His Grace because, as great-grandsons of King George V (or more distant relations, if the present Dukes outlive their sons), they are not princes and are not styled HRH. Similarly, upon the 1942 death of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn (son of Queen Victoria), his only male-line grandson, Alastair, Earl of Macduff, succeeded to his peerages and was styled His Grace. Before the 1917 changes, his style had been His Highness Prince Alastair of Connaught.
Current royal dukedoms The current royal dukedoms, in order of precedence, are:
DukedomHolderYear createdSubsidiary titlesDuke of CornwallWilliam, Prince of Wales1337NoneDuke of Rothesay1398Earl of CarrickBaron of RenfrewLord of the IslesPrince and Great Steward of ScotlandDuke of Cambridge2011Earl of StrathearnBaron CarrickfergusDuke of SussexPrince Harry2018Earl of DumbartonBaron KilkeelDuke of EdinburghPrince Edward2023Earl of WessexEarl of ForfarViscount SevernDuke of GloucesterPrince Richard1928Earl of UlsterBaron CullodenDuke of KentPrince Edward1934Earl of St AndrewsBaron Downpatrick The Dukedoms of Cambridge, Sussex, Gloucester, and Kent are hereditary according to the letters patent that created them. Those patents contain the standard remainder to "heirs male of his body". However, if Prince William outlives his father and becomes King, the Dukedom of Cambridge will merge with the crown at that time and not be inherited by his son.
The Dukedom of Edinburgh is a life peerage and will become extinct on the death of the current Duke.
Duke of Cornwall is a title automatically held by the Sovereign's eldest son in England. In addition to the dukedom of Cornwall, a peerage, the holder also enjoys a life interest in the Duchy of Cornwall. Duke of Rothesay is a title automatically held by the Sovereign's heir apparent in Scotland, who is properly called "HRH The Prince William, Duke of Rothesay" (rather than "HRH The Prince of Wales") in Scotland.
By law the British monarch also holds, and is entitled to the revenues of, the Duchy of Lancaster. Within the borders of the County Palatine of Lancashire, therefore, the monarch is hailed as "The King/Queen, The Duke of Lancaster" (even when the monarch is a queen regnant, by tradition she does not use the title Duchess). However, legally the monarch is not the Duke of Lancaster: peerages are in origin held feudally of the sovereign who, as the fount of honour, cannot hold a peerage of him- or herself. The situation is similar in the Channel Islands, where the monarch is addressed as Duke of Normandy (even when the monarch is a queen regnant, she does not use the title Duchess), but only in accordance with tradition. He or she does not hold the legal title of Duke of Normandy.
Former royal dukedoms The following is a list of dukedoms previously created for members of the royal family, but which have subsequently merged in the crown, become extinct or have otherwise ceased to be royal dukedoms.
Extinct dukedoms
TitleStatusNotesDuke of AlbemarleDeprived in 1399Non-royal dukedom created in 1660 (extinct 1688);non-royal Earldom of Albemarle (created 1697) is extantDuke of ClarenceForfeit in 1478Earldom of Clarence (created 1881) is a subsidiary title of the suspended Dukedom of AlbanyDuke of Clarence and AvondaleExtinct in 1892Duke of Clarence and St AndrewsMerged in the crown in 1830Earldom of St Andrews (created 1934) is a subsidiary title of the extant Dukedom of KentDuke of Connaught and StrathearnExtinct in 1943Earldom of Strathearn (created 2011) is a subsidiary title of the extant Dukedom of CambridgeDuke of CumberlandExtinct in 1765Duke of Cumberland and StrathearnExtinct in 1790Duke of Gloucester and EdinburghExtinct in 1834Separate Dukedoms of Gloucester and Edinburgh are extant.Duke of HerefordMerged in the crown in 1399Non-royal Viscountcy of Hereford (created 1550) is extantDuke of KendalExtinct in 1667Non-royal dukedom created in 1719 (extinct 1743).Duke of Kent and StrathearnExtinct in 1820Earldom of Strathearn (created 2011) is a subsidiary title of the extant Dukedom of Cambridge.Duke of Kintyre and LorneExtinct in 1602Non-royal Marquessate of Kintyre and Lorne (created 1701) is a subsidiary title of the extant Dukedom of ArgyllDuke of RossExtinct in 1515Duke of WindsorExtinct in 1972Created for King Edward VIII after his abdication.Non-royal Barony (created 1529) and Viscountcy of Windsor (created 1905) are subsidiary titles of the extant Earldom of Plymouth.Non-royal Earldom of Windsor (created 1796) is a subsidiary title of the extant Marquessate of Bute.Duke of York and AlbanyExtinct in 1827
Suspended dukedoms Under the Titles Deprivation Act 1917 the holders of the following dukedoms, who were simultaneously British princes and members of royal and princely families of Germany, were deprived of their British titles, having sided with Germany during the First World War. The Act provides that a successor of a person thus deprived of a peerage can petition the Crown for revival of the title. No such descendant has done so.
TitleCreatedDeprived holderCurrent claimantDuke of Albany1881Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and GothaPrince Hubertus of Saxe Coburg and GothaDuke of Cumberland and Teviotdale1799Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of HanoverPrince Ernst August of Hanover
It was announced on 30 October 2025 that King Charles III had begun a "formal process" to remove Prince Andrew's style, titles, and honours. His name was subsequently removed from the Roll of the Peerage. Removal from the Roll of the Peerage prohibits formal use of the title, but the title remains extant, but not in use.
TitleCreatedDeprived holderDuke of York1986Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor
Royal dukedoms created since 1726
Coat of armsTitlePrinceDate createdNotesReign of King George IDuke of EdinburghPrince Frederick15 July 1726Created Prince of Wales in 1729Merged with the Crown in 1760Duke of CumberlandPrince William15 July 1726Extinct in 1765Reign of King George IIDuke of York and AlbanyPrince Edward1 April 1760Extinct in 1767Reign of King George IIIDuke of Gloucester and EdinburghPrince William Henry17 November 1764Extinct in 1834Duke of Cumberland and StrathearnPrince Henry22 October 1766Extinct in 1790Duke of York and AlbanyPrince Frederick27 November 1784Extinct in 1827Duke of Clarence and St AndrewsPrince William19 May 1789Merged with the Crown in 1830Duke of Kent and StrathearnPrince Edward23 April 1799Extinct in 1820Duke of Cumberland and TeviotdalePrince Ernest AugustusDeprived in 1919Duke of SussexPrince Augustus Frederick24 November 1801Extinct in 1843Duke of CambridgePrince AdolphusExtinct in 1904Reign of Queen VictoriaDuke of EdinburghPrince Alfred24 May 1866Extinct in 1900Duke of Connaught and StrathearnPrince Arthur24 May 1874Extinct in 1943Duke of AlbanyPrince Leopold24 May 1881Deprived in 1919Duke of Clarence and AvondalePrince Albert Victor24 May 1890Extinct in 1892Duke of YorkPrince George24 May 1892Created Prince of Wales in 1901Merged with the Crown in 1910Reign of King George VDuke of YorkPrince Albert3 June 1920Merged with the Crown in 1936Duke of GloucesterPrince Henry30 March 1928ExtantDuke of KentPrince George9 October 1934ExtantReign of King George VIDuke of WindsorPrince Edward8 March 1937Extinct in 1972Duke of EdinburghPrince Philip20 November 1947Merged with the Crown in 2022 Reign of Queen Elizabeth IIDuke of YorkPrince Andrew23 July 1986Extant, not in useDuke of CambridgePrince William29 April 2011Created Prince of Wales in 2022ExtantDuke of SussexPrince Henry (Harry)19 May 2018Prince Harry and Ms. Meghan Markle: Announcement of Titles, 19 May 2018ExtantReign of King Charles IIIDuke of EdinburghPrince Edward10 March 2023Extant
Forms of address Address: His/Her Royal Highness The Duke/Duchess of (X) Speak to as: Your Royal Highness After: Sir/Madam
Coronet While non-royal dukes are entitled to a coronet of eight strawberry leaves, to bear at a coronation and on his coat of arms, royal dukes are entitled to princely coronets (four cross pattées alternating with four strawberry leaves). The coronets of the royal family are dictated by letters patent. The Dukes of Sussex, of York and of Edinburgh bear by letters patent the coronet of a child of the sovereign (four crosses patées alternating with four fleurs-de-lis), while the Duke of Cornwall, Rothesay and Cambridge has use of the Prince of Wales' coronet, and the current dukes of Gloucester and of Kent, as grandsons of a sovereign bear the corresponding coronet of a royal duke.
At coronations, apart from the differentiation of princely coronets from ducal coronets, a royal duke is also entitled to six rows of ermine spots on his mantle, as opposed to the four rows borne by an "ordinary" duke.
Family tree
See also Substantive title Dukes in the United Kingdom List of dukedoms in the peerages of Britain and Ireland List of dukes in the peerages of Britain and Ireland Duchies in England List of peerages created for British princes