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Duke of Gloucester

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Dukedom of Gloucester
ArmsofPrince Richard, Duke of Gloucester
Creation date	31 March 1928
Creation	Fifth
Created by	George V
Peerage	Peerage of the United Kingdom
First holder	Thomas of Woodstock
Present holder	Prince Richard
Heir apparent	Alexander Windsor, Earl of Ulster
Remainder to	the 1st Duke's heirs male of the body lawfully begotten
Subsidiary titles	Earl of Ulster Baron Culloden
Status	Extant
Former seat(s)	Barnwell Manor

Duke of Gloucester (/ˈɡlɒstər/ ^ⓘ GLOST-ər) is a British royal title (after Gloucester), often conferred on one of the sons of the reigning monarch. The first four creations were in the Peerage of England and the last in the Peerage of the United Kingdom; the current creation carries with it the subsidiary titles of Earl of Ulster and Baron Culloden.

The title was first conferred on Thomas of Woodstock, the thirteenth child of King Edward III. The title became extinct at his death, as it did upon the death of the duke of the second creation, Humphrey of Lancaster, fourth son of King Henry IV.

The title was next conferred on Richard, brother to King Edward IV. When Richard himself became king, the dukedom merged into the crown. After Richard's death, the title was considered ominous, since the first three such dukes had all died without issue to inherit their titles. The title was not awarded for over 150 years: the next to receive the dukedom was the son of King Charles I, Henry Stuart, upon whose death the title again became extinct.

Prince William, son of the future Queen Anne, was styled "Duke of Gloucester" for his whole life (1689–1700), but was never formally created duke. Frederick, Prince of Wales, was styled "Duke of Gloucester" from 1718–1726, but was then created Duke of Edinburgh rather than of Gloucester.

There was next a creation of a double dukedom (not two dukedoms) for the brother of King George III, Prince William Henry, his proper title becoming "Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh".

The fifth and most recent creation was for Prince Henry, third son of King George V, styled as His Royal Highness The Duke of Gloucester. Upon Prince Henry's death, the dukedom was inherited by his only surviving son Prince Richard, who still holds the title. The heir-apparent to the title is Alexander Windsor, styled Earl of Ulster. The next in the line of succession is the Earl of Ulster's son Xan Windsor, known by his grandfather's third title of Lord Culloden. The royal dukedom will devolve into an ordinary one when inherited by Alexander Windsor; as a great-grandson of a sovereign he is not entitled to royal style, and will be styled as His Grace The Duke of Gloucester.

Dukes of Gloucester[edit]

First creation, 1385–1397[edit]

Duke	Portrait	Birth	Marriage(s)	Death
Thomas of Woodstock House of Plantagenet 1385–1397 also: Duke of Aumale (1385–1397), Earl of Essex (1376–1397), Earl of Buckingham (1377)		7 January 1355 Woodstock Palace son of Edward III of England and Queen Philippa	Eleanor de Bohun 1376 5 children	8 September 1397 Calais aged 42
Thomas of Woodstock's son died two years after his father, but never succeeded to his titles except that of Earl of Buckingham. At the time of Thomas's death, he was regarded as a traitor and thus his titles were forfeit after his murder (except Earl of Buckingham). His son had no issue and his male line died out in 1399.

Second creation, 1414–1447[edit]

Duke	Portrait	Birth	Marriage(s)	Death
Humphrey of Lancaster House of Lancaster 1414–1447 also: Earl of Pembroke (1414)		3 October 1390 Lancaster Castle son of Henry IV of England and Mary de Bohun	Jacqueline, Countess of Hainaut 1422–1428 (annulled) 1 child (stillborn) Eleanor de Cobham 1428–1441 (annulled) 2 children	23 February 1447 Bury St Edmunds aged 56
Before marrying Humphrey, Eleanor de Cobham was his mistress. At the time of Humphrey's 1447 death, he had two children, Arthur and Antigone. However, both children were born before his marriage to Eleanor and were thus illegitimate and could not succeed to his titles; so, accordingly, all his titles became extinct on his death.

Third creation, 1461[edit]

Duke	Portrait	Birth	Marriage(s)	Death
Richard Plantagenet House of York 1461–1483		2 October 1452 Fotheringhay Castle, Oundle son of Richard, Duke of York and Cecily Neville	Anne Neville 1472–1485 (her death) 1 child	22 August 1485 Bosworth Field aged 32
Richard succeeded as Richard III in 1483 upon his nephew's disappearance, and his titles merged with the crown.

Fourth creation, 1659[edit]

Duke	Portrait	Birth	Marriage(s)	Death
Henry Stuart House of Stuart 1659–1660 also: Earl of Cambridge (1659)		8 July 1640 Oatlands Palace, Oatlands son of King Charles I and Queen Henrietta Maria	Never married	18 September 1660 Whitehall, London aged 20
Henry Stuart had no children and all his titles became extinct on his death.

Only styled, 1689[edit]

Duke	Portrait	Birth	Marriage(s)	Death
Prince William House of Oldenburg 1689–1700		24 July 1689 Hampton Court Palace, London son of Queen Anne and Prince George	Never married	30 July 1700 Windsor Castle, Windsor aged 11

Only styled, 1717[edit]

Duke	Portrait	Birth	Marriage(s)	Death
Prince Frederick House of Hanover 1717–1726		1 February 1707 Leineschloss, Hanover son of King George II and Queen Caroline	Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha 17 April 1736 9 children	31 March 1751 Leicester House, London aged 44

Prince Frederick became Duke of Edinburgh in 1726 and then Prince of Wales in 1729.

Fifth creation, 1928[edit]

Duke	Portrait	Birth	Marriage(s)	Death
Prince Henry House of Windsor 1928–1974		31 March 1900 York Cottage, Sandringham son of King George V and Queen Mary	Lady Alice Montagu Douglas Scott 6 November 1935 2 children	10 June 1974 Barnwell Manor, Barnwell aged 74
Prince Richard House of Windsor 1974–present		26 August 1944 St. Matthew's Nursing Home, Northampton son of Prince Henry and Princess Alice	Birgitte van Deurs Henriksen 8 June 1972 3 children	– now 79 years, 310 days old

Line of succession[edit]

Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester (born 1944)

• (1) Alexander Windsor, Earl of Ulster (born 1974)
  • (2) Xan Windsor, Lord Culloden (born 2007)

Arms[edit]

• 
  Arms of Thomas of Woodstock: Royal arms of England (arms of his father King Edward III) with difference a bordure argent
• 
  Arms of Humphrey of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Gloucester: Arms of King Henry IV differenced by a bordure argent
• 
  Arms of Thomas of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Clarence, second son of King Henry IV. Blason: Arms of King Henry IV a label of three points argent each charged with three ermine spots and a canton gules. Later borne by Richard, Duke of Gloucester (later King Richard III).
• 
  Coat of arms of Henry as a son of the Sovereign
• 
  Prince William's Coat of Arms
• 
  Coat of Arms of Henry, the Duke of Gloucester
• 
  Coat of Arms of Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester
• 
  Coat of arms of Alexander Windsor, Earl of Ulster, eldest son of the Duke, & heir to the Dukedom of Gloucester

Family trees[edit]

See also[edit]

• List of dukedoms by reign
• Earl of Gloucester
• Duchess of Gloucester

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• The Duke of Gloucester at the Royal Family website
• Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Gloucester, Earls and Dukes of" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 12 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 128–129.