Duke of Cambridge

This article is about the title. For the current holder of the title, see Prince William, Duke of Cambridge.

Prince William and his wife Catherine, the present Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

Duke of Cambridge is a title (named after the city of Cambridge in England) which has been conferred upon members of the British royal family several times. It was first used as a designation for Charles Stuart (1660–1661), the eldest son of James, Duke of York (later James II), though he was never formally created Duke of Cambridge. The title was most recently bestowed upon Prince William on 29 April 2011.

History

The first officially recognised creation was in the Peerage of England in 1664, when James Stuart, son of the Duke of York by his first wife, was granted the title. James, Duke of Cambridge died young and without heirs, and the title became extinct. The title was next granted to Edgar Stuart, another son of the Duke of York by his first wife. Edgar also died young and the title again became extinct.

The Duke of York's eldest son by his second wife, Charles Stuart (1677), was also styled Duke of Cambridge, but died approximately a month old, not having lived long enough to be formally created.

The dukedom was next granted to George Augustus, son of George Louis, Hereditary Prince of Hanover and Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, who would later become George I of Great Britain. When George Augustus ascended to the throne as George II, the dukedom merged into the crown. The title was next given, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, to Prince Adolphus, the seventh son of George III. Upon the death in 1904 of his only son, Prince George, 2nd Duke of Cambridge, without a legitimate heir, the title became extinct.

The first Duke's grandson (through a female line), Adolphus, Duke of Teck, who was the brother of Mary of Teck, George V's wife, was created Marquess of Cambridge in 1917 when he gave up his German titles and took the surname "Cambridge". Upon the death of the second Marquess without any male heirs, the marquessate became extinct.

During the period leading up to the 1999 wedding of The Prince Edward, the youngest son of Elizabeth II, experts speculated the dukedom of Cambridge or Sussex as the most likely to be granted to him, and The Sunday Telegraph 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 that he would eventually succeed his father as Duke of Edinburgh.

On 29 April 2011, the day of his wedding, Prince William was created Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Strathearn and Baron Carrickfergus.

Dukes of Cambridge

Styled (1660)

Duke	Portrait	Birth	Marriages	Death
Charles Stuart House of Stuart 1660–1661	no portrait	22 October 1660 Worcester House, London son of James, Duke of York and Anne Hyde	not married	5 May 1661 Whitehall Palace, London

First creation (1664)

Duke	Portrait	Birth	Marriages	Death
James Stuart House of Stuart 1664–1667 also: Earl of Cambridge, Baron of Dauntsey (1664–1667)		12 July 1663 St James's Palace, London son of James, Duke of York and Anne Hyde	not married	20 June 1667 Richmond Palace, London

Second creation (1667)

Duke	Portrait	Birth	Marriages	Death
Edgar Stuart House of Stuart 1667–1671 also: Earl of Cambridge, Baron of Dauntsey (1667–1671)	no portrait	14 September 1667 St James's Palace, London son of James, Duke of York and Anne Hyde	not married	8 June 1671 Richmond Palace, London

Styled (1677)

Duke	Portrait	Birth	Marriages	Death
Charles Stuart House of Stuart 1677–1677	no portrait	7 November 1677 St James's Palace, London son of James, Duke of York and Princess Mary of Modena	not married	12 December 1677 St James's Palace, London

Third creation (1706)

Duke	Portrait	Birth	Marriages	Death
Prince George Augustus House of Hanover 1706–1727 also: Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay (1714–1727)		30 October / 9 November 1683 Herrenhausen Palace or Leine Palace, Hanover son of George Louis, Prince-Elector, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Sophia Dorothea of Celle	22 August 1705 Caroline of Ansbach	25 October 1760 Kensington Palace, London
Prince George succeeded as George II in 1727 upon his father's death, and his titles merged with the crown.

Fourth creation (1801)

Duke	Portrait	Birth	Marriages	Death
The Prince Adolphus House of Hanover 1801–1850 also: Earl of Tipperary, Baron Culloden (1801–1850)		24 February 1774 Buckingham Palace, Westminster son of George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz	18 June 1818 Princess Augusta of Hesse-Cassel	8 July 1850 Cambridge House, Piccadilly
Prince George House of Hanover 1850–1904 also: Earl of Tipperary, Baron Culloden (1850–1904)		26 March 1819 Cambridge House, Hanover son of Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge and Princess Augusta of Hesse-Cassel	8 January 1847 Sarah Fairbrother	17 March 1904 Gloucester House, Piccadilly

Fifth creation (2011)

Duke	Portrait	Birth	Marriages	Death
Prince William House of Windsor 2011–present also: Earl of Strathearn, Baron Carrickfergus (2011–present)		21 June 1982 St. Mary's Hospital son of Charles, Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer	29 April 2011 Catherine Middleton

Marquesses of Cambridge (1917)

• Adolphus Cambridge, 1st Marquess of Cambridge (1868–1927), son of a daughter of Prince Adolphus, was created Marquess when George V relinquished his family's German titles
• George Francis Hugh Cambridge, 2nd Marquess of Cambridge (1895–1981), only son of the 1st Marquess, died without male issue when his honours became extinct

See also

• Duke of Cambridge's Personal Canadian Flag