Are Duchesses an endangered Species?

What is a duchess? The title has been part of Britain’s heritage for centuries. Yet until Catherine Middleton became the Duchess of Cambridge in 2011, it had come to evoke mixed images. To some it suggested the grandeur of stately homes they love to visit; to others it called to mind a harridan like the grotesque duchess in Lewis Carroll’s Alice In Wonderland, which satirised the Victorian upper classes. ‘Duchess’ was also used to describe someone who considered herself above her social station. Above all, it felt like an aged title whose shelf life had expired.

But giving an old title to someone as young as Catherine has made it topical, even desirable, once again. With her glossy hair and common touch, she has not only breathed new life into the British monarchy, but she may have caused the modern Brit to look afresh at an endangered species – the non-royal duchess.

Catherine is a royal duchess through her marriage to the Queen’s grandson, a royal duke. The sovereign has always had the power to create dukedoms for members of the Royal Family. The highest-ranking duke is always royal and always the heir apparent, inheriting the title of Duke of Cornwall. First created in 1337 by Edward III for his son, the Black Prince, the title is held today by Prince Charles.

But over the centuries monarchs have also created dukedoms for noblemen outside the Royal Family, nonroyal dukedoms – the highest accolade of them all – as recognition of devoted service. There are those who hold much older dignities bestowed by a monarch, such as earls and barons. However, that of duke has been granted the least often, so there have always been very few of them.

For the would-be duchess, finding a potential royal duke is undoubtedly the ultimate prize, although rarer than finding pearls in oysters. But at least royal dukes will probably continue to be created. By contrast, the young woman who thinks she has a better chance of fi nding the heir to a non-royal dukedom should be aware that the future for non-royal dukes, and therefore their duchesses, is not bright. Today, only 24 non-royal dukes remain, and for reasons of death or divorce, even fewer duchesses.

Seniority of these non-royal dukes and their duchesses depends on when the dukedom was created within England, Scotland, Great Britain, Ireland or the United Kingdom. The oldest dukedom is Norfolk, conferred by Richard III upon John Howard in 1483, followed by Somerset; the first duke in 1547 was Edward Seymour, brother of Jane and Lord Protector of England to her son, Edward VI. The Howards are Catholic; the Duke of Somerset is therefore the most senior Protestant duke, making his duchess the second most senior duchess, although she herself is Catholic.


Unlike royal dukedoms, non-royal dukedoms are more likely to die out than be created. And history has shown how rare it is for a duchess to be created in her own right: mostly the position can be achieved only by marriage. In Britain today, there are more than 800 peers holding hereditary titles, of which the non-royal dukes represent a tiny proportion. The greatest number to exist at one time is 40, at the end of George I’s reign in 1727. By 1930, there were 31. No non-royal dukedoms have been created since Queen Victoria created Fife in 1900. An offer was made by Queen Elizabeth to Winston Churchill when he retired as prime minister in 1955. He declined because he wanted to spend his last years in the House of Commons, and the Parliament Act 1911 would have made this impossible if he had been a duke.

When the royal Duchess of Cambridge was pregnant with her first child, the rules of succession to the throne were changed to enable a female to inherit. For non-royal duchesses, equality still has some way to go. Like all hereditary titles, that of duke is granted with a ‘remainder’, or instructions as to whom the title must pass to – usually a male – when the original holder dies. The most recent dukedom to become extinct was Portland in 1990, when the 9th Duke died without the necessary heir. Today the pressure on non-royal duchesses to produce an heir is as great as it was centuries ago.

Protests from families threatened by the absence of male heirs led to Lord Lucas, in May 2013, introducing his Equality (Titles) Bill – known as the Downton Abbey Bill after that programme’s storyline – to the House of Lords. Broadly speaking, it would allow women to inherit under certain conditions. Lord Trefgarne proposes another bill, but for now, inequality remains.


But is there any clout left in the title? For centuries, all hereditary peers enjoyed huge power and privilege. They could sit in the House of Lords; they could commit crimes and incur huge debts without fear of punishment. Five dukes were prime minister. But from the late 19th century, steps were taken to remove the power of the ruling classes. In 1999, reforms by the Labour Party removed the automatic right of hereditary peers to sit in the House of Lords. Only 92 remain, of which 75 must be elected from their party or group, and of the total only two are dukes: Norfolk, in his capacity as Earl Marshal of England, and Montrose. Their duchesses remain the only ones entitled to attend the State Opening of Parliament. And although several dukes are among the wealthiest people in Britain, others no longer enjoy the great riches of the past.

But they still occupy a prime position on the aristocratic tree, just one branch down from royalty. Unlike their royal counterparts, the duchesses are generally untroubled by uninvited media interest. Most duchesses seldom speak publicly, and rarely speak about personal matters. This is how the misconceptions mount. Before the titles by which they are identifi ed become no more than a quaint reminder of Britain’s past, it is time to discover this exotic and increasingly rare species.

Duchesses: Living In 21st Century Britain, by Jane Dismore, is published by Blink Publishing, priced £20.