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Duke of Sussex

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This article is about the title. For its current holder, seePrince Harry, Duke of Sussex.For the pub in London, seeDuke of Sussex, Acton Green.

Dukedom of Sussex
Creation date19 May 2018 (announced)[1]
16 July 2018 (Letters Patent)[2]
CreationSecond
Created byElizabeth II
PeeragePeerage of the United Kingdom
First holderPrince Augustus Frederick
Present holderPrince Harry
Heir apparentPrince Archie of Sussex
Remainder tothe 1st Duke'sheirs maleof the bodylawfully begotten[2]
Subsidiary titlesEarl of Dumbarton
Baron Kilkeel
StatusExtant
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex in 2017

Duke of Sussexis asubstantive title,one of severalroyal dukedomsin thePeerage of the United Kingdom.It is ahereditary titleof a specific rank of nobility in theBritish royal family.It has been created twice and takes its name from the historic county ofSussexin England.

First created in 1801, the title lapsed in 1843 but was revived when QueenElizabeth IIbestowed it on her grandsonPrince Harryon 19 May 2018 just before hismarriagetoMeghan Markle,who then became the Duchess of Sussex.

History[edit]

A title associated with Sussex first appeared with theKingdom of Sussex,an Anglo-Saxon kingdom that was annexed by theKingdom of Wessexaround 827,[3]that later became part of theKingdom of England.In charters,Sussex's monarchswere sometimes referred to asealdormen,orducesin Latin, which is sometimes translated as "dukes".

First creation, 1801[edit]

The title of Duke of Sussex was first conferred on 24 November 1801 uponPrince Augustus Frederick,[4]the sixth son ofKing George III.He was madeBaron ArklowandEarl of Invernessat 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 byLady Augusta Murray,their marriage (purportedly solemnized atSt George's Hanover Square Church,Westminster,in 1793) had been annulled for lack of royal permission under theRoyal 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 theRoyal Marriages Act 1772) toLady Cecilia GoreatGreat Cumberland Place,London. Not being the Prince's legitimate wife, Lady Cecilia could not be received at court. On 30 March 1840, she was given the title ofDuchess of Invernessin her own right byQueen Victoria.[5]

Second creation, 2018[edit]

In 2018, the dukedom of Sussex was recreated and granted toPrince Harry,the grandson of QueenElizabeth IIand great-great-great-great-great-grandnephew of the previous duke, to mark the occasion ofhis weddingtoMeghan Markleon 19 May 2018, who thereby became the first ever Duchess of Sussex.[1][6]On his wedding day, it was announced that he would become Duke of Sussex in England, with the subsidiary titles ofEarl of Dumbartonin Scotland andBaron KilkeelinNorthern Ireland.In 2019, an heir to the dukedom and the other titles,Prince Archie of Sussex,was born.

Dukes of Sussex[edit]

1801 creation[edit]

Duke Portrait Birth Marriage(s) Death
Prince Augustus Frederick
House of Hanover
1801–1843
also:Earl of InvernessandBaron Arklow(1801) 		Prince Augustus Frederick 27 January 1773
Buckingham House,London
son ofKing George IIIandQueen Charlotte 		4 April 1793
Lady Augusta Murray
2 children

2 May 1831
Lady Cecilia Underwood
No children 		21 April 1843
Kensington Palace,London
aged 70
Prince Augustus's first marriage toLady Augusta Murrayproduced two children. However, due to theRoyal Marriages Act 1772,the marriage was invalid (he had not asked for his father's approval to marry) and his children were thus illegitimate and could not succeed to his titles; so, accordingly, all his titles became extinct on his death.

2018 creation[edit]

Duke Portrait Birth Marriage(s) Death
Prince Harry
House of Windsor
2018–present
also:Earl of DumbartonandBaron Kilkeel(2018)[1] 		Prince Harry 15 September 1984
St Mary's Hospital, London
son ofKing Charles IIIandDiana, Princess of Wales 		19 May 2018
Meghan Markle
2 children 		Living

Line of succession[edit]

Family trees[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^abcPrince Harry and Ms. Meghan Markle: Announcement of Titles,The Royal Household, 19 May 2018.
  2. ^ab"No. 62358".The London Gazette.20 July 2018. p. 12928.
  3. ^Edwards, Heather (2004)."Ecgberht [Egbert] (d. 839), king of the West Saxons in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography".Oxford University Press.Retrieved22 June2014.
  4. ^"No. 15429".The London Gazette.24 November 1801. p. 1403.
  5. ^"No. 19842".The London Gazette.31 March 1840. p. 858.
  6. ^"Meghan Markle's royal title is Duchess of Sussex".The Independent.17 April 2018.Retrieved23 May2018.
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