The

Toby and Duchess. Portrait by Steven Ashmore 124 S&P DECEMBER/JANUARY 2015 Duchess When Kate Middleton became Duchess of Cambridge she made an old title modernagain and caused people to look afresh at adying breed: the non-royal duchess.Author JANE DISMORE tracks down some remaining membersofthatendangered species to examine the role of non-royal duchesses in the 21st centurywhen privilege is not apopular concept

Diaries DECEMBER/JANUARY 2015 S&P 125 he Houses of the became DukeofCambridge,Catherine his Duchess, and thereis hosted twospecial visitorswhen no reason to suppose the practice will not continue. the 9th DukeofLeinster returned Giving the title of‘duchess’ to someone as young and modernas to his ancestral seatwith his Kate wastomakeitfresh, even desirable again.With her glossy Duchess in 2011. House, hair and common touch, she not onlybreathed newlife into originallycalled KildareHouse, the British monarchy,she renewedawareness of Britain’sother wasbuilt by the ’sancestor, duchesses, the non-royals.For non-royal dukedoms the future James FitzGerald, around 1747 is not bright.Theyare dukedoms created by monarchs over the T when he was20th of Kildare. centuries for noblemen outside the royalfamily, for exemplary After centuries of the personal service.Ofall non-royal titles, these were the highest running Ireland on behalf of ’smonarchs, in 1766 James accolade,sotherewerealwaysveryfew of them. The greatest waselevated to 1st DukeofLeinster by George III, making him number to exist at one time was40, at the end of George I’s the Premier Duke, Marquess and Earl in the of Ireland. reign in 1727. By 1930 thatnumber wasdownto31and now As well as the renamed ,the familyenjoyed 24. medievalKilkea Castle and in . So who arethe rarenon-royal duchesses today? Manynever Time changes things, of course.When Edward FitzGerald, rebel speak publically, and if theydo, it is rarelyabout personal son of James and his Duchess Emily, died in 1798 in the fight matters. Of the ten who featureinmybook, some areknown by for aRepublic,hecould neverhavedreamed thatone dayhis the statelyhomes theystill occupyand whichvisitorsfromall family’shome would house the Irish Parliament. But although over the world enjoy—whichisfortunate because,given their the property and powerofthe of Leinster have long gone, cripplinglyexpensiveupkeep,suchhouses rely increasinglyon today’stitle holders, Maurice and Fiona FitzGerald, remain part the fascination of the world with Britain’sheritage.

The Duchess of St.Albans, whose dukeisadescendant of Charles II and his mistress, Nell Gwyn, says thatsons can be “a disappointment”, while women can be “so responsible” of ararespecies: the non-royal dukeand duchess. Thereisthe Duchess of Northumberland at AlnwickCastle, The recent deaths of Debo,the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire, popularlyknown these days as alocation for the Harry Potter and the 11th DukeofMarlborough, serve as areminder of films; the Duchess of Bedford at Woburn Abbey, with its this increasingly-endangered species.Their ancestral seats much-lovedSafariPark; Rutland at Belvoir Castle,Buccleuch —ChatsworthHouse in Derbyshireand Blenheim Palace, at Boughton House,Northamptonshire; in , Argyll Oxfordshire—are among Britain’sbest-known statelyhomes. at InverarayCastle.LikeLeinster,not all the duchesses still Yetofover800 hereditarytitles in Britain today, thereare only enjoysuchhouses.Those who do work phenomenallyhard in 24 non-royal dukes and, for reasons of death or divorce,fewer maintaining them; those who do not arefullyinvolved with duchesses. other commitments, especiallycharities.The duchesses differ The non-royal dukes sit with their duchesses just one branch greatlyinage,background and circumstances.However,they down from royalty on the aristocratic tree.Thereare those who have in common apride in being married into families which hold much older titles, suchasearls and barons, butdukes are helped shape Britain’shistory. the onlyones entitled to be addressed by the monarchas“right eforethe titles by whichtheyare identified become trusty and entirelybelovedcousins”. To everyone else theyare no morethan aquaint reminder of Britain’spast, it “Your Grace”. seemed right to record them, for it is unlikelythat The highest-ranking dukeisalwaysroyal and always the heir B anymorenon-royal dukedoms will be created.The apparent: the sovereign’seldest son, who inherits the title of last wasFife,created by QueenVictoria for the Earl DukeofCornwall.Thatwas the first English dukedom, created of Fife,twice: first in 1889, when he married her granddaughter, in 1337 by Edward III for his eldest son, the BlackPrince.Today’s Princess Louise,eldest daughter of the Prince and Princess of holder is Prince Charles, who is also the DukeofRothesay, the Wales.When it looked as though therewould be no male heir to secondarytitle of the sovereign’sheir apparent in Scotland. continue the dukedom,Victoria created the title again in 1900, The latest ducal title to be conveyedbythe Queen to amember allowing the dukedom to pass to Fife’sdaughtersindefault of a of her familywas in 2011, when her grandson Prince William son, and then to the male heirsofthose daughters.

126 S&P DECEMBER/JANUARY 2015 Generally, though, historyhas shown howrareitisfor aduchess and between 1834 and 1858 she had fourteen children. James’s to inherit in her ownright. Usuallythe title is achievedonly appointments meant he and Louisa spent much time in Ireland. by marriage,although in Scotland slightlymorewomen have In 1844 he wasappointed Lord Lieutenant of Donegal, apost held the title themselves.Theyinclude Anne,3rd Duchess of he held until his death, and in 1866 became Lord Lieutenant of Hamilton, who at 19 inherited the title from her uncle during Ireland.With their younger children, the youngest of whom was the Civil War; and Alexandra, Duchess of Fife,onthe death of eight, theymoved to , living for most of the year in the her father the 1st Duke, in 1912. Viceregal Lodge,Phoenix Park (nowÁras an Uachtaráin), and he Queen offered adukedom to Winston from JanuarytoMarchatDublin Castle. Churchill after he retired as Prime Minister in It wasadifficult period. However, recognised 1955, butafter giving it careful consideration he the efforts of her Lord Lieutenant and in 1868 made James 1st Tdeclined, as the Parliament Act 1911 would have DukeofAbercorn. Even though four of their children did not prevented his spending his last days in the House survive, when the widowedDuchess died in 1905, age 92, she of Commons as he wanted to do. left 169 direct living descendants.Among them were twodukes Today’snon-royal dukedoms aremorelikelytodie out than be and twofuturedukes, and twoofher daughtersmarried dukes. created.The (royal) Duchess of Cambridge mayhavecaused the Even Princes William and Harry areconnected to her.The rules of succession to the throne to be changed to allowagirl Duchess is known as the ‘Golden Link’ thatconnected around to inherit, butthe non-royal duchesses arestill subject to the 50 families in the , and at least twooftoday’s same pressureastheywerecenturies ago: to produce amale dukedoms continue from her. heir.The title of duke, likeall hereditarytitles, is granted with The 1st Duke’sancestorshad owned land in Ireland since 1610, a‘remainder’, or instructions as to whom the title must pass — when, as partofthe Plantation, theyweregranted land in Co. usuallyamale.The most recent non-royal dukedom to become Tyrone,including the estate of . Today, another

As females cannot inherit titles in most cases, it means thatsome have either died out or passed to adistant relative. Sometimes that person has had little or no interest extinct wasPortland in 1990, with the death of the 9th Duke; James Hamilton, the 5th Duke—the onlynobleman to hold his onlyson had predeceased him. (However, the title Earl titles in the of Ireland, Scotland and GreatBritain — of Portland continues and is currentlyheld by actor Timothy still lives therewith his wife.In2006 Sacha Abercornreceived Bentnick, the 12th Earl, who plays David Archer in BBC Radio the Princess Grace Humanitarian Award of the Ireland Fund of 4’sdrama series, The Archers.) Monaco for her work on trauma following the Omagh bombing. One of the duchesses who agreed to be interviewedhad This wasfollowedin2008 by the OBE for her work with three daughtersbeforethe requisite ‘heir and aspare’. She the Pushkin Trust, whichshe founded to help children in the wasdelighted with her bundles of joy—onlytoreceive Republic and in NorthernIreland. As farasher ownchildren commiserations from ‘well-wishers’ advising her on howto areconcerned, today’sDuchess has been moremoderate than have aboy.The late 9th DukeofBuccleuch, on hearing thathis her predecessor,with twosons and adaughter.Continuity is daughter-in-law, the futureduchess, had had agirl, immediately assured, at least for now. cancelled the planned celebrations.Another duchess wastold by sfemales cannot inherit titles in most cases, it the familyhistorian at the startofher marriage thatitwas down means thatsome have either died out or passed to her to ensurethe continuation of the dukedom, as therewere to adistant relative. Sometimes thatperson has no moremales. A had little or no interest and, as property usually Eachoftoday’sduchesses in the book also chooses afavourite passes with atitle,the situation has seen estates predecessor in the role.Some duchesses did morethan their neglected or sold out of the familyforever.Protests from families fair sharetoensurecontinuation of the dukedom. The first threatened by the absence of male heirs, despite having willing Duchess of , chosen by today’sDuchess, is aprime and capable daughters, has led to newlawsbeing proposed. In example.In1832 LadyLouisa Jane Russell was20when she May2013, Lord Lucas introduced his Equalities (Titles) Bill — married Scottish-bornJames Hamilton, then 2nd Marquess of known as the Downton AbbeyBill because of thatprogramme’s Abercorn. Louisa waspartofthe earlyevangelical movement storyline —tothe .However,the Bill has not in England thatbelievedlarge families were pleasing to God, progressed since December 2013. Since then, the Succession to

DECEMBER/JANUARY 2015 S&P 127 Peerages Bill 2014-15 has been introduced by Lord Trefgarne and had its first reading in June 2014.The Bill makes it possible for females to inherit under certain conditions, as well as making provision for peerages that became extinct on or after 6February1952, the date of the Queen’saccession. If this Bill becomes law, perhaps it could help not onlythe extinct Portland dukedom butalso Leeds (whichbecame extinct in 1964) and Newcastle (1988). Given the pressureonthem to produce a male heir,itmight be supposed thattoday’s duchesses would be pleased thatsuch legislation has been proposed. However, perhaps because theymanaged to fulfil the expectations upon them, some of those duchesses who featureare surprisingly against the idea of females inheriting.Fear of losing the familyname upon adaughter’s marriage is one reason. Unwanted pressure on daughtersisanother.The Duchess of Rutland says she thinks her eldest daughter would not want the responsibility of running the vast Belvoir estate.Fromafarming background herself, and having brothers, she neverexpected to inherit the family farm. Thatisthe wayfarming goes, she says; boys need alivelihood. However, her eldest son would have to ‘cut his teeth’ elsewherefirst and provehewas capable of running the estate,aviewthatsome other duchesses expressed about their heir.Onthe other hand, the Duchess of St. Albans, whose dukeisadescendant of Charles II and his mistress, Nell Gwyn, says thatsons can be “a disappointment”, while women can be “so responsible”. One thing is certain. At present, Britain’s non-royal dukes and their duchesses arean endangered species.Itistime to discover who theyare.

Duchesses: Living in 21st Century Britain,by Jane Dismore, is published by Blink Publishing, £16.59, Amazon.co.uk

128 S&P DECEMBER/JANUARY 2015 FACING PAGE: Topleft: Interior of Barons Court, home of the Duchess of Abercorn Topright: Interior of Luton Hoo estate in Bedfordshire Bottom: The Duchess of Bedford and her family THIS PAGE: Topleft: The Duchess of Somerset Topcentre: The Duke and Duchess of Abercorn Topright: Duchess of St. Albans’ lounge Bottom left: Inveraray Castle, ancestral home of the Bottom right: The Duchess of Rutland

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