Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of English (later British) monarchs. The equivalent title in the Scottish peerage was Duke of Albany. However, King George II and King George III granted the titles Duke of York and Albany. Initially granted in the 14th century in the Peerage of England, the title Duke of York has been created eight times. The title Duke of York and Albany has been created three times. These occurred during the 18th century, following the 1707 unification of the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland into a single, united realm. The double naming was done so that a territorial designation from each of the previously separate realms could be included. The current Duke of York is Prince Andrew, the younger brother of King Charles III. The present Duke's marriage produced two daughters, and he has remained unmarried since his 1996 divorce. As long as Prince Andrew has no legitimate male heirs, the title Duke of York will again revert to the Crown upon his death.

History

In the Middle Ages, York was the main city of the North of England and the see of the Archbishop of York from AD 735. Yorkshire is England's largest shire in area. York under its Viking name "Jorvik" was a petty kingdom in the Early Medieval period. In the interval between the fall of independent Jorvik under Eric Bloodaxe, last king of Jorvik (d. 954), and the first creation of the Dukedom of York, there were a few earls of York. The title Duke of York was first created in the Peerage of England in 1385 for Edmund of Langley. His son Edward, who inherited the title, was killed at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. The title passed to Edward's nephew Richard, the son of Richard of Conisburgh, 3rd Earl of Cambridge (who had been executed for plotting against King Henry V). The younger Richard managed to obtain a restoration of the title, but when his eldest son, who inherited the title, became king in 1461 as Edward IV, the title merged into the Crown. The title was next created for Richard of Shrewsbury, second son of King Edward IV. Richard was one of the Princes in the Tower, and, as he died without heirs, the title became extinct at his death. The third creation was for Henry Tudor, second son of King Henry VII. When his elder brother Arthur, Prince of Wales, died in 1502, Henry became heir-apparent to the throne. When Henry ultimately became King Henry VIII in 1509, his titles merged into the crown. The title was created for the fourth time for Charles Stuart, second son of James I. When his elder brother, Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, died in 1612, Charles became heir-apparent. He was created Prince of Wales in 1616 and eventually became Charles I in 1625 when the title again merged into the Crown. The fifth creation was in favour of James Stuart, the second son of Charles I. New York, its capital Albany, and New York City, were named for this particular Duke of Albany and York. In 1664, Charles II of England granted American territory between the Delaware and Connecticut rivers to his younger brother James. Following its capture by the English the former Dutch territory of New Netherland and its principal port, New Amsterdam, were named the Province and City of New York in James's honour. After the founding, the Duke gave part of the colony to proprietors George Carteret and John Berkeley. Fort Orange, 150 mi north on the Hudson River, was renamed Albany after James's Scottish title. When his elder brother, King Charles II, died without heirs, James succeeded to the throne as King James II of England and King James VII of Scotland, and the title once again merged into the Crown. During the 18th century the double dukedom of York and Albany was created a number of times in the Peerage of Great Britain. The title was first held by Duke Ernest Augustus of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Bishop of Osnabrück, the youngest brother of King George I. He died without heirs, and the title reverted to the Crown. The second creation of the double dukedom was for Prince Edward, younger brother of King George III, who also died without heirs, having never married. Again, the title reverted to the Crown. The third and last creation of the double dukedom was for Prince Frederick Augustus, the second son of King George III. He served as Commander-in-Chief of the British Army for many years, and was the original "Grand old Duke of York" in the popular rhyme. He too died without legitimate heirs, leaving the title, once again, to revert to the Crown. The sixth creation of the Dukedom of York (without being combined with Albany) was for Prince George, second son of the, then current, Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VII. He was created Duke of York following the death of his elder brother, Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale. The title merged with the Crown when George succeeded his father as King George V. The seventh creation was for Prince Albert, second son of King George V, and younger brother of the future King Edward VIII. Albert came unexpectedly to the throne when his brother abdicated, and took the name George VI, the Dukedom then merging into the Crown. The title was created for the eighth time for Prince Andrew, second son of Queen Elizabeth II. As of 2022, the only legitimate offspring are his two daughters from his marriage to Sarah, Duchess of York. Thus, if he has no future (legitimate) sons, the title will again become extinct—reverting to the Crown—upon his death. Aside from the first creation, every time the Dukedom of York has been created it has had only one occupant, that person either inheriting the throne or dying without male heirs.

Pretenders

In the late 15th Century, Perkin Warbeck unsuccessfully claimed the Crown by claiming the identity of Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York. In the early 18th century, the eldest son of the overthrown King James II & VII and thus Jacobite claimant to the throne, James Francis Edward Stuart, known to his opponents as the Old Pretender, granted the title "Duke of York" (in the Jacobite Peerage) to his own second son, Henry, using his purported authority as King James III & VIII. Henry later became a cardinal in the Catholic church and is thus known as the Cardinal Duke of York. Since James was not recognised as king by English law, the grant is also not recognised as a legitimate creation.

Dukes of York

First creation, 1385–1461

1385–1402 also: Earl of Cambridge (1362) Kings Langley 4th surviving son of King Edward III and Philippa of Hainault 11 July 1372 - 23 December 1392 3 children Joan Holland c. 4 November 1393 no children 1 August 1402 Epworth, Lincolnshire aged 61 1402–1415 also: Duke of Aumale (1397–1399), Earl of Cambridge (1362–1414), Earl of Rutland (1390–1402), Earl of Cork (c. 1396) Norwich son of 1st Duke by his first wife Isabella of Castile no children Battle of Agincourt aged 42 1415–1460 also: Lord Protector of England, Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester, Duke of Cornwall (1460, see Act of Accord); Earl of Ulster (1264), Earl of March (1328), Earl of Cambridge (1414, restored 1426), feudal Lord of Clare (bt. 1066–1075), Baron Mortimer of Wigmore (1331) Nephew of 2nd Duke and son of Richard of Conisburgh, 3rd Earl of Cambridge (attainted and executed for treason in August 1415) and Anne de Mortimer; restored in blood 1437 13 children Wakefield aged 49 1460–1461 also: Earl of Ulster (1264), Earl of March (1328), Earl of Cambridge (1414), feudal Lord of Clare (bt. 1066–1075), Baron Mortimer of Wigmore (1331) Rouen son of 3rd Duke by his wife Cecily Neville 1 May 1464 10 children Westminster aged 40

Second creation, 1474

1474–1483 also: Duke of Norfolk (1477), Earl of Norfolk (1477), Earl of Nottingham (1476), possibly Earl of Warenne (1477) Shrewsbury Second son of King Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville 15 January 1478 no children

Third creation, 1494

1494–1509 also: Prince of Wales (1504), Duke of Cornwall (1502) Greenwich Palace, London son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York 11 June 1509 – 23 May 1533 (annulment) 1 surviving daughter, others stillborn or briefly-lived Anne Boleyn 25 January 1533 – 17 May 1536 (annulment) 1 daughter Jane Seymour 30 May 1536 – 24 October 1537 1 son Anne of Cleves 6 January 1540 – 9 July 1540 (annulment) no children Catherine Howard 28 July 1540 – 23 November 1541 no children Catherine Parr 12 July 1543 no children Whitehall Palace, London aged 55

Fourth creation, 1605

1605–1625 ''also: Duke of Albany (1600); Prince of Wales (1616), Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay (1612)'' Dunfermline Palace, Dunfermline son of James I and Anne of Denmark 13 June 1625 9 children Whitehall Palace, London aged 48

Fifth creation, 1633/1644

James was styled Duke of York from birth and officially created as such in 1644. 1633/1644–1685 also: Duke of Albany (1660), Earl of Ulster (1659) St. James's Palace, London son of Charles I and Henrietta Maria of France 3 September 1660 8 children Mary of Modena 21 November 1673 7 children Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Paris aged 67

Jacobite creation, 1725

1725–1788 also: Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church (1747), Dean of the College of Cardinals (1803) Palazzo Muti Rome Papal States son of "James III and VIII" (Jacobite Pretender) and Maria Clementina Sobieska Frascati, Rome aged 82

Sixth creation, 1892

Seventh creation, 1920

Eighth creation, 1986

Family trees

Places and things named after the dukes of York

Geographic features

Southern hemisphere

Canada

Political entities

Canada

United States

Schools

Pubs

Ships

Railroad Equipment

Military Music

There is also military march titled Duke of York which is used as an inspection piece or slow march. It is in 4/4 time, D Major with a form of AABBCCDD. Gordon Ashman in 1991 maintains that the melody was composed in 1805, soon after the Duke of York became Colonel of the Grenadier Guards, and notes it is still in use today as a regimental slow-march. James Merryweather however, researched the melody and found it was composed by John Gamidge in 1789, to be played by the York Waits. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hU0PqAZLeew

Sources