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Grand Dukes
Grand duke (feminine: grand duchess) is a European hereditary title, used either by certain monarchs or by members of certain monarchs' families. In status, a grand duke traditionally ranks in order of precedence below an emperor, as an approximate equal of king or archduke and above a sovereign prince or sovereign duke. The title is used in some current and former independent monarchies in Europe, particularly: * in the present-day Grand Duchy of Luxembourg * historically by the sovereigns of former independent countries, such as Tuscany (from 1569 to 1860, now part of Italy) * in Baden, Hesse, Oldenburg, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Mecklenburg-Strelitz and Saxe-Weimar – grand duchies from 1815 to 1918, and all now part of present-day Germany * formerly also in some countries in Eastern and Northeastern Europe, such as the Grand Duchy of Finland or the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Western and Central European The term ''grand duke'' as a monarch reigning over an independent state w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hereditary Title
Hereditary titles, in a general sense, are nobility titles, positions or styles that are hereditary and thus tend or are bound to remain in particular families. Though both monarchs and nobles usually inherit their titles, the mechanisms often differ, even in the same country. The British crown has been heritable by women since the medieval era (in the absence of brothers), while the vast majority of hereditary noble titles granted by British sovereigns are not heritable by daughters. Gender preference Often a hereditary title is inherited only by the legitimate, eldest son of the original grantee or that son's male heir according to masculine primogeniture. In some countries and some families, titles descended to all children of the grantee equally, as well as to all of that grantee's remoter descendants, male and female. This practice was common in the Kalmar Union, and was frequently the case in the letters patent issued by King Eric of Pomerania, King Joseph Bonaparte conf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
