Duke of Richmond is a title in the Peerage of England that has been created four times in British history. It has been held by members of the royal Tudor and

Stuart Stuart may refer to: Names * Stuart (name), a given name and surname (and list of people with the name) Automobile *Stuart (automobile) Places Australia Generally *Stuart Highway, connecting South Australia and the Northern Territory Northe ...

families. The current dukedom of Richmond was created in 1675 for Charles Lennox, the illegitimate son of King Charles II of England and one of his mistresses, the Breton noblewoman Louise de Penancoët de Kérouaille; Charles Lennox was also made Duke of Lennox a month later. The Duke of Richmond and Lennox was furthermore created Duke of Gordon in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1876, meaning that the Duke holds three dukedoms— plus, in pretence, the French Duchy of Aubigny-sur-Nère.

History of the Dukedom

Prior to the creation of the Dukedom the early nobles of England associated with Richmondshire were Lords and Earls of Richmond. At times the honour of Richmond was held without a title. The Dukedom of Richmond emerged under King Henry VIII. The first creation of a dukedom of Richmond (as ''Duke of Richmond and Somerset'') was made in 1525 for Henry FitzRoy, an illegitimate son of King Henry VIII. His mother was Elizabeth Blount. Upon the Duke's death without children in 1536, his titles became extinct. The second creation was in 1623 for Ludovic Stuart, 2nd Duke of Lennox (see Lennox (district)) (1574–1624), who also held other titles in the peerage of Scotland. He was created Earl of Richmond and Baron Settrington in 1613 and Duke of Richmond in the peerage of England in 1623 as a member of the Lennox line (not unlike King James himself) in the

House of Stuart The House of Stuart, originally spelt Stewart, was a royal house of Scotland, England, Ireland and later Great Britain. The family name comes from the office of High Steward of Scotland, which had been held by the family progenitor Walter ...

. These became extinct at his death in 1624, but his Scottish honours devolved on his brother Esmé, Earl of March, who thus became 3rd Duke of Lennox in the peerage of Scotland. Esmé's son James, 4th Duke of Lennox (1612–1655) subsequently received the third creation of the dukedom of Richmond in 1641, when the two dukedoms again became united. In 1672, on the death of James' nephew

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...

, 3rd Duke of Richmond and 6th Duke of Lennox, both titles again became extinct. The fourth creation of the dukedom of Richmond was in August 1675, when Charles II granted the title to Charles Lennox, his illegitimate son by Louise de Keroualle, Duchess of Portsmouth. Charles Lennox was further created Duke of Lennox a month later. Charles' son, also Charles, succeeded to the French title Duke of Aubigny (of Aubigny-sur-Nère) on the death of his grandmother in 1734. The 6th Duke of Richmond and Lennox was created Duke of Gordon (See Clan Gordon) in 1876. Thus, the Duke holds three (four, if the French Aubigny claim is accepted) dukedoms, more than any other person in the realm. The subsidiary titles of the dukedom created in 1675 are ''Earl of March'' (created 1675), '' Earl of Darnley'' (1675), ''

Earl of Kinrara Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant " chieftain", particu ...

'' (1876), ''Baron Settrington'', of Settrington in the County of York (1675), and ''Lord Torbolton'' (1675). 10th Duke of Richmond & Gordon & 5th Duke of Lennox colour

The Dukes of Richmond, Lennox and Gordon are normally styled ''Duke of Richmond and Gordon''. Before the creation of the Dukedom of Gordon they were styled ''Duke of Richmond and Lennox''. The titles ''Earl of March'' and ''Baron Settrington'' were created in the peerage of England along with the Dukedom of Richmond. The titles '' Earl of Darnley'' and ''Lord Torbolton'' were created in the Peerage of Scotland along with the Dukedom of Lennox. Finally, the title ''Earl of Kinrara'' was created in the peerage of the United Kingdom with the Dukedom of Gordon. The eldest son of the Duke uses the

courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but rather is used through custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some c ...

''Earl of March and Kinrara''. Before the creation of the Dukedom of Gordon, the courtesy title used was ''Earl of March''. The family seat is Goodwood House near

Chichester Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ...

, West Sussex.

Dukes of Richmond and Somerset (1525)

Dukes of Richmond (1623)

Dukes of Richmond (1641)

Dukes of Richmond (1675)

The heir apparent is Charles Henry Gordon-Lennox, Earl of March and Kinrara (b. 1994), eldest son of the 11th Duke.

Line of succession

* Charles Gordon-Lennox, 6th Duke of Richmond ** Charles Gordon-Lennox, 7th Duke of Richmond *** Charles Gordon-Lennox, 8th Duke of Richmond **** Frederick Gordon-Lennox, 9th Duke of Richmond ***** Charles Gordon-Lennox, 10th Duke of Richmond ******

Charles Gordon-Lennox, 11th Duke of Richmond Charles Henry Gordon-Lennox, 11th Duke of Richmond, 11th Duke of Lennox, 11th Duke of Aubigny, 6th Duke of Gordon DL (born 8 January 1955), styled Lord Settrington until 1989 and then Earl of March and Kinrara until 2017, is a British aristoc ...

******* (1) Charles Henry Gordon-Lennox, Earl of March and Kinrara (b. 1994) ******* (2) Lord William Rupert Gordon-Lennox (b. 1996) ******* (3) Lord Frederick Lysander Gordon-Lennox (b. 2000) *** Lord Esmé Gordon-Lennox ****Reginald Arthur Charles Gordon-Lennox ***** (4) James David Charles Gordon-Lennox (b. 1944) ****** (5) Henry Charles Gordon-Lennox (b. 1976) ******* (6) Charles William Gordon-Lennox (b. 2005) ******* (7) Thomas Edward Charles Gordon-Lennox (b. 2009) ***

Lord Bernard Gordon-Lennox Major Lord Bernard Charles Gordon-Lennox (1 May 1878 – 10 November 1914), was a British Army officer. Gordon-Lennox was the third son of Charles Gordon-Lennox, 7th Duke of Richmond, by his first wife Amy Mary, daughter of Percy Ricardo, of Bra ...

**** George Gordon-Lennox ***** Bernard Gordon Lennox ****** (8) Edward Charles Gordon-Lennox (b. 1961) *******(9) Alexander Charles Gordon-Lennox (b. 1990) ****** (10) Angus Charles Gordon-Lennox (b. 1964) ******* (11) Geordie Charles Gordon-Lennox (b. 1998) ****** (12) Charles Bernard Gordon-Lennox (b. 1970) ******* (13) Archie Clement Gordon-Lennox (b. 2014) *****(14) Col. David Henry Charles Gordon-Lennox (b. 1935) **Captain Lord Francis Charles Gordon-Lennox ***Victor Charles Hugh Gordon-Lennox ****(15) Henry George Charles Gordon-Lennox (b. 1934) *****(16) Ian Charles Gordon-Lennox (b. 1958) *****(17) Philip George Hugh Gordon-Lennox (b. 1963) ******(18) Thomas Charles Gordon-Lennox (b. 1991) ******(19) Alec George Gordon-Lennox (b. 1993)

Coat of arms (full achievement)

The earlier dukes (creations of 1623 and 1641) bore: Quarterly 1 and 4 azure three fleurs-de-lis and a bordure engrailed Or; 2 and 3 Or a fess chequy azure and argent, a bordure gules semy of buckles Or (Stewart of Bonkyl); overall an inescutcheon of Lennox. Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond and Somerset (creation of 1525), bore the Tudor royal arms (quarterly France and England) with a border quarterly ermine (for

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period o ...

) and compony azure and argent (for

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lor ...

), a baton sinister argent for bastardy, and overall an escutcheon of

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

History of the Dukedom

Dukes of Richmond and Somerset (1525)

Dukes of Richmond (1623)

Dukes of Richmond (1641)

Dukes of Richmond (1675)

Line of succession

Coat of arms (full achievement)

Family tree

See also

Notes

References

Further reading