Duke of

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major town on the old Roman ...

is a title in the

Peerage of England The Peerage of England comprises all peerages created in the Kingdom of England before the Act of Union in 1707. In that year, the Peerages of England and Scotland were replaced by one Peerage of Great Britain. There are five peerages in th ...

. It was created in 1684 for Charles Beauclerk, 1st Earl of Burford, then 14 years old. King Charles II had accepted that Burford was his illegitimate son by

Nell Gwyn Eleanor Gwyn (2 February 1650 – 14 November 1687; also spelled ''Gwynn'', ''Gwynne'') was a celebrity figure of the Restoration period. Praised by Samuel Pepys for her comic performances as one of the first actresses on the English stag ...

, an actress, and awarded him the Dukedom just as he had conferred those of

Monmouth Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. ...

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, Grafton,

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land ...

and Richmond and Lennox on his other illegitimate sons who married. The subsidiary titles of the Duke are: Earl of Burford, in the

County of Oxford Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primar ...

(1676), Baron Heddington, in the same (1676) and Baron Vere, of

Hanworth Hanworth is a district of West London, England. Historically in Middlesex, it has been part of the London Borough of Hounslow since 1965. Hanworth adjoins Feltham to the northwest, Twickenham to the northeast and Hampton to the southeast, with ...

in the County of Middlesex (1750). The Earldom and the Barony of Heddington are in the

, and the Barony of Vere is in the

Peerage of Great Britain The Peerage of Great Britain comprises all extant peerages created in the Kingdom of Great Britain between the Acts of Union 1707 and the Acts of Union 1800. It replaced the Peerage of England and the Peerage of Scotland, but was itself re ...

. The Dukes hold the hereditary title of Grand Falconer of England, and of no effect Hereditary Registrar of the Court of Chancery. The top two of these are enjoyed

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 con ...

s, as usual, by the Duke's first living son and to any son of his in turn. Recent Dukes have not held a great estate nor stately home. Late twentieth century seats were Bestwood Lodge in

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The trad ...

, which was originally the property of the 1st Duke's mother, the celebrated actress and mistress to Charles II

, and which is now a hotel, and Upper Gatton Park in

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...

. The accepted pronunciation of Beauclerk is reflected in frequent early renderings Beauclaire: .

Dukes of St Albans (1684)

:''Other titles: Earl of Burford, in the county of Oxford, and Baron Heddington, in the county of Oxford (1676)'' * Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St Albans (1670–1726) (elder illegitimate son of Charles II and Nell Gwynn) *

Charles Beauclerk, 2nd Duke of St Albans Charles Beauclerk, 2nd Duke of St Albans, KG KB (6 April 1696 – 27 July 1751) was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1718 until 1726 when he succeeded to a peerage as Duke of St Albans. He was an illegitimate grandso ...

(1696–1751) (eldest son of the 1st Duke) *

George Beauclerk, 3rd Duke of St Albans George Beauclerk, 3rd Duke of St Albans (25 June 1730 – 1 February 1786), styled Earl of Burford until 1751, was a British peer. Early life He was the son of Charles Beauclerk, 2nd Duke of St Albans, and his wife, Lucy Werden. His paternal ...

(1720–1786) (only son of the 2nd Duke, died without issue) *

George Beauclerk, 4th Duke of St Albans George Beauclerk, 4th Duke of St Albans (5 December 1758 – 10 February 1787) was the son of Lt.-Col. Charles Beauclerk and a great-grandson of Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St Albans an illegitimate son of Charles II of England and his mistr ...

(1758–1787) (grandson of Lord William Beauclerk, second son of the 1st Duke, died unmarried) :''Other titles (5th Duke onwards): Baron Vere, of Hanworth in the county of Middlesex (1750)'' * Aubrey Beauclerk, 5th Duke of St Albans (1740–1802) (fourth and youngest son of Vere Beauclerk, 1st Baron Vere, himself third son of the 1st Duke) *

Aubrey Beauclerk, 6th Duke of St Albans Aubrey Beauclerk, 6th Duke of St Albans (21 August 1765 – 12 August 1815) was an English aristocrat and politician. Early life Beauclerk was born on 21 August 1765. He was the eldest son of Aubrey Beauclerk, 5th Duke of St Albans by his wife ...

(1765–1815) (eldest son of the 5th Duke) *Aubrey Beauclerk, 7th Duke of St Albans (1815–1816) (only son of the 6th Duke, died in infancy) * William Beauclerk, 8th Duke of St Albans (1766–1825) (second son of the 5th Duke) * William Aubrey de Vere Beauclerk, 9th Duke of St. Albans (1801–1849) (eldest son of the 8th Duke) * William Amelius Aubrey de Vere Beauclerk, 10th Duke of St Albans (1840–1898) (only son of the 9th Duke) * Charles Victor Albert Aubrey de Vere Beauclerk, 11th Duke of St Albans (1870–1934) (eldest son of the 10th Duke, died without issue) * Osborne de Vere Beauclerk, 12th Duke of St Albans (1874–1964) (second son of the 10th Duke, died without issue) * Charles Frederick Aubrey de Vere Beauclerk, 13th Duke of St Albans (1915–1988) (grandson of Lord Charles Beauclerk, fifth son of the 8th Duke) * Murray de Vere Beauclerk, 14th Duke of St Albans (b. 1939) (eldest son of the 13th Duke) The

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

is Charles Francis Topham de Vere Beauclerk, Earl of Burford (b. 1965) (only son of the 14th Duke). The heir apparent's heir in line is his only son, James Malcolm Aubrey Edward de Vere Beauclerk, Lord Vere (b. 1995).

Barons Vere (1750)

* Vere Beauclerk, 1st Baron Vere (1699–1781) (third son of the 1st Duke) * Aubrey Beauclerk, 2nd Baron Vere (1740–1802) (succeeded as 5th Duke of St Albans in 1787) ''for subsequent Barons Vere see Dukes of St Albans above''

Current line of succession

# Charles Francis Topham de Vere Beauclerk, Earl of Burford (b. 1965) (only son of the 14th Duke) #James Malcolm Aubrey Edward de Vere Beauclerk, Lord Vere (b. 1995) (only son of Lord Burford) #Lord Peter Charles de Vere Beauclerk (b. 1948) (second son of the 13th Duke) #Tenzin Beauclerk (b. 2005) (younger but only surviving son of Lord Peter) #Lord James Charles Fesq de Vere Beauclerk (b. 1949) (third son of the 13th Duke) #Lord John William Aubrey de Vere Beauclerk (b. 1950) (youngest son of the 13th Duke) #William Rafael Beauclerk, Marques de Valero de Urria (b. 1961) (great-great-great-great-grandson of Lord Sidney Beauclerk, fifth son of the 1st Duke) #Alexander Charles Beauclerk (b. 1990) (elder son of the Marques de Valero de Urria) #Cameron Beauclerk (b. 1993) (younger son of the Marques de Valero de Urria) Issue of the fifth son of the 1st duke are not in remainder to the subsidiary Barony of Vere.

Arms

Family tree

Notes

References

* *Charles Kidd & David Williamson (ed.), ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition), New York: St Martin's Press, 1990,