Duke of Richmond 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. From that year, the Peerages of England and Scotland were closed to new creations, and new peers were created in a single Peerag ...

that has been created four times in British history. It has been held by members of the royal Tudor and Stuart families. The current dukedom of Richmond was created in 1675 for Charles Lennox, the illegitimate son of

Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651 and King of England, Scotland, and King of Ireland, Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest su ...

and one of his mistresses, the Breton noblewoman Louise de Penancoët de Kérouaille; Charles Lennox was also made Duke of Lennox a month later.

Charles Gordon-Lennox, 6th Duke of Richmond Charles Henry Gordon-Lennox, 6th Duke of Richmond, 6th Duke of Lennox, 1st Duke of Gordon, (27 February 1818 – 27 September 1903), styled the Earl of March until 1860, was a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician. Backgroun ...

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 The Honour of Richmond (or Richmondshire) was a feudal barony in what is now mainly North Yorkshire, England. The honour was two tiers below Yorkshire, the middle tier being the North Riding. Before the honour was created, the land was held ...

was held without a title. The dukedom of Richmond emerged under

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

. 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 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 Stewart, 2nd Duke of Lennox (see Lennox (district)) (1574–1624), who also held other titles in the

peerage of Scotland The Peerage of Scotland (; ) is one of the five divisions of peerages in the United Kingdom and for those peers created by the King of Scots before 1707. Following that year's Treaty of Union 1707, Treaty of Union, the Kingdom of Scots and the ...

. He was created

Earl of Richmond The now-extinct title of Earl of Richmond was created many times in the Peerage of Peerage of England, England. The earldom of Richmond, North Yorkshire, Richmond was initially held by various Breton people, Breton nobles; sometimes the holde ...

and Baron Settrington in 1613 and Duke of Richmond 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. From that year, the Peerages of England and Scotland were closed to new creations, and new peers were created in a single Peerag ...

in 1623 as a member of the Lennox line (not unlike King James VI & I himself) in the

House of Stuart The House of Stuart, originally spelled Stewart, also known as the Stuart dynasty, was a dynasty, royal house of Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and later Kingdom of Great Britain, Great ...

. 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 language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

, 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; three, equal since 2022 to Prince William, Duke of Cornwall, of Rothesay and of Cambridge. The subsidiary titles of the dukedom created in 1675 are '' Earl of March'' (created 1675), '' Earl of Darnley'' (1675), '' Earl of Kinrara'' (1876), ''Baron Settrington'', of Settrington in the County of York (1675), and ''Lord Torbolton'' (1675). 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 is rather used by custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some context ...

''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 City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in the Chichester District, Chichester district of West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

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 (simplified)

* ''

(1818–1903)'' ** '' Charles Gordon-Lennox, 7th Duke of Richmond (1845–1928)'' *** ''

Charles Gordon-Lennox, 8th Duke of Richmond Charles Henry Gordon-Lennox, 8th Duke of Richmond, 8th Duke of Lennox, 3rd Duke of Gordon (30 December 1870 – 7 May 1935), known as Lord Settrington 1870–1903, and as Earl of March 1903–1928, was a British Peerage, peer and politician. B ...

(1870–1935)'' **** '' Frederick Gordon-Lennox, 9th Duke of Richmond (1904–1989)'' ***** '' Charles Gordon Lennox, 10th Duke of Richmond (1929–2017)'' ****** Charles Gordon-Lennox, 11th Duke of Richmond (born 1955) ******* (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 Charles Gordon-Lennox (1875–1949)'' ****''Reginald Arthur Charles Gordon Lennox (1910–1965)'' *****male issue in line ***'' Lord Bernard Charles Gordon Lennox (1878–1914)'' ****'' Sir George Gordon Lennox (1908–1988)'' *****'' Bernard Gordon Lennox (1932–2017)'' ******male issue in line *****other male issue in line ****'' Sir Alexander Henry Charles Gordon Lennox (1911–1987)'' *****male issue in line **'' Lord Walter Gordon-Lennox (1865–1922)'' ***''Victor Charles Hugh Gordon Lennox (1897–1968)'' ****male issue in line

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 ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

) and compony azure and argent (for

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

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

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

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 (simplified)

Coat of arms (full achievement)

Family tree

See also

Notes

References

Further reading