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Duke of Sussex

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This article is about the title. For its current holder, see Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex. For the pub in London, see Duke of Sussex, Acton Green.

Dukedom of Sussex
Creation date19 May 2018 (announced)[1]
16 July 2018 (Letters Patent)[2]
CreationSecond
Created byElizabeth II
PeeragePeerage of the United Kingdom
First holderPrince Augustus Frederick
Present holderPrince Harry
Heir apparentPrince Archie
Remainder tothe 1st Duke's heirs male of the body lawfully begotten[2]
Subsidiary titlesEarl of Dumbarton
Baron Kilkeel
StatusExtant
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex in 2017

Duke of Sussex is a substantive title, one of several royal dukedoms in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It is a hereditary title of a specific rank of nobility in the British royal family. It has been created twice and takes its name from the historic county of Sussex in England.

First created in 1801, the title lapsed in 1843 but was revived when Queen Elizabeth II bestowed it on her grandson Prince Harry on 19 May 2018 just before his marriage to Meghan Markle, who then became the Duchess of Sussex.

History

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A title associated with Sussex first appeared with the Kingdom of Sussex, an Anglo-Saxon kingdom that was annexed by the Kingdom of Wessex around 827,[3] that later became part of the Kingdom of England. In charters, Sussex's monarchs were sometimes referred to as ealdormen, or duces in Latin, which is sometimes translated as "dukes".

First creation, 1801

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The title of Duke of Sussex was first conferred on 24 November 1801 upon Prince Augustus Frederick,[4] the sixth son of King George III. He was made Baron Arklow and Earl of Inverness at the same time, also in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The title became extinct upon the Prince's death in 1843.

Although the Prince was survived by a son and daughter by Lady Augusta Murray, their marriage (purportedly solemnized at St George's Hanover Square Church, Westminster, in 1793) had been annulled for lack of royal permission under the Royal Marriages Act 1772, rendering the children illegitimate under English law and unable to inherit titles from their father. Both children by the annulled marriage died childless, rendering the issue of their inheritance moot.

On 2 May 1831, the Prince married a second time (and again in contravention of the Royal Marriages Act 1772) to Lady Cecilia Gore at Great Cumberland Place, London. Not being the Prince's legitimate wife, Lady Cecilia could not be received at court. On 30 March 1840, she was given the title of Duchess of Inverness in her own right by Queen Victoria.[5]

Second creation, 2018

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In 2018, the dukedom of Sussex was recreated and granted to Prince Harry, the grandson of Queen Elizabeth II and 5th great-grandnephew of the previous duke, to mark the occasion of his wedding to Meghan Markle on 19 May 2018, who thereby became the first ever Duchess of Sussex.[1][6] On his wedding day, it was announced that he would become Duke of Sussex in England, with the subsidiary titles of Earl of Dumbarton in Scotland and Baron Kilkeel in Northern Ireland. In 2019, an heir to the dukedom and the other titles, Prince Archie of Sussex, was born.

Dukes of Sussex

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1801 creation

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Duke Portrait Birth Marriage(s) Death Arms
Prince Augustus Frederick
House of Hanover
1801–1843
also: Earl of Inverness and Baron Arklow (1801) 		Prince Augustus Frederick 27 January 1773
Buckingham House, London
son of King George III and Queen Charlotte 		4 April 1793
Lady Augusta Murray
2 children

2 May 1831
Lady Cecilia Underwood
No children 		21 April 1843
Kensington Palace, London
aged 70
Prince Augustus's first marriage to Lady Augusta Murray produced two children. However, due to the Royal Marriages Act 1772, the marriage was invalid (he had not asked for his father's approval to marry) and his children were thus illegitimate and could not succeed to his titles; so, accordingly, all his titles became extinct on his death.


2018 creation

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Duke Portrait Birth Marriage(s) Death Arms
Prince Harry
House of Windsor
2018–present
also: Earl of Dumbarton and Baron Kilkeel (2018)[1] 		Prince Harry 15 September 1984
St Mary's Hospital, London
son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales 		19 May 2018
Meghan Markle
2 children 		Living (age 40)


Line of succession

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Family trees

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Prince Harry and Ms. Meghan Markle: Announcement of Titles, The Royal Household, 19 May 2018.
  2. ^ a b "No. 62358". The London Gazette. 20 July 2018. p. 12928.
  3. ^ Edwards, Heather (2004). "Ecgberht [Egbert] (d. 839), king of the West Saxons in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography". Oxford University Press. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
  4. ^ "No. 15429". The London Gazette. 24 November 1801. p. 1403.
  5. ^ "No. 19842". The London Gazette. 31 March 1840. p. 858.
  6. ^ "Meghan Markle's royal title is Duchess of Sussex". The Independent. 17 April 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
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