When 10 Dukes come to dinner
Dukes are the highest-ranking tier of the British aristocracy. They are a select breed within an elite, ranking above Marquesses, Earls, Barons and Viscounts, whose lands and titles derive from centuries of Royal patronage.
There are are around 35-36 dukes today depending on how you define them. There dukdoms include: Cornwall, Norfolk, Somerset, Richmond, Grafton, Beaufort, St Albans, Bedford, Devonshire, Marlborough, Rutland, Rothesay, Hamilton, Buccleuch, Lennox, Queensberry, Argyll (x 2), Atholl, Montrose, Roxburghe, Brandon, Manchester, Northumberland, Leinster, Abercorn, Wellington, Sutherland, Westminster, Gordon, Argyll, Fife, Gloucester, Kent, Edinburgh, York and Cambridge.
However once we take a closer look:
Five of these are ceremonial titles for members of the Royal family, conferring no wealth or estates. The Duchy of Cornwall - always held by the heir to the throne, currently Prince Charles - and the Duchy of Lancaster, always held by the reigning monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth. There are other ceremonial dukedoms awarded to various royals such as the Duke of Sussex or the Duke of Cambridge.
Leinster is, of course, in Ireland, but the Dukes of Leinster live in Oxfordshire because otherwise it would be too simple. And the Duchy of Abercorn is originally part of the Irish peerage but Abercorn is in Scotland, because this rustic system is going to teach you to stop expecting any semblance of logic if it’s the last thing it does.
My grandmother’s generation effortlessly knew who was what and how to address each. I gave up trying to understand because it hurt one of my two remaining brain cells and got bored quickly.
However, according to my grandmother, there are effectively only thirty Dukes in the UK these days because:
the Duke of Cornwall and the Duke of Rothesay are the same person,
the Duke of Richmond, the Duke of Lennox and the Duke of Gordon are the same person,
the Duke of Hamilton and the Duke of Brandon are the same person,
the Duke of Buccleuch and the Duke of Queensbury are the same person
There are technically two Dukedoms of Argyll, one in the Scottish peerage and one in the peerage of the United Kingdom held by the same person.
The premier Duke in the UK is Duke Edward who lives in a castle in the town of Arundel. He is the Duke of Norfolk and the Duke holding this hereditary title is responsible for organising state events such as the Funeral of Lady Diana and the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth. He will also be responsible for organising the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth.
In 2009 Tatler magazine managed to get 10 dukes around the same dinner table.
From the far left:
James Graham, the 8th Duke of Montrose
David Charles Robert Manners, the 11th Duke of Rutland
John Michael Edward Seymour, the 19th Duke of Somerset
Ralph George Algernon Percy, the 12th Duke of Northumberland
Andrew Ian Henry Russell, the 15th Duke of Bedford
Edward William Fitzalan Howard, the 18th Duke of Norfolk
Torquhil Ian Campbell, the 13th Duke of Argyll
Maurice FitzGerald, the 9th Duke of Leinster
Murray de Vere Beauclerk, the 14th Duke of St Albans
Arthur Valerian Wellesley, the 8th Duke of Wellington
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Covent Garden Lovers
courtesy of Hallie Rubenhold’s “The Covent Garden Ladies”
A list of the notable and famous frequenters of London’s brothels in the latter half of the 1700s. “Patrons du peche” (patrons of sin)
Look out for the royalty, and the great and the “good.”
Lord Chief Justice Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth
Admiral George Anson, 1st Baron Anson
Sir William Apreece
Sir Richard Atkins
Sir John Aubrey, MP
Richard Barry, 7th Earl of Barrymore
Allen Bathurst, 1st Earl of Bathurst
Sir Charles Bingham, 1st Earl of Lucan
Captain George Maurice Bisset (yes, THAT George Bisset, of Lady Seymour Worsley’s scandal)
Admiral Edward Boscawen
Hugh Boscawen, 2nd Viscount Falmouth
James Boswell (diarist, great friend of Samuel Johnson)
Sir Orlando Bridgeman
Thomas Bromley, 2nd Baron Montfort
Captain John Byron (Lord Byron’s grandfather)
John Calcraft, MP
Archibald Campbell, 3rd Duke of Argyll
John Campbell, 5th Duke of Argyll
John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun
George Capell, 4th Earl of Essex
David Carnegie, Lord Rosehill
John Cleland (writer of the pornographic novel “Fanny Hill: Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure”)
Henry Fiennes Clinton, 9th Earl of Lincoln.
Robert “Cock-a-doodle-doo” Coates
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess of Cornwallis
Colonel John Coxe
William Craven, 6th Baron Craven
His Royal Highness, Prince Ernest, Duke of Cumberland
His Royal Highness, Prince Henry Frederick, Duke of Cumberland
His Royal Highness, Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland
The Honourable John Damer
Sir Francis Dashwood, Lord Despenser (founder of “The Hellfire Club” and Chancellor of the Exchequer)
Francis Drake Delevel
Reverend William Dodd
George Bubb Doddington, Lord Melcombe
William Douglas, 4th Duke of Queensbury
Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville
George Montagu Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax
Sir Henry Elchin
Richard Edgecumbe, Lord Mount Edgecumbe
Sir Charles Fielding, son of the Earl of Denbigh
The Honourable John Finch
John Fitzpatrick, 1st Earl of Upper Ossory
Samuel Foote (theatre manager and dramatist)
Charles James Fox (prominent Whig statesman, arch-enemy of William Pitt the Younger)
Stephen Fox, 2nd Baron Holland
George Fox-Lane, 3rd Baron Bingley
John Frederick, 3rd Duke of Dorset
His Majesty, King George IV (oh, what a surprise)
Sir John Graeme, 3rd Duke of Montrose
Charles Hamilton, Lord Binning
Charles Hanbury-Williams (British envoy to the court of Russia, introduced Catherine the Great to her lover, Stanislaw Poniatowski)
Colonel George Hanger
Count Franz Xavier Haszlang, Bavarian Envoy to London
Judge Henry Gould
Robery Henley, 1st Earl of Northington
Augustus Henry Fitzroy, 3rd Duke of Grafton (great-great-great-great grandson of King Charles II)
Henry Herbert, 10th Earl of Pembroke
Joseph Hickey
William Hickey
William Holles, 2nd Viscount Vane
Rear-Admiral Charles Holmes
Admiral Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood
Charles Howard, 11th Duke of Norfolk
Thomas Howard, 3rd Earl of Effingham
Admiral Lord Richard Howe, 4th Viscount Howe
Thomas Jefferson (not that TJeffs; manager of the Drury Lane Theatre)
John Phillip Kemble
Augustus Keppel, 1st Viscount Keppel
William John Kerr, 5th Marquess of Lothian
Sir John Lade
Penistone Lamb, 1st Viscount Melbourne
William Longhorne (the poet laureate)
Lord Edward Ligonier
Field Marshall John Ligonier, 1st Earl of Ligonier
Simon Luttrell, 1st Baron Carhampton
Thomas Lyttleton, 2nd Baron Lyttleton
Kenneth Francis Mackenzie, 4th Earl of Seaforth
Charles Macklin
The Honourable Captain John Manners
John Manners, 3rd Duke of Rutland
Charles Maynard, 1st Viscount Maynard
Captain Anthony George Martin
James Macduff, 2nd Earl of Fife
Captain Thomas Medlycott
Isaac Mendez
Major Thomas Metcalfe
Sir George Montgomerie Metham
John Montague, 4th Earl of Sandwich
Alexander Montgomerie, 10th Earl of Eglinton
Arthur Murphy
Richard “Beau” Nash (famous dandy, popularised ballroom etiquette at the assemblies in Bath)
Francis John Needham, MP
Henry Nevill, 2nd Earl of Abergavenny
John Palmer (actor)
Thomas Panton
William Petty, 1st Marquess of Landsdowne
Evelyn Meadows Pierrepoont, 2nd Duke of Kingston
Thomas Potter
John Poulett, 4th Earl of Poulett
William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath
William Powell (manager of Drury Lane)
Charles “Chace” Price
Richard “Bloomsbury Dick” Rigby
Admiral George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney
David Ross (actor)
Francis Russell, 5th Duke of Bedford
Frederick John Sackville, 3rd Duke of Dorset
Sir George Saville
George Selwyn (politician and wit)
Edward “Ned” Shuter (actor)
John George Spencer, 1st Earl of Spencer
Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl of Harrington
Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
Sir William Stanhope, MP
Edward Stanley, 12th Earl of Derby
Sir Thomas Stapleton
John Stewart, 3rd Earl of Bute
Frederick St John, 2nd Viscount Bolingbroke
Colonel Sir Banastre Tarleton
Commodore Edward Thompson
Lord Chief Justice Sir Edward Thurlow
Robert “Beau” Tracy
John Tucker, MP
Arthur Vansittart, MP
Sir Henry Vansittart, MP
Robert Vansittart
Sir Edward Walpole
Sir Robert Walpole (Britain’s first Prime Minister)
John Wilkes
His Majesty, King William IV
Charles Wyndham, 2nd Earl of Egremont
Henry Woodward (actor)
His Royal Highness, Edward, Duke of York
His Royal Highness, Frederick, Duke of York
Lieutenant Colonel John Yorke
Joseph Yorke, 1st Baron Dove
Extra information is my own
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What is the name of the castle in Leicestershire, England, belonging to the ancestral Dukes of Rutland?
Situated on a hill in the north corner of Leicestershire, with views over the counties of Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire, is Belvoir Castle, the stately home of David Manners, 11th Duke of Rutland (born 1959). Four castles have stood on the site since the Norman Conquest in 1066, and the surviving structure is a grade I listed building from the 19th century. Whilst the castle remains the home of the Manners family, several rooms are open to the public. The Belvoir Castle estate has belonged to the family since the 11th century, although the position of Duke of Rutland was not created until 1703.
The castle gets its name from the Vale of Belvoir, which derives from the Norman-French for “beautiful view”. When the French-speaking invaders named the area, the Anglo-Saxons could not pronounce the word in their accent, preferring to call it “Beaver”. This pronunciation remains in use today, often confusing the tourists.
Today, the castle is a popular location for film and television and was used as a stand-in for Windsor Castle in the second series of the British television series 'The Crown' (2017). Belvoir Castle has also featured in 'Little Lord Fauntleroy' (1980), 'The Da Vinci Code' (2006) as Castel Gandolfo, 'Young Sherlock Holmes' (2008) and 'The Haunting' (1991).
David Manners, 11th Duke of Rutland is a high-profile supporter of the UK Independence Party (UKIP). He stood for the party during the 1999, 2005 and 2015 House of Lords by-elections.
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