Duke of Buckingham

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Not to be confused with Earl of Buckinghamshire.

The titles Marquess and Duke of Buckingham, referring to Buckingham, have been created several times in the peerages of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. There have also been Earls of Buckingham.

On September 14, 1444, Humphrey Stafford, Anne's son, was created Duke of Buckingham. He was an important supporter of the House of Lancaster in the Wars of the Roses, and was killed at the Battle of Northampton in July 1460. He was succeeded by his grandson, Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, who aided Richard III in his claiming the throne in 1483 (Edward IV of England's marriage to Elizabeth Woodville having been declared null and void and Edward's sons illegitimate by Act of Parliament Titulus Regius), but who then led a revolt against Richard and was executed later that same year. His son, Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, was restored to the title upon Henry VII's ascension to the throne in 1485, but he was ultimately executed for treason in 1521 due to his opposition to Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, Henry VIII's chief advisor. At this time the title became extinct.

It was created anew for James I's favourite, George Villiers, who was successively Earl (1617), Marquess (1618), and Duke of Buckingham (1623). Buckingham, who continued in office as chief minister into the reign of James's son, Charles I, was responsible for a policy of war against Spain and France, and was assassinated by a Puritan fanatic in 1628 as he prepared an expedition to relieve the Huguenots of La Rochelle. His son, George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, was a notable advisor in the reign of Charles II, and, along with Lord Ashley made up the protestant axis of the famous Cabal Ministry. When he died in 1687, the title again became extinct.

The title of Duke of Buckingham and Normanby was created in 1703 for John Sheffield, Marquess of Normanby, a notable Tory politician of the late Stuart period, who served under Queen Anne as Lord Privy Seal and Lord President of the Council. He died in 1721 and was succeeded by his son. Following the death of the 2nd Duke of Buckingham and Normanby without heirs in 1735, the title became extinct.

In 1784, George Nugent Temple Grenville, 3rd Earl Temple, a son of Prime Minister George Grenville, was created Marquess of Buckingham in the peerage of Great Britain. He served as Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, among other offices. His son, Richard Nugent Temple Grenville was created Duke of Buckingham and Chandos in 1822. His grandson, the 3rd Duke, was a prominent Conservative politician. When he died in 1889, the Dukedom became extinct.

In November 2005 a man known as Christopher Buckingham was successfully prosecuted, and jailed for 21 months, for using an illegally obtained passport. His fake identity included a title (Lord Buckingham of Little Billing, Northampton) that had become extinct with the death of the Duke of Buckingham. The man used a trick made famous in the Frederick Forsyth novel The Day of the Jackal to steal the identity of Christopher Edward Buckingham, a baby who died aged 8 months in 1963. After several months of mystery, he was proved by fingerprint analysis in May 2006 to be an American named Charles Albert Stopford III.

Contents

[edit] Dukes of Buckingham, first Creation (1444)

[edit] Dukes of Buckingham, second Creation (1623)

[The Dukes of Buckingham of this creation bore the subsidiary titles of Marquess of Buckingham (1618), Earl of Buckingham (1617), Earl of Coventry (1623), Viscount Villiers (1616), and Baron Whaddon (1616), all in the Peerage of England]

[edit] Dukes of Buckingham and Normanby (1703)

[The Dukes of Buckingham and Normanby bore the subsidiary titles of Marquess of Normanby (1694), Earl of Mulgrave (1626), and Baron Sheffield (1547), all in the Peerage of England]

[edit] Marquesses of Buckingham, 2nd Creation (1784)

[edit] Dukes of Buckingham and Chandos (1822)

The Dukes of Buckingham and Chandos bore the subsidiary titles of Marquess of Buckingham (1784, Peerage of Great Britain), Marquess of Chandos (1822, Peerage of the United Kingdom), Earl Temple (1749, Peerage of Great Britain), Earl Nugent (1776, Peerage of Ireland), Earl Temple of Stowe (1822, Peerage of the United Kingdom), Viscount Cobham (1718, Peerage of Great Britain), Lord Kinloss (1602, Peerage of Scotland), and Baron Cobham (1718, Peerage of Great Britain).

[edit] External link

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