Duchess of York

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Queen Mary, the ninth Duchess of York

Duchess of York is a title held by the wife of the Duke of York since the first Duke of York in 1384. The title is gained with matrimony alone and is forfeited on divorce. Because four of the twelve Dukes of York did not marry or had already assumed the throne when they married, there have only ever been eleven Duchesses of York.

The eleven Duchesses of York (and the dates the individuals held that title) are as follows:

Isabella of Castile (1372–1392) – Isabella predeceased her husband and died at Kings Langley Manor House in Hertfordshire, England.
Joan Holland (1393–1402) – Joan survived her husband and went on to marry two other noblemen. These were William de Willoughby, 5th Lord Willoughby de Eresby, Henry Scrope, 3rd Baron Scrope of Masham and Henry Bromflete, 1st Lord Vessy.
Philippa de Mohun (1402–1415) – Philippa De Mohun was a twice widowed noblewoman who married Edward of Norwich, 2nd Duke of York, Duke of Albemarle. Her two previous husbands were Walter FitzWalter and Sir John Golafre.
Cecily Neville (1425–1460) – Cecily survived her husband and entered into a largely religious life and died in 1495 after receiving a papal indulgence.
Anne de Mowbray, 8th Countess of Norfolk (1478–1481) – Anne was the child bride of Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York one of the Princes in the Tower. She survived her infant husband and died at the tender age of nine.
Lady Anne Hyde (1660–1671) – Anne predeceased her husband having contracted breast cancer.
Mary of Modena - Later Queen Mary, the second wife of James II. Although she was a Roman Catholic and bore him a son James Francis Edward Stuart, because of his religion he did not succeed and instead was supplanted jointly by Mary II and her husband William III. Her direct descendants were known as the Jacobites and remain so to this day.
Frederica Charlotte of Prussia (1791–1820) – Frederica received an enthusiastic welcome to England but following a troubled relationship with her husband was soon separated. She predeceased her husband and died in 1820.
Victoria Mary of Teck (1893–1901) – Princess Victoria ceased to be known as the Duchess of York when her Grandmother-in-law Queen Victoria died in 1901. That year she succeeded to the title of Princess of Wales as the wife of the heir to the throne.
Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (1923–1936) – Lady Elizabeth ceased to be known as the Duchess of York on her accession as Queen Consort following the abdication of Edward VIII and the elevation of her husband as George VI.
Sarah Ferguson (1986–1996) – Sarah Ferguson was a close friend of Diana, Princess of Wales and was introduced to Prince Andrew at her instigation. Following her divorce in 1996, she became known as Sarah, Duchess of York (the proper address for the divorced wives of peers). She also lost the style HRH as well as any other dignities related to that title. Contrary to popular belief Sarah, Duchess of York is not the Duchess of York for that is the title reserved for the wife of the Duke of York. As in the case of Diana, Princess of Wales, Sarah retains the style but not the title of Duchess of York. This is to emphasize her changed status from wife to former wife of the Duke of York.