Duke of Richmond

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Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond. Son of Charles II.

The title Duke of Richmond is named after Richmond and its surrounding district of Richmondshire, and has been created several times in the Peerage of England for members of the royal Tudor and Stuart families. The current lineage and title was created in 1675 for the son of king Charles II of England and a Breton noblewoman called Louise de Kérouaille; because the two bore Charles Lennox out of wedlock, he was considered illegitimate and given this title instead.

1 History of the Dukedom
2 Coat of Arms
3 Dukes of Richmond and Somerset, First Creation (1525)
4 Dukes of Richmond, First Creation (1623)
5 Dukes of Richmond, Second Creation (1641)
6 Dukes of Richmond, Third Creation (1675)
7 References
8 See also
9 Further reading
10 External links

[edit] History of the Dukedom

The Dukedom was first created (as Duke of Richmond and Somerset) for Henry Fitzroy, the illegitimate son of Henry VIII Tudor by Elizabeth Blount. Upon his death without children in 1536 it became extinct.

Ludovic Stuart, second Duke of Lennox (see Lennox (district)) (1574-1624), who also held other titles in the peerage of Scotland, was created Earl of Richmond in 1613 and Duke of Richmond in 1623 as a member of the Lennox line (not unlike King James himself) in the House of Stuart. These became extinct at his death in 1624, but his Scottish honors devolved on his brother Esmé, Earl of March. Esmé's son James, the fourth Duke of Lennox (1612-1655), was created Duke of Richmond in 1641, the two dukedoms again becoming united. In 1672, on the death of James' nephew Charles, 3rd Duke of Richmond and 6th Duke of Lennox, both titles again became extinct.

The third creation 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 Aubigny claim is accepted) dukedoms, more than any other person in the realm. 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 subsidiary titles 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 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 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, West Sussex.

[edit] Coat of Arms

On His Grace's coat of arms, the United Kingdom along with a border of Lennox and surmounted escutcheon of Aubigny, are represented in 1st and 4th cantons as Stuart titles, while Clan Gordon (1st Gordon, 2nd Badenoch, 3rd Seton, 4th Fraser--from acquisition of Aboyne lands) is represented in 2nd and 3rd cantons. The previous Stuart arms for Richmond had the French province of Berry in cantons 1 and 4, Stuart arms bordered by Aubigny (in Berry) in cantons 2 and 3, with a surmounted Lennox escutcheon. Henry FitzRoy's arms were as follows: 1st and 4th canton borders for Brittany, 2nd and 3rd canton borders for Somerset, centred by the English Royal Arms, surmounted by an escutcheon of Nottingham, with a bar attached to show royal bastardy. Richmond has its own distinct badge, the Tudor rose as displayed by the Richmond Herald. Richmond was the compromise between Lancaster and York, in the Wars of the Roses.