| Dukedom of Manchester | |
| Creation date | 13 April 1719 |
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| Created by | George I of Great Britain |
| Peerage | Peerage of Great Britain |
| First holder | Charles Montagu, 4th Earl of Manchester |
| Present holder | Alexander Montagu, 13th Duke |
| Remainder to | the 1st Duke's heirs male of the body lawfully begotten |
Duke of Manchester is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1719 for the politician Charles Montagu, 4th Earl of Manchester, who notably served as Secretary of State for the Southern Department. The Duke of Manchester is styled His Grace.
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The Montagu family descends from the judge Sir Edward Montagu (c. 1485–1557). His grandson, Sir Henry Montagu (c. 1563–1642), who served as Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench as well as Lord High Treasurer of England and Lord Privy Seal, was raised to the Peerage of England in 1620 as Baron Montagu of Kimbolton, of Kimbolton in the County of Huntingdon, and Viscount Mandeville. In 1626 he was further honoured when he was made Earl of Manchester, also in the Peerage of England.
His son, the 2nd Earl, was a prominent Parliamentary General during the Civil War but later supported the restoration of Charles II. His son, the 3rd Earl, represented Huntingdonshire in the House of Commons. His son was the aforementioned 4th Earl, who was created Duke of Manchester in 1719.
The first Duke was succeeded by his eldest son, the 2nd Duke. He notably served as Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard in the administration of Sir Robert Walpole. He was childless and on his death the titles passed to his younger brother, the 3rd Duke. He had earlier represented Huntingdonshire in Parliament. He was succeeded by his son, the 4th Duke. He was Ambassador to France and served as Lord Chamberlain of the Household. His son, the 5th Duke, was Governor of Jamaica for many years and also held office as Postmaster General between 1827 and 1830. He was succeeded by his son, the 6th Duke. He represented Huntingdon in the House of Commons as a Tory.
His eldest son, the 7th Duke, was Conservative Member of Parliament for Bewdley and Huntingdonshire. His son, the 8th Duke, briefly represented Huntingdonshire in Parliament. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the 9th Duke. He sat on the Liberal benches in the House of Lords and served as Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard in the Liberal administration of Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman. As of 2007 the titles are held by his great-grandson, the 13th Duke, who succeeded his father in 2002 (who in his turn had succeeded his elder brother in 1985).
The heir apparent to the Dukedom takes the courtesy title Viscount Mandeville, and the heir apparent's heir apparent, when such exists, is styled Lord Kimbolton.
The traditional estate of the family was at Kimbolton Castle. Only some 50 acres (200,000 m2) of parkland was sold together with the castle, and the 10th Duke retained some 3,250 acres (13.2 km2) of the Kimbolton agricultural estate. This, however, was sold by the eldest son and heir of the 10th Duke in 1975, shortly before the death of his father. The family also used to own Tandragee Castle, in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. They sold it in 1955, and it is now the headquarters of Tayto (NI) Ltd., a potato crisp manufacturer.
The current holder of the title, the 13th Duke, lives in California.
Several other members of the Montagu family have been elevated to the peerage. The first Earl of Manchester was the younger brother of Edward Montagu, 1st Baron Montagu of Boughton, the ancestor of the Dukes of Montagu, and the uncle of Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich.
The heir apparent was believed to be Alexander Montagu, Viscount Mandeville (b. 1993), only son of the 13th Duke. However his legitimacy has been called into question in the light of a 2011 court case which revealed that the 13th Duke's first marriage had not ended when he married his second wife (Alexander's mother).[1]
The line of succession is as follows:
The only potential heirs to the Earldom (and other subsidiary titles) alone, were the Dukedom to become extinct, would be heirs male of the Hon. James Montagu, third son of the 1st Earl.
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