Duke of Cambridge is a title (named after the city of Cambridge in England) which has been conferred upon members of the British royal family several times. It was first used as a designation for Charles Stuart (1660–1661), the eldest son of James, Duke of York (later James II), though he was never formally created Duke of Cambridge. The title was most recently bestowed upon Prince William on 29 April 2011.
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The first officially recognised creation was in the Peerage of England in 1664, when James Stuart, son of the Duke of York by his first wife, was granted the title. James, Duke of Cambridge died young and without heirs, and the title became extinct. The title was next granted to Edgar Stuart, another son of the Duke of York by his first wife. Edgar also died young and the title again became extinct.
The Duke of York's eldest son by his second wife, Charles Stuart (1677), was also styled Duke of Cambridge, but died approximately a month old, not having lived long enough to be formally created.
The dukedom was next granted to George Augustus, son of George Louis, Hereditary Prince of Hanover and Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, who would later become George I of Great Britain. When George Augustus ascended to the throne as George II, the dukedom merged into the crown.[1] The title was next given, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, to Prince Adolphus, the seventh son of George III. Upon the death of his only son without a legitimate heir, the title became extinct.
The dukedom last became vacant in 1904, when Prince George, 2nd Duke of Cambridge, died without legitimate issue. The first Duke's grandson (through a female line), Adolphus, Duke of Teck, who was the brother of Queen Mary, George V's consort, was created Marquess of Cambridge in 1917 when he gave up his German titles and took the surname "Cambridge". Upon the death of the second Marquess without any male heirs, the marquessate became extinct.
In 1999, during the time leading up to the wedding of The Prince Edward, the youngest son of Elizabeth II, experts had suggested the Dukedom of Cambridge or Sussex as the most likely to be granted to Prince Edward, but he was instead created Earl of Wessex (with the expectation of eventually becoming Duke of Edinburgh). It has subsequently been reported by The Sunday Telegraph that Prince Edward was originally to have been titled Duke of Cambridge after his marriage. However, after watching the 1998 film Shakespeare in Love, he was reportedly attracted to the title used by a character played by Colin Firth, and asked the Queen to be given the title of Earl of Wessex instead.[2]
On 29 April 2011, the day of his wedding, Prince William was created Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Strathearn and Baron Carrickfergus.[3]
Coincidentally, Prince William is the great-great-great-great grandson of Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, whose daughter Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge married Francis, Duke of Teck. Adelaide and Francis' daughter – Mary of Teck – became the queen consort of George V, mother of George VI, and the grandmother of Elizabeth II and her sister Princess Margaret.
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