Duke of Clarence

Dukedom of Clarence
Arms of George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence (third creation): Quarterly, 1st and 4th, France modern, 2nd and 3rd England, with a label of three points Argent each point charged with a canton Gules
Creation date	1362 (first creation) 1412 (second creation) 1461 (third creation)
Created by	Edward III (first creation) Henry IV (second creation) Edward IV (third creation)
Peerage	Peerage of England
First holder	Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence
Last holder	Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale
Subsidiary titles	First creation: Earl of Ulster Second creation: Earl of Aumale Third creation: Earl of Warwick Earl of Salisbury
Extinction date	1368 (first creation) 1421 (second creation) 1478 (third creation)

Duke of Clarence was a substantive title created three times in the Peerage of England. The title Duke of Clarence and St Andrews has also been created in the Peerage of Great Britain, and Duke of Clarence and Avondale and Earl of Clarence in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The titles have traditionally been awarded to junior members of the English and British royal family, and all are now extinct.

History

The title was first granted to Lionel of Antwerp, the second son of King Edward III, in 1362, as he had married a de Clare heiress with estates including Clare in Suffolk. Since he died without sons, the title became extinct.

The title was again created in favour of Thomas of Lancaster, the second son of King Henry IV, in 1412. Upon his death, too, the title became extinct.

The last creation in the Peerage of England was for George Plantagenet, brother of King Edward IV, in 1461. The Duke forfeited his title in 1478, after he had been convicted of treason against his brother. He allegedly met his end by being drowned in a butt of Malmsey (according to William Shakespeare).

A fourth creation in England was suggested and planned to take effect; the title of Duke of Clarence was going to be given to Lord Guilford Dudley, husband of Lady Jane Grey, upon her coronation, as she declined to make her husband king. However, she was deposed before this could take effect.

Two double dukedoms, of Clarence and St Andrews and of Clarence and Avondale, were later created for British royal princes. The title also took the form of an earldom for Queen Victoria's son Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, and his son Prince Charles Edward, the Clarence earldom being a subsidiary title.

Nomenclature

The title does not refer to the minor River Clarence in Pas-de-Calais, northern France, but is said by Polydore Vergil to originate^[1] from the manor and castle of Clare in Suffolk, the Caput baroniae of a feudal barony, which was held by Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence, in right of his wife, the heiress Elizabeth de Burgh, 4th Countess of Ulster, ultimate descendant and heiress of the previous holder, the de Clare family; Clare was among the many estates which she brought to her husband.^[2] After the Union of the Crowns in 1603, the holders of the title were also given titles named after Scottish places: St Andrews and Avondale.

Duke of Clarence, first creation (1362)

The title was first created for Lionel, a younger son of King Edward III who in 1352 had married Elizabeth de Burgh, 4th Countess of Ulster, the sole heiress via a female line of Gilbert de Clare, 8th Earl of Gloucester. The name Clarence referred to the feudal barony of Clare in Suffolk, and as the holder of it (and others) by right of his wife Lionel was given that title.

Duke	Portrait	Birth	Marriage(s)	Death
Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence also: Earl of Ulster (1264 jure uxoris)		29 November 1338 Antwerp, Duchy of Brabant (now Belgium) son of Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault	Elizabeth de Burgh, 4th Countess of Ulster 15 August 1352 - 10 December 1363 1 child Violante Visconti 28 May 1368 no children	7 October 1368 Alba, Piedmont aged 29

Died without male issue.

Duke of Clarence, second creation (1412)

Duke	Portrait	Birth	Marriage(s)	Death
Thomas of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Clarence also: Earl of Aumale (1412)		Autumn 1387 son of Henry IV of England and Mary de Bohun	Margaret Holland 1411 no children	22 March 1421 Battle of Baugé, Anjou, France aged 33

Died without legitimate male issue.

Duke of Clarence, third creation (1461)

Duke	Portrait	Birth	Marriage(s)	Death
George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence also: Earl of Warwick and Earl of Salisbury (1472)		21 October 1449 Dublin Castle, Ireland son of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York and Cecily Neville, Duchess of York	Isabel Neville 11 July 1469 4 children	18 February 1478 Tower of London, London aged 28

Executed for treason in 1478 and honours forfeited.

Similar titles

Earls of Clarence (1881)

• The Prince Leopold, 1st Duke of Albany, 1st Earl of Clarence & 1st Baron Arklow (1853–1884), fourth son of Queen Victoria.
• Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, 2nd Duke of Albany, 2nd Earl of Clarence & 2nd Baron Arklow (1884–1954), posthumous son of the 1st Earl, had his British titles suspended in 1919 for waging war against Britain.
  • For heirs to the suspended peerages, see Duke of Albany.

Duke of Clarence and St Andrews (1789)

• William IV (1765–1837), who became king in 1830, at which point the title merged with the Crown.

Duke of Clarence and Avondale (1890)

• Prince Albert Victor, 1st Duke of Clarence and Avondale (1864–1892)

Family tree

Possible future creations

The Dukedom is currently vacant. While there was some speculation that it was one of the options available for Prince Harry upon his wedding with Meghan Markle, press reports also noted the Dukedom's chequered past, including scandals and unfounded rumours of criminality related to Prince Albert Victor.^[3][4] Prince Harry was ultimately awarded the Dukedom of Sussex.

References