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Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale

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Dukedom of Cumberland
and Teviotdale
Creation date24 April 1799
Created byKing George III
PeeragePeerage of Great Britain
First holderPrince Ernest Augustus
Last holderErnest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover
Remainder tothe 1st Duke's heirs male of the body lawfully begotten
Subsidiary titlesEarl of Armagh
StatusSuspended on 28 March 1919 under the Titles Deprivation Act 1917

Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain that was held by junior members of the British royal family. It was named after the county of Cumberland in England, and after Teviotdale in Scotland. Held by the Hanoverian royals, it was suspended under the Titles Deprivation Act 1917, which revoked titles belonging to enemies of the United Kingdom during the Great War.

History

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Portrait of the Duke of Cumberland by George Dawe, 1828.

The title Duke of Cumberland had been created three times in the Peerages of England and Great Britain.

In 1799, the double dukedom of Cumberland and Teviotdale, in the Peerage of Great Britain, was bestowed on Ernest Augustus (later King of Hanover), fifth son of King George III of the United Kingdom.[1] In 1837, Ernest became king of Hanover, and on his death in 1851 the title descended with the kingdom to his son King George V of Hanover, and on George's death in 1878 to his grandson Prince Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover. In 1866, Hanover was annexed by Prussia, but King George died without renouncing his rights. His son Ernest, while maintaining his claim to the kingdom of Hanover, was generally known by his title of Duke of Cumberland in Britain.[2]

The title was suspended for Ernest's pro-German activities during World War I under the Titles Deprivation Act 1917, as it was for his son. Under the Act, the lineal male heirs of the 3rd Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale have the right to petition the British Crown for the restoration of his peerages. To date, none has done so. The present heir is Prince Ernst August of Hanover (born 26 February 1954), great grandson of the 3rd Duke and current head of the House of Hanover. He is the senior male-line descendant of George III of the United Kingdom.

Dukes of Cumberland and Teviotdale

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After the Union of Great Britain, the Hanoverian kings liked to grant double titles (one from one constituent country, one from another) to emphasise unity.

Duke Portrait Birth Marriage(s) Death
Prince Ernest Augustus
House of Hanover
1799–1851
also: Earl of Armagh (1799), King of Hanover (1837)
Prince Ernest Augustus 5 June 1771
Buckingham Palace
son of King George III and Queen Charlotte
Duchess Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
1815
3 children
18 November 1851
Hanover
aged 80
Prince George
House of Hanover
1851–1878
also: Earl of Armagh (1851), King of Hanover (1851)
Prince George 27 May 1819
Berlin
son of Prince Ernest Augustus and Princess Frederica
Princess Marie of Saxe-Altenburg
1843
3 children
12 June 1878
Paris
aged 59
Prince Ernest Augustus
House of Hanover
1878–1919
also: Earl of Armagh (1878)
Prince Ernest Augustus 21 September 1845
Hanover
son of Prince George and Princess Marie
Princess Thyra of Denmark
1878
6 children
14 November 1923
Gmunden
aged 78

The Titles Deprivation Act 1917 suspended the title on 28 March 1919.


See also

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References

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  1. ^ "No. 15126". The London Gazette. 23 April 1799. p. 372.
  2. ^  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainChisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Cumberland, Dukes and Earls of". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 7 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 620.