Duke of Albany

For the steamship, see TSS Duke of Albany.

Not to be confused with Duke of Alba.

Dukedom of Albany
Arms of Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany
Creation date	24 May 1881
Creation	Sixth
Created by	Queen Victoria
Peerage	Peerage of the United Kingdom
First holder	Prince Leopold
Last holder	Prince Charles Edward
Remainder to	the 1st Duke's heirs male of the body lawfully begotten
Subsidiary titles	Earl of Clarence Baron Arklow
Status	Suspended under the Titles Deprivation Act 1917 on 28 March 1919

Arms of the Albany Stewarts

Duke of Albany is a peerage title that has occasionally been bestowed on younger sons in the Scottish and later the British royal family, particularly in the Houses of Stuart and Hanover.

History

The Dukedom of Albany was first granted in 1398 by King Robert III of Scotland on his brother, Robert Stewart, the title being in the Peerage of Scotland. "Albany" was a broad territorial term representing the parts of Scotland north of the River Forth, roughly the former Kingdom of the Picts. The title (along with the Dukedom of Rothesay) was one of the first two dukedoms created in Scotland. It passed to Robert's son Murdoch Stewart, and was forfeited in 1425 due to the attainder of Murdoch.

The title was again created in 1458 for Alexander Stewart but was forfeit in 1483. His son John Stewart was restored to the second creation in 1515 but died without heirs in 1536. In 1541 Robert, second son of James V of Scotland, was styled Duke of Albany, but he died at less than a month old. The fourth creation, along with the Earldom of Ross and Lordship of Ardmannoch, was for Mary, Queen of Scots' king consort Lord Darnley, whose son, later James VI of Scotland, I of England and Ireland, inherited the titles on his death. That creation merged with the Scottish crown upon James's ascension. The title, along with the title of Duke of York, with which it has since been traditionally coupled, was created for a fifth time in 1604 for Charles, son of James VI and I. Upon Charles's ascent to the throne in 1625, the title of Duke of Albany merged once again in the crowns.

The title was next granted in 1660 to Charles I's son, James, by Charles II. When James succeeded his elder brother to the throne in 1685, the titles again merged into the crown. The cities of New York and Albany, New York, were thus both named after James, as he was the Duke of York and of Albany. The pretender, Charles Edward Stuart, gave the title Duchess of Albany to his illegitimate daughter Charlotte; she died in 1789.

The title "Duke of York and Albany" was granted three times by the Hanoverian kings.

HRH Prince Charles Edward, the last person to hold the title, was deprived thereof in 1919.

The title of "Albany" alone was granted for the fifth time, this time in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, in 1881 to Prince Leopold, the fourth son of Queen Victoria. Prince Leopold's son, Prince Charles Edward (who had succeeded as reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1900), was deprived of the peerage in 1919 for bearing arms against the United Kingdom in World War I. His grandson, Ernst Leopold (1935–1996), only son of Charles Edward's eldest son Johann Leopold, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1906–1972), sometimes used the title "Duke of Albany", although the Titles Deprivation Act 1917 stipulates that any successor of a suspended peer shall be restored to the peerage only by direction of the sovereign, the successor's petition for restoration having been submitted for and obtained a satisfactory review of the appropriate Privy Council committee.

Dukes of Albany

First creation, 1398

Other titles (1st Duke): Earl of Fife (1371), Earl of Buchan (1374–1406), Earl of Atholl (1403–1406)

• Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany (c. 

1340

–1420), third son of Robert II of Scotland

Other titles (2nd Duke): Earl of Menteith (bef 1189), Earl of Fife (1371), Earl of Buchan (1374)

• Murdoch Stewart, Duke of Albany (1362–1425), eldest son of the 1st Duke was attainted and his honours forfeit in 1425

Second creation, 1458

Other titles (1st Duke): Earl of March (1455), Earl of Mar and Earl of Garioch (1482)

• Alexander Stewart, Duke of Albany (c. 

1454

–1485), second son of James II, forfeited his honours in 1479, was restored in 1482, then forfeited them again in 1483

Other titles (2nd Duke): Earl of March (1455)

• John Stewart, Duke of Albany (1482–1536), only legitimate son of the 1st Duke, was restored to his father's dukedom and Earldom of March in 1515. The honours became extinct upon his death without issue

Only styled, 1541

Duke	Portrait	Birth	Marriage(s)	Death
Robert Stewart House of Stuart 1541–1541	no portrait	12 April 1541 Falkland Palace, Falkland, Fife son of James V of Scotland and Mary of Guise	not married	20 April 1541 Falkland Palace, Falkland, Fife aged 8 days

Third creation, 1565

Duke	Portrait	Birth	Marriage(s)	Death
Henry Stuart House of Stuart 1565–1567 also: Earl of Ross and Lord Ardmannoch (1565)		19 November 1545 Dunfermline Palace, Dunfermline son of Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox and Lady Margaret Douglas	Mary, Queen of Scots 29 July 1565 1 child	10 February 1567 Kirk o' Field, Edinburgh aged 21
James Stuart House of Stuart 1567 also: Earl of Ross and Lord Ardmannoch (1565); Duke of Rothesay (1398)		19 June 1566 Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh son of Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley and Mary, Queen of Scots	Anne of Denmark 23 November 1589 9 children	27 March 1625 De Vere Theobalds Estate, Cheshunt aged 58
Prince James succeeded as James VI in 1567 upon his mother's abdication, and his titles merged with the crown.

Fourth creation, 1604

Duke	Portrait	Birth	Marriage(s)	Death
Charles Stuart House of Stuart 1600–1625 also: Marquess of Ormond, Earl of Ross, Lord Ardmannoch (1600–1625); Duke of York (1605–1625); Prince of Wales (1616), Duke of Cornwall (1337) and Duke of Rothesay (1398)		19 November 1600 Dunfermline Palace, Dunfermline son of James VI and I and Anne of Denmark	Henrietta Maria of France 13 June 1625 9 children	30 January 1649 Whitehall Palace, London aged 48
Prince Charles succeeded as Charles I in 1625 upon his father's death, and his titles merged with the crown.

Fifth creation, 1660

Duke	Portrait	Birth	Marriage(s)	Death
James Stuart House of Stuart 1633 or 1644 – 1685 also: Duke of York (1633/1644), Earl of Ulster (1659)		14 October 1633 St. James's Palace, London son of Charles I of England and Henrietta Maria of France	Anne Hyde 3 September 1660 8 children Mary of Modena 21 November 1673 7 children	16 September 1701 Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Paris aged 67
Prince James succeeded as James II in 1685 upon his brother's death, and his titles merged with the crown.

Sixth creation, 1881

Duke	Portrait	Birth	Marriage(s)	Death
Prince Leopold House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha 1882–1884 also: Earl of Clarence and Baron Arklow (1881)		7 April 1853 Buckingham Palace, London son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert	Princess Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont 27 April 1882 2 children	28 March 1884 Villa Nevada, Cannes aged 30
Prince Charles Edward House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha 1884–1919 also: Earl of Clarence and Baron Arklow (1881)		19 July 1884 Claremont, Esher son of Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany and Princess Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont	Princess Victoria Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein 11 October 1905 5 children	6 March 1954 Coburg aged 69
The Titles Deprivation Act 1917 suspended the title on 28 March 1919.

Family trees

Family tree of Royal dukes in the United Kingdom

Non-royal dukes are not included; see Royal dukedoms in the United Kingdom. Titles mandated for use by the heir apparent (Duke of Rothesay and the 1337 creation of the Duke of Cornwall) are also not included; see Template:Princes of Wales family tree. Includes dukes of: Albany, Albemarle, Bedford, Cambridge, Clarence, Connaught and Strathearn, Cumberland, Edinburgh, Gloucester, Gloucester and Edinburgh, Kent, Kintyre and Lorne, Norfolk, Ross, Somerset, Sussex, Windsor, and York, but only when royally. Robert II (1316–1390) King Edward III (1312–1377) Duke of Albany (1st creation), 1398 Duke of Clarence (1st creation), 1362 Duke of York (1st creation), 1385 Robert III (c.  1337 –1406) Robert Stewart (c.  1340 –1420) 1st Duke of Albany Edward the Black Prince (1330–1376) Lionel of Antwerp (1338–1368) Duke of Clarence John of Gaunt (1340–1399) Edmund of Langley (1341–1402) 1st Duke of York Dukedom of Clarence (1st creation) extinct, 1368 Duke of Cornwall (2nd creation), 1376 Duke of Hereford, 1397 Duke of Gloucester (1st creation), 1385 Murdoch Stewart (c.  1362 –1425) 2nd Duke of Albany Richard of Bordeaux (1367–1400) Duke of Cornwall, later King Richard II Henry Bolingbroke (1367–1413) 1st Duke of Hereford, later King Henry IV Thomas of Woodstock (1355–1397) Duke of Gloucester Dukedom of Albany (1st creation) forfeit, 1425 Dukedom of Cornwall (2nd creation) merged in the crown, 1377 Dukedom of Hereford merged in the crown, 1399 Dukedom of Gloucester (1st creation) extinct, 1397 Duke of Clarence (2nd creation), 1412 Duke of Bedford (1st & 2nd creations), 1414 Duke of Gloucester (2nd creation), 1414 Duke of Albemarle (Aumale) (1st creation), 1397 Thomas of Lancaster (1387–1421) Duke of Clarence John of Lancaster (1389–1435) Duke of Bedford Surrendered dukedom and then regranted, 1433 Humphrey of Lancaster (1390–1447) Duke of Gloucester John Beaufort (1373–1410) Joan Beaufort (c.  1379 –1440) Edward of Norwich (c.  1373 –1415) Duke of Aumale, 2nd Duke of York Richard of Conisburgh (1385–1415) Dukedom of Clarence (2nd creation) extinct, 1421 Dukedom of Bedford (2nd creation) extinct, 1435 Dukedom of Gloucester (2nd creation) extinct, 1447 Dukedom of Albemarle (Aumale, 1st creation) forfeit, 1399 Duke of York (1st creation) restored, 1425 Duke of Cornwall (3rd creation), 1460 James I (1394–1437) Joan Beaufort (c.  1404 –1445) John Beaufort (1404–1444) Richard Neville (1400–1460) Cecily Neville (1415–1495) Richard of York (1411–1460) 3rd Duke of York, Duke of Cornwall Duke of Cornwall (3rd creation) extinct, 1460 Duke of Bedford (5th creation), 1485 Duke of Clarence (3rd creation), 1461 Duke of Gloucester (3rd creation), 1461 James II (1430–1460) Jasper Tudor (c.  1431 –1495) Duke of Bedford Edmund Tudor (c.  1430 –1456) Lady Margaret Beaufort (1443–1509) John Neville (c.  1431 –1471) Elizabeth Woodville (c.  1437 –1492) Prince Edward (1442–1483) 4th Duke of York, later King Edward IV George Plantagenet (1449–1478) Duke of Clarence Richard of York (1452–1485) Duke of Gloucester, later King Richard III Dukedom of Bedford (5th creation) extinct, 1495 Dukedom of York (1st creation) merged in the Crown, 1461 Dukedom of Clarence (3rd creation) forfeit, 1478 Dukedom of Gloucester (3rd creation) merged in the Crown, 1483 Duke of Albany (2nd creation), 1458 Duke of Bedford (3rd creation), 1470 Duke of York (2nd creation), 1474 Duke of Norfolk (3rd creation), 1477 Duke of Bedford (4th creation), 1478 Alexander Stewart (c.  1454 –1485) 1st Duke of Albany James III (1451/1452–1488) George Neville (1457–1483) Duke of Bedford King Henry VII (1457–1509) Elizabeth of York (1466–1503) Richard of Shrewsbury (1473–1483) Duke of York, Duke of Norfolk George of York (1477–1479) Duke of Bedford Dukedom of Bedford (3rd creation) forfeit, 1478 Dukedom of York (2nd creation) and Dukedom of Norfolk (3rd creation) extinct, 1483 Dukedom of Bedford (4th creation) extinct, 1479 Duke of Ross (1st creation), 1488 Duke of York (3rd creation), 1494 Duke of Somerset (3rd creation), 1499 John Stewart (1482–1536) 2nd Duke of Albany James Stewart (1476–1504) Duke of Ross James IV (1473–1513) Margaret Tudor (1489–1541) Prince Henry (1491–1547) Duke of York, later King Henry VIII Edmund Tudor (1499–1500) Duke of Somerset (nominated but probably not invested) Dukedom of Albany (2nd creation) extinct, 1536 Dukedom of Ross (1st creation) extinct, 1504 Dukedom of York (3rd creation) merged in the Crown, 1509 Dukedom of Somerset (3rd creation) extinct, 1500 Duke of Ross (2nd creation), 1514 James V (1512–1542) Alexander Stewart (1514–1515) Duke of Ross Duke of Albany (3rd creation), 1565 Dukedom of Ross (2nd creation) extinct, 1515 Henry Stuart (1546–1567) 1st Duke of Albany Mary, Queen of Scots (1542–1587) Prince James (1566–1625) 2nd Duke of Albany, later King James VI & I Dukedom of Albany (3rd creation) merged in the Crown, 1567 Duke of Albany (4th creation), 1604 Duke of York (4th creation), 1605 Duke of Kintyre and Lorne, 1602 Princess Elizabeth Stuart (1596–1662) Prince Charles (1600–1649) Duke of Albany, Duke of York, later King Charles I Robert Stuart (1602) Duke of Kintyre and Lorne Dukedom of Albany (4th creation), Dukedom of York (4th creation) merged in the Crown, 1625 Dukedom of Kintyre and Lorne extinct, 1602 Duke of York (5th creation) 1644 Duke of Albany (5th creation), 1660 Duke of Gloucester (4th creation), 1659 Sophia of Hanover (1630–1714) James Stuart (1633–1701) Duke of York, Duke of Albany, later King James II Prince Henry (1640–1660) Duke of Gloucester Dukedom of Albany (5th creation) and Dukedom of York (5th creation) merged in the Crown, 1685 Dukedom of Gloucester (4th creation) extinct, 1660 Duke of York and Albany (1st creation), 1716 Duke of Cambridge (1st creation), 1664 Duke of Kendal (1st creation), 1666 Duke of Cambridge (2nd creation), 1667 King George I (1660–1727) Ernest Augustus (1674–1728) Duke of York and Albany Charles Stuart (1660–1661) styled Duke of Cambridge James Stuart (1663–1667) Duke of Cambridge Queen Anne (1665–1714) Charles Stuart (1666–1667) designated Duke of Kendal Edgar Stuart (1667–1671) Duke of Cambridge Charles Stuart (1677) styled Duke of Cambridge Dukedom of York and Albany (1st creation) extinct, 1728 Dukedom of Cambridge (1st creation) extinct, 1667 Dukedom of Kendal (1st creation), extinct, 1667 Dukedom of Cambridge (2nd creation) extinct, 1671 Duke of Cambridge (3rd creation) Prince George (1683–1760) Duke of Cambridge, later King George II Prince William (1689–1700) styled Duke of Gloucester Dukedom of Cambridge (3rd creation) merged with the Crown, 1727 Duke of Edinburgh (1st creation), 1726 Duke of Cumberland (3rd creation), 1726 Prince Frederick Louis (1707–1751) 1st Duke of Edinburgh, styled Duke of Gloucester until created Duke of Edinburgh Prince William Augustus (1721–1765) Duke of Cumberland Dukedom of Cumberland (3rd creation) extinct, 1765 Duke of York and Albany (2nd creation), 1760 Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh, 1764 Duke of Cumberland and Strathearn, 1766 Prince George William Frederick (1738–1820) 2nd Duke of Edinburgh, later King George III Prince Edward (1739–1767) Duke of York and Albany Prince William Henry (1743–1805) 1st Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh Prince Henry (1745–1790) Duke of Cumberland and Strathearn Dukedom of Edinburgh (1st creation), merged in the Crown, 1760 Dukedom of York and Albany (2nd creation) extinct, 1767 Dukedom of Gloucester and Edinburgh unused, 1805–1816 Dukedom of Cumberland and Strathearn extinct, 1790 Duke of York and Albany (3rd creation), 1784 Duke of Clarence and St Andrews, 1789 Duke of Kent and Strathearn, 1799 Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale, 1799 Duke of Sussex (1st creation), 1801 Duke of Cambridge (4th creation), 1801 Prince Frederick (1763–1827) Duke of York and Albany Prince William Henry (1765–1837), Duke of Clarence and St Andrews, later King William IV Prince Edward (1767–1820) Duke of Kent and Strathearn Ernest Augustus (1771–1851) King of Hanover, 1st Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale Prince Augustus Frederick (1773–1843) Duke of Sussex Prince Adolphus (1774–1850) 1st Duke of Cambridge Princess Mary (1776–1857) Prince William Frederick (1776–1834) 2nd Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh Dukedom of York and Albany (3rd creation) extinct, 1827 Dukedom of Clarence and St Andrews merged in the Crown, 1830 Dukedom of Kent and Strathearn extinct, 1820 Dukedom of Sussex (1st creation) extinct, 1843 Dukedom of Gloucester and Edinburgh extinct, 1834 Queen Victoria (1819–1901) George V (1819–1878) King of Hanover, 2nd Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale Prince George (1819–1904) 2nd Duke of Cambridge Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge (1833–1897) Dukedom of Cambridge (4th creation) extinct, 1904 Duke of Edinburgh (2nd creation), 1866 Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, 1874 Duke of Albany (6th creation), 1881 King Edward VII (1841–1910) Prince Ernest Augustus (1845–1923) 3rd Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale Princess Alice (1843–1878) Prince Alfred Ernest Albert (1844–1900) Duke of Edinburgh Prince Arthur (1850–1942) 1st Duke of Connaught and Strathearn Prince Leopold (1853–1884) 1st Duke of Albany Dukedom of Cumberland and Teviotdale forfeit, 1919 Dukedom of Edinburgh (2nd creation) extinct, 1900 Duke of Clarence and Avondale, 1890 Duke of York (6th creation), 1892 Prince Albert Victor (1864–1892) Duke of Clarence and Avondale George Frederick Ernest Albert (1865–1936) Duke of York, later King George V Mary of Teck (1867–1953) Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine (1863–1950) Prince Arthur of Connaught (1883–1938) Dukedom of Clarence and Avondale extinct, 1892 Dukedom of York (6th creation) merged in the Crown, 1910 Duke of Windsor, 1937 Duke of York (7th creation), 1920 Duke of Kent (2nd creation), 1934 Duke of Gloucester (5th creation), 1928 King Edward VIII (1894–1972) Later Duke of Windsor Prince Albert Frederick Arthur George (1895–1952) Duke of York, later King George VI Princess Alice of Battenberg (1885–1969) Prince George (1902–1942) 1st Duke of Kent Prince Henry (1900–1974) 1st Duke of Gloucester Prince Alastair Arthur (1914–1943) 2nd Duke of Connaught and Strathearn Prince Charles Edward (1884–1954) 2nd Duke of Albany Dukedom of Windsor extinct, 1972 Dukedom of York (7th creation) merged in the Crown, 1936 Dukedom of Connaught and Strathearn extinct, 1943 Dukedom of Albany (6th creation) forfeit, 1919 Duke of Edinburgh (3rd creation), 1947 Queen Elizabeth II (1926–2022) Prince Philip (1921–2021) 1st Duke of Edinburgh Prince Edward (b. 1935) 2nd Duke of Kent Duke of York (8th creation), 1986 Duke of Edinburgh (4th creation), 2023 Prince Charles (b. 1948) 2nd Duke of Edinburgh, later King Charles III Prince Andrew (b. 1960) Duke of York Prince Edward (b. 1964) Duke of Edinburgh George Windsor (b. 1962) Prince Richard (b. 1944) 2nd Duke of Gloucester Dukedom of Edinburgh (3rd creation) merged in the Crown, 2022 No male heirs Dukedom of Edinburgh (4th creation) is a life peerage and therefore not hereditary Heir apparent to the Dukedom of Kent Duke of Cambridge (5th creation), 2011 Duke of Sussex (2nd creation), 2018 Prince William (b. 1982) Duke of Cambridge Prince Harry Duke of Sussex (b. 1984) Edward Windsor (b. 1988) Alexander Windsor (b. 1974) Heir-apparent to the Dukedom of Gloucester Prince George of Wales (b. 2013) Prince Archie of Sussex (b. 2019) Heir apparent to the Dukedom of Cambridge Heir apparent to the Dukedom of Sussex

Dukes of Albany in fiction

• Thomas Norton and Thomas Sackville's play Gorboduc includes Fergus, the Duke of Albany, who tries to claim the British throne after Gorboduc's death through his royal descent.
• William Shakespeare's King Lear, set in no particular century, includes as a major character the Duke of Albany, who is husband to Lear's daughter Goneril.
• In the 2001 film Kate & Leopold, Hugh Jackman plays "Leopold Mountbatten, Duke of Albany," who holds the title in 1876, making him a fictional analogue of Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, who held the title at that time. However, the surname Mountbatten is an anachronism, as the equivalent family at the time would have been called Battenberg.

See also

• Duchess of Albany
• Duke of York
• Duke of York and Albany
• Alba
• Albany (disambiguation)