Duke of Richmond

2025-10-16T07:24:06Z

2A01:E0A:D68:1E10:E522:478:12F2:AF18:

{{short description|Title in the Peerage of England}}
{{about|the Dukedom of Richmond|the 11th and present Duke of Richmond|Charles Gordon Lennox, 11th Duke of Richmond}}
{{More citations needed|date=March 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox nobility title
| name = Dukedom of Richmond ''is held with'' Dukedom of Lennox ''and'' Dukedom of Gordon
| image = [[File:Coronet of a British Duke.svg|150px]] [[File:Duke of Richmond CoA.svg|180px]]
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption = Coat of Arms of the Dukedom of Richmond{{efn|''Quarterly: 1st and 4th grand quarters, the Royal Arms of Charles II (viz. quarterly: 1st and 4th, France and England quarterly; 2nd, Scotland; 3rd, Ireland); the whole within a bordure compony argent charged with roses gules barbed and seeded proper and the last; overall an escutcheon gules charged with three buckles or (Dukedom of Aubigny); 2nd grand quarter, argent a saltire engrailed gules between four roses of the second barbed and seeded proper (Lennox); 3rd grand quarter, quarterly, 1st, azure three boars' heads couped or (Gordon); 2nd, or three lions' heads erased gules (Badenoch); 3rd, or three crescents within a double tressure flory counter-flory gules (Seton); 4th, azure three cinquefoils argent (Fraser).''}}
| creation_date = 1675
| creation =
| monarch = [[Charles II of England|Charles II]]
| peerage = [[Peerage of England]]
| baronetage =
| first_holder = [[Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond|Charles Lennox]]
| last_holder =
| present_holder = [[Charles Gordon-Lennox, 11th Duke of Richmond]]
| heir_apparent = Charles Gordon Lennox, Earl of March and Kinrara
| heir_presumptive =
| remainder_to = the 1st Duke's [[heirs male]] [[heirs of the body|of the body]] lawfully begotten
| subsidiary_titles = [[Earl of March]] Earl of Darnley Earl of Kinrara Baron Settrington Lord Torbolton Duke of Aubigny
| status =
| extinction_date =
| family_seat = [[Goodwood House]]
| former_seat = [[Gordon Castle]]
| motto =
| footnotes =
}}

'''Duke of Richmond''' is a title in the [[Peerage of England]] that has been created four times in British history. It has been held by members of the royal [[Tudor dynasty|Tudor]] and [[House of Stuart|Stuart]] families.

The current dukedom of Richmond was created in 1675{{efn|Lennox's mother was a Breton noble, and it is thought that the Richmond title was chosen to allude to the extinct [[Earl of Richmond|Earldom of Richmond]] which was held between 1136 and 1384 by members of the [[duke of Brittany|ducal family of Brittany]].}} for [[Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond|Charles Lennox]], the illegitimate son of [[Charles II of England]] and one of his mistresses, the [[Breton people|Breton]] noblewoman [[Louise de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth|Louise de Penancoët de Kérouaille]]; Charles Lennox was also made [[Duke of Lennox]] a month later. [[Charles Gordon-Lennox, 6th Duke of Richmond]] was furthermore created [[Duke of Gordon]] in the [[Peerage of the United Kingdom]] in 1876, meaning that the Duke holds three dukedoms—plus, in [[Pretender|pretence]], the French [[Duke of Aubigny|Duchy of Aubigny-sur-Nère]].

{{TOC limit|3}}

==History of the dukedom==
Prior to the creation of the dukedom the early nobles of England associated with Richmondshire were [[Earl of Richmond|Lords and Earls of Richmond]]. At times the [[honour of Richmond]] was held without a title. The dukedom of Richmond emerged under [[Henry VIII]].

The first creation of a dukedom of Richmond (as ''Duke of Richmond and Somerset'') was made in 1525 for [[Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset|Henry FitzRoy]], an illegitimate son of Henry VIII. His mother was [[Elizabeth Blount]]. Upon the Duke's death without children in 1536, his titles became extinct.

The second creation was in 1623 for [[Ludovic Stewart, 2nd Duke of Lennox]] (see [[Lennox (district)]]) (1574–1624), who also held other titles in the [[peerage of Scotland]]. He was created [[Earl of Richmond]] and Baron Settrington in 1613 and Duke of Richmond in the [[peerage of England]] in 1623 as a member of the Lennox line (not unlike King [[James VI & I]] himself) in the [[House of Stuart]]. These became extinct at his death in 1624, but his Scottish honours devolved on his brother [[Esmé Stewart, 3rd Duke of Lennox|Esmé]], [[Earl of March]], who thus became 3rd Duke of Lennox in the peerage of Scotland. Esmé's son [[James Stewart, 1st Duke of Richmond|James, 4th Duke of Lennox]] (1612–1655) subsequently received the third creation of the dukedom of Richmond in 1641, when the two dukedoms again became united. In 1672, on the death of James' nephew [[Charles Stewart, 3rd Duke of Richmond|Charles]], 3rd Duke of Richmond and 6th Duke of Lennox, both titles again became extinct.<ref name="EB1911">{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Richmond, Earls and Dukes of|volume=23|pages=306–307}}</ref>

The fourth creation of the dukedom of Richmond was in August 1675, when [[Charles II of England|Charles II]] granted the title to [[Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond|Charles Lennox]], his illegitimate son by [[Louise de Keroualle]], [[Duchess of Portsmouth]]. Charles Lennox was further created Duke of Lennox a month later. Charles' son, also Charles, succeeded to the French title [[Duke of Aubigny]] (of [[Aubigny-sur-Nère]]) on the death of his grandmother in 1734. The 6th [[Duke of Richmond and Lennox]] was created [[Duke of Gordon]] (See [[Clan Gordon]]) in 1876. Thus, the Duke holds three (four, if the French Aubigny claim is accepted) dukedoms;<ref name="EB1911"/> three, equal since 2022 to [[William, Prince of Wales|Prince William]], Duke of Cornwall, of Rothesay and of Cambridge.{{ explain|date=July 2025}}

The subsidiary titles of the dukedom created in 1675 are ''[[Earl of March]]'' (created 1675), ''[[Earl of Darnley]]'' (1675), ''[[Earl of Kinrara]]'' (1876), ''Baron Settrington'', of Settrington in the County of York (1675), and ''Lord Torbolton'' (1675).

[[File:10th Duke of Richmond & Gordon & 5th Duke of Lennox colour.jpg|thumb|175px|[[Charles Gordon Lennox, 10th Duke of Richmond]], by [[Allan Warren]].]]
[[File:Lord March.JPG|thumb|175px|The 11th and current Duke, [[Charles Gordon Lennox, 11th Duke of Richmond|Charles Gordon Lennox]].]]

The Dukes of Richmond, Lennox and Gordon are normally styled ''Duke of Richmond and Gordon''. Before the creation of the Dukedom of Gordon they were styled ''Duke of Richmond and Lennox''. The titles ''Earl of March'' and ''Baron Settrington'' were created in the peerage of England along with the Dukedom of Richmond. The titles ''Earl of Darnley'' and ''Lord Torbolton'' were created in the peerage of Scotland along with the dukedom of Lennox. Finally, the title ''Earl of Kinrara'' was created in the peerage of the United Kingdom with the dukedom of Gordon. The eldest son of the Duke uses the [[courtesy title]] ''Earl of March and Kinrara''. Before the creation of the Dukedom of Gordon, the courtesy title used was ''Earl of March''.

The family seat is [[Goodwood House]] near [[Chichester]], [[West Sussex]].

===Dukes of Richmond and Somerset (1525)===
{| style="text-align:center" class="wikitable"
! colspan="6" style="background-color: #cbe" |Created by [[Henry VIII of England]]
|-
! # !! Name !! Period !! Duchess !! Notes !! Other titles
|- bgcolor="#dddddd" |
|-
| 1
| [[Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset|Henry FitzRoy]] 1519–1536
| 1525–1536
| [[Mary FitzRoy, Duchess of Richmond and Somerset|Lady Mary Howard]]
| Extramarital son of [[Henry VIII]]
| [[Earl of Nottingham]]
|-
|}

===Dukes of Richmond (1623)===

{| style="text-align:center" class="wikitable"
! colspan="6" style="background-color: #cbe" |Created by [[James I of England]]
|-
! # !! Name !! Period !! Duchess !! Notes !! Other titles
|- bgcolor="#dddddd" |
|-
| 1
| [[Ludovic Stewart, 2nd Duke of Lennox|Ludovic Stewart]] 1574–1624
| 1623–1624
| [[Frances Howard, Duchess of Richmond|Lady Frances Howard]]
| Second cousin and favourite of James I
| [[Duke of Lennox]] [[Earl of Lennox]] [[Earl of Richmond]]
|-
|}

===Dukes of Richmond (1641)===

{| style="text-align:center" class="wikitable"
! colspan="6" style="background-color: #cbe" |Created by [[Charles I of England]]
|-
! # !! Name !! Period !! Duchess !! Notes !! Other titles
|- bgcolor="#dddddd" |
|-
| 1
| [[James Stewart, 1st Duke of Richmond|James Stewart]] 1612–1655
| 1641–1655
| [[Mary Stewart, Duchess of Richmond|Lady Mary Villiers]]
| Nephew of [[Ludovic Stewart, 2nd Duke of Lennox|Ludovic Stewart, 1st Duke of Richmond]]
|rowspan="2"| [[Duke of Lennox]] [[Earl of Lennox]] [[Earl of March]] [[Baron Clifton]]
|-
| 2
| [[Esmé Stewart, 2nd Duke of Richmond|Esmé Stewart]] 1649–1660
| 1655–1660
| ''unmarried''
| Son of the preceding
|-
| 3
| [[Charles Stewart, 3rd Duke of Richmond|Charles Stewart]] 1639–1672
| 1660–1672
| Lady Elizabeth Rogers Lady Margaret Banaster [[Frances Stewart, Duchess of Richmond|Lady Frances Stewart]]
| Cousin of the preceding
| [[Duke of Lennox]] [[Earl of Lennox]] [[Earl of March]] [[Earl of Lichfield]] [[Baron Clifton]]
|-
|}

===Dukes of Richmond (1675)===
{| style="text-align:center" class="wikitable"
! colspan="6" style="background-color: #cbe" |Created by [[Charles II of England]]
|-
! No. !! Name !! Period !! Duchess !! Notes !! Other titles
|- bgcolor="#dddddd" |
|-
| 1
| [[Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond|Charles Lennox]] 1672–1723
| 1675–1723
| [[Anne Lennox, Duchess of Richmond|Lady Anne Brudenell]]
| Extramarital son of [[Charles II of England|Charles II]]
|rowspan="5"| [[Duke of Lennox]] [[Earl of March]] [[Earl of Darnley]] Baron Settrington Lord of Torbolton
|-
| 2
| [[Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond|Charles Lennox]] 1701–1750
| 1723–1750
| [[Sarah Lennox, Duchess of Richmond and Lennox|Lady Sarah Cadogan]]
| Son of the preceding
|-
| 3
| [[Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond|Charles Lennox]] 1735–1806
| 1750–1806
| [[Lady Mary Bruce]]
| Son of the preceding
|-
| 4
| [[Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond|Charles Lennox]] 1764–1819
| 1806–1819
| [[Charlotte Lennox, Duchess of Richmond|Lady Charlotte Gordon]]
| Nephew of the preceding
|-
| 5
| [[Charles Gordon-Lennox, 5th Duke of Richmond|Charles Gordon Lennox]] 1791–1860
| 1819–1860
| [[Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey#Marriage and issue|Lady Caroline Paget]]
| Son of the preceding
|-
| 6
| [[Charles Gordon-Lennox, 6th Duke of Richmond|Charles Henry Gordon Lennox]] 1818–1903
| 1860–1903
| Frances Greville
| Son of the preceding
|rowspan="6"| [[Duke of Lennox]] [[Duke of Gordon]] [[Earl of March]] [[Earl of Darnley]] Earl of Kinrara Baron Settrington Lord of Torbolton
|-
| 7
| [[Charles Gordon-Lennox, 7th Duke of Richmond|Charles Henry Gordon Lennox]] 1845–1928
| 1903–1928
| ''widowed''
| Son of the preceding
|-
| 8
| [[Charles Gordon-Lennox, 8th Duke of Richmond|Charles Henry Gordon Lennox]] 1870–1935
| 1928–1935
| [[Hilda Gordon-Lennox, Duchess of Richmond|Hilda Brassey]]
| Son of the preceding
|-
| 9
| [[Frederick Gordon-Lennox, 9th Duke of Richmond|Frederick Charles Gordon Lennox]] 1904–1989
| 1935–1989
| Elizabeth Hudson
| Son of the preceding
|-
| 10
| [[Charles Gordon-Lennox, 10th Duke of Richmond|Charles Henry Gordon Lennox]] 1929–2017
| 1989–2017
| Susan Grenville-Grey
| Son of the preceding
|-
| 11
| [[Charles Gordon-Lennox, 11th Duke of Richmond|Charles Henry Gordon Lennox]] b. 1955
| since 2017
| Hon. Janet Elizabeth Astor
| Son of the preceding
|}

The [[heir apparent]] is Charles Henry Gordon Lennox, [[Earl of March and Kinrara]] (b. 1994), eldest son of the 11th and present Duke.

==Line of succession (simplified)==
{{Tree list}}
* [[Image:Coronet of a British Duke.svg|25px]] ''[[Charles Gordon-Lennox, 6th Duke of Richmond]] (1818–1903)''
** [[Image:Coronet of a British Duke.svg|25px]] ''[[Charles Gordon-Lennox, 7th Duke of Richmond]] (1845–1928)''
*** [[Image:Coronet of a British Duke.svg|25px]] ''[[Charles Gordon-Lennox, 8th Duke of Richmond]] (1870–1935)''
**** [[Image:Coronet of a British Duke.svg|25px]] ''[[Frederick Gordon-Lennox, 9th Duke of Richmond]] (1904–1989)''
***** [[Image:Coronet of a British Duke.svg|25px]] ''[[Charles Gordon Lennox, 10th Duke of Richmond]] (1929–2017)''
******[[Image:Coronet of a British Duke.svg|25px]] '''[[Charles Gordon-Lennox, 11th Duke of Richmond]]''' (born 1955)
******* '''(1)''' Charles Henry Gordon Lennox, Earl of March and Kinrara (b. 1994)
******* '''(2)''' Lord William Rupert Gordon Lennox (b. 1996)
******* '''(3)''' Lord Frederick Lysander Gordon Lennox (b. 2000)
***''[[Lord Esmé Charles Gordon-Lennox]] (1875–1949)''
****''Reginald Arthur Charles Gordon Lennox (1910–1965)''
*****male issue in line
***''[[Lord Bernard Gordon-Lennox|Lord Bernard Charles Gordon Lennox]] (1878–1914)''
****''[[George Gordon-Lennox|Sir George Gordon Lennox]] (1908–1988)''
*****''[[Bernard Gordon Lennox]] (1932–2017)''
******male issue in line
*****other male issue in line
****''[[Alexander Gordon-Lennox (Royal Navy officer)|Sir Alexander Henry Charles Gordon Lennox]] (1911–1987)''
*****male issue in line
**''[[Lord Walter Gordon-Lennox]] (1865–1922)''
***''Victor Charles Hugh Gordon Lennox (1897–1968)''
****male issue in line
<ref>{{cite book |year=2019|chapter=Richmond and Gordon, Duke of |editor1-last=Morris |editor1-first=Susan |editor2-last=Bosberry-Scott |editor2-first=Wendy |editor3-last=Belfield |editor3-first=Gervase |title=Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage|volume=1 |edition=150th |location=London |publisher=Debrett's Ltd. |pages=2935–2940 |arxiv= |bibcode= |doi= |isbn=978-1-999767-0-5-1}}</ref>
{{Tree list/end}}

==Coat of arms (full achievement)==
{{Infobox coat of arms wide
| name =Charles Gordon Lennox, Duke of Richmond
| image =Coat of arms of the duke of Richmond, Lennox and Gordon.png
| imagesize =230px
| notes =
| year_adopted =1876
| coronet =Coronet of a Duke
| crest =1st, a Bull's Head erased Sable horned Or; 2nd, on a Chapeau Gules turned up Ermine a Lion statant guardant Or crowned with a Ducal Coronet Gules and gorged with a Collar company of four pieces Argent charged with eight Roses Gules and the last; 3rd, out of a Ducal Coronet a Stag's Head affrontée proper attired with ten Tynes Or
| torse =
| helm =Open barred helmet
| escutcheon =Quarterly: 1st and 4th grand quarters, the Royal Arms of Charles II (viz. quarterly: 1st and 4th, France and England quarterly; 2nd, Scotland; 3rd, Ireland); the whole within a bordure company argent charged with roses gules barbed and seeded proper and the last; overall an escutcheon gules charged with three buckles or (Dukedom of Aubigny); 2nd grand quarter, argent a saltire engrailed gules between four roses of the second barbed and seeded proper (Lennox); 3rd grand quarter, quarterly, 1st, azure three boars' heads couped or (Gordon); 2nd, or three lions' heads erased gules (Badenoch); 3rd, or three crescents within a double tressure flory counter-flory gules (Seton); 4th, azure three cinquefoils argent (Fraser).
| supporters =
| compartment =
| motto =1st crest: ''Avant Darnlie'' (referring to Stuart dynasty)<ref name="his">{{Cite web|date=2011-08-14|title=His Grace's Coat of Arms|url=https://thehistoryguide.co.uk/his-graces-coat-of-arms/|access-date=2021-05-06|website=The History Guide|language=en-GB}}</ref> 2nd crest: ''En La Rose Je Fleuris'' ([[Anglo-Norman language|Anglo-Norman]]: "I flourish in the rose") 3rd crest:'' Bydand'' ([[war cry]] of [[Clan Gordon]])<ref name="his" />
| orders =
| other_elements =
| bannerimage =
| banner =
| badgeimage =
| badge =
| symbolism =
| previous_versions =
}}
[[File:Arms of Duke of Richmond 02817.jpg|thumb|180px|Coat of arms from ''A tour in Wales'' by [[Thomas Pennant]]; c. 1773–1776]]

The earlier dukes (creations of 1623 and 1641) bore: Quarterly 1 and 4 azure three fleurs-de-lis and a bordure engrailed Or; 2 and 3 Or a fess chequy azure and argent, a bordure gules semy of buckles Or (Stewart of Bonkyl); overall an inescutcheon of Lennox. 

Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond and Somerset (creation of 1525), bore the Tudor royal arms (quarterly France and England) with a border quarterly ermine (for [[Duke of Brittany|Brittany]]) and [[Componée|compony]] azure and argent (for [[Duke of Somerset|Somerset]]), a baton sinister argent for bastardy, and overall an escutcheon of [[Earl of Nottingham|Nottingham]].

==Family tree==
{{Dukes of Lennox, Richmond, and Gordon family tree}}

==See also==
* [[Earl of Newcastle]]

==Notes==
{{notes}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Lennox |volume=16 |pages=419–420}}
* Tillyard, Stella. ''Aristocrats: Caroline, Emily, Louisa, and Sarah Lennox, 1740–1832''. Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1994.
* Baird, Rosemary. ''Goodwood: Art and Architecture, Sport and Family'', Frances Lincoln, 2007

{{Extant British dukedoms}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richmond}}
[[Category:Dukes of Richmond| ]]
[[Category:Dukedoms in the Peerage of England]]
[[Category:Noble titles created in 1623]]
[[Category:Noble titles created in 1641]]
[[Category:Noble titles created in 1675]]

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