View source for Duke of Clarence

{{Short description|Title traditionally awarded to members of the English and British Royal families}}
{{For|ships named Duke of Clarence|Duke of Clarence (ship)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox hereditary title
| name              = Dukedom of Clarence 
| image             = [[File:Coronet of a Child of the Sovereign.svg|150px]]<br />[[File:Arms of George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence.svg|180px]] 
| image_size        =  
| alt               =  
| caption           = 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 {{Small|(first creation)}}<br />1412 {{Small|(second creation)}}<br />1461 {{Small|(third creation)}} 
| creation          =  
| monarch           = [[Edward III of England|Edward III]] {{Small|(first creation)}}<br />[[Henry IV of England|Henry IV]] {{Small|(second creation)}}<br />[[Edward IV of England|Edward IV]] {{Small|(third creation)}} 
| peerage           = [[Peerage of England]] 
| baronetage        =  
| first_holder      = [[Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence]] 
| last_holder       = [[Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale]] 
| present_holder    =  
| heir_apparent     =  
| heir_presumptive  =  
| remainder_to      =  
| subsidiary_titles = ''First creation:''<br />[[Earl of Ulster]]<br />''Second creation:''<br />[[Earl of Aumale]]<br />''Third creation:''<br />[[Earl of Warwick]]<br />[[Earl of Salisbury]] 
| status            =  
| extinction_date   = 1368 {{Small|(first creation)}}<br />1421 {{Small|(second creation)}}<br />1478
{{Small|(third creation)}} 
| family_seat       =  
| former_seat       =  
| motto             =  
| footnotes         =  
}}

'''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 '''[[Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany|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 [[Edward III of England|King Edward III]], in 1362, as he had married a ''[[de Clare]]'' heiress with estates including [[Clare, Suffolk|Clare in Suffolk]]. Since he died without sons, the title became extinct.

The title was again created in favour of [[Thomas, Duke of Clarence|Thomas of Lancaster]], the second son of [[Henry IV of England|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, Duke of Clarence|George Plantagenet]], brother of [[Edward IV of England|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 (volume)|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, [[Duke of Clarence and St Andrews|of Clarence and St Andrews]] and [[Duke of Clarence and Avondale|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 [[Carl Eduard, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Prince Charles Edward]], the Clarence earldom being a subsidiary title.

==Nomenclature==
The title does not refer to the minor [[Clarence (river)|River Clarence]] in [[Pas-de-Calais]], northern France, but is said by [[Polydore Vergil]] to originate<ref>[[Polydore Vergil]], in his [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/polverg/19eng.html Anglica Historia] of 1534 (Book XIX.36) dates the Dukedom to 1361 and claims to have rediscovered the lost origins of the name. See also David Hatton, Clare, Suffolk, an account of historical features of the town, its Priory and its Parish Church, 2006, Book 1, p21 {{ISBN|0-9524242-3-1}} It is also available online on the [http://www.clare-uk.com/pages/hatton-book-681.htm Clare website]. See also the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' s.v. 'Lionel [Lionel of Antwerp], duke of Clarence': ''"Lionel's elevation to the title of duke of Clarence (meaning the town, castle, and [[English feudal barony|honour]] of Clare)"''.</ref> from the [[Manorialism|manor]] and [[Clare Castle|castle]] of [[Clare, Suffolk|Clare]] in Suffolk, the [[Caput baroniae]] of a [[English feudal barony|feudal barony]], which was [[feudal land tenure in England|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.<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=1|wstitle=Clarence, Dukes of|volume=6|pages=427–428}}</ref> After the [[Union of the Crowns]] in 1603, the holders of the title were also given titles named after Scottish places: [[St Andrews]] and [[Strathaven Castle|Avondale]].

==Duke of Clarence, first creation (1362)==
The title was first created for Lionel, a younger son of King [[Edward III of England|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 [[English feudal barony|feudal barony]] of Clare in Suffolk, and as the holder of it (and others) by right of his wife Lionel was given that title.

{{Nobility table header|name=Duke}}
| '''[[Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence]]'''<br />{{Small|also: [[Earl of Ulster#Earls of Ulster, Peerage of Ireland, Second Creation (1264)|Earl of Ulster]] (1264 ''[[jure uxoris]]'')}}
| [[File:LionelDukeOfClarenceAtWestminster.jpg|100px|Lionel of Antwerp]]
| 29 November 1338<br />[[Antwerp]], [[Duchy of Brabant]] (now Belgium)<br />son of [[Edward III of England]] and [[Philippa of Hainault]]
| [[Elizabeth de Burgh, 4th Countess of Ulster]]<br />15 August 1352 - 10 December 1363<br />1 child<br /><br />[[Violante Visconti]]<br />28 May 1368<br />no children
| 7 October 1368<br />[[Alba, Piedmont]]<br />aged 29

|}

Died without male issue.

==Duke of Clarence, second creation (1412)==
{{Nobility table header|name=Duke}}
| '''[[Thomas of Lancaster, Duke of Clarence]]'''<br />{{Small|also: [[Counts and Dukes of Aumale#Earls of Aumale (1412)|Earl of Aumale]] (1412)}}
| [[File:Effigy Thomas of Lancaster Duke of Clarence.png|100px|Drawing of tomb effigy of Thomas of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Clarence]]
| Autumn 1387<br />son of [[Henry IV of England]] and [[Mary de Bohun]]
| [[Margaret Holland, Duchess of Clarence|Margaret Holland]]<br />1411<br />no children
| 22 March 1421<br />[[Battle of Baugé]], [[Duchy of Anjou|Anjou]], France<br />aged 33

|}

Died without legitimate male issue.

==Duke of Clarence, third creation (1461)==
{{Nobility table header|name=Duke}}
| '''[[George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence]]'''<br />{{Small|also: [[Earl of Warwick]] and [[Earl of Salisbury]] (1472)}}
| [[File:George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence.jpg|100px|George Plantagenet]]
| 21 October 1449<br />[[Dublin Castle]], Ireland<br />son of [[Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York]] and [[Cecily Neville, Duchess of York]]
| [[Isabel Neville, Duchess of Clarence|Isabel Neville]]<br />11 July 1469<br />4 children
| 18 February 1478<br />[[Tower of London]], London<br />aged 28

|}

Executed for treason in 1478 and honours forfeited.

== Similar titles ==
[[File:William IV.jpg|thumb|150px|right|[[William IV]] was styled "HRH The Duke of Clarence" between his creation in 1789 and his accession in 1830]]

===Earls of Clarence (1881)===
* [[Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany|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)===
{{Further|Duke of Clarence and St Andrews}}
*[[William IV of the United Kingdom|William IV]] (1765–1837), who became king in 1830, at which point the title merged with the Crown.

===Duke of Clarence and Avondale (1890)===
{{Further|Duke of Clarence and Avondale}}
*[[Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale|Prince Albert Victor, 1st Duke of Clarence and Avondale]] (1864–1892)

== Family tree ==
{{Dukes of Clarence family tree}}
{{Royal dukes 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 [[Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle|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]].<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Scotti|first1=Monique|title=A look at Harry and Meghan’s new titles: Duke and Duchess of Sussex|url=https://globalnews.ca/news/4219760/royal-wedding-duke-duchess-of-sussex-harry-meghan/|access-date=19 May 2018|work=[[Global News]]|date=19 May 2018|quote=Clarence is tainted by more than a bit of bad luck, for instance, with one Duke of Clarence executed by his brother as a traitor (Shakespeare even wrote about that particular incident). Another Duke of Clarence, the grandson of Queen Victoria, got himself mixed up in a scandal involving a gay-prostitution ring. He later died of influenza at just 28.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last1=Davies|first1=Caroline|title=Harry and Meghan to be Duke and Duchess of Sussex|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/may/19/harry-and-meghan-to-be-duke-and-duchess-of-sussex|access-date=19 May 2018|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=19 May 2018|quote=Clarence has had a chequered history as previous holders have died young, been drowned in a barrel of Malmsey wine or erroneously rumoured to be Jack the Ripper.}}</ref>  Prince Harry was ultimately awarded the [[Dukedom of Sussex]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Dukes of Clarence}}
{{British royal titles}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarence, Duke of}}
[[Category:Dukes of Clarence| ]]
[[Category:1362 establishments in England]]
[[Category:1368 disestablishments in England]]
[[Category:1412 establishments in England]]
[[Category:1421 disestablishments in England]]
[[Category:1461 establishments in England]]
[[Category:1478 disestablishments in England]]
[[Category:Extinct dukedoms in the Peerage of England]]
[[Category:Noble titles created in 1362]]
[[Category:Noble titles created in 1412]]
[[Category:Noble titles created in 1461]]
[[Category:Lord Guildford Dudley]]