imported>Mdotley: /* First creation, 1710 */ One title continued, per the article text

2025-09-10T00:38:36Z

First creation, 1710: One title continued, per the article text

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{{short description|Title in the peerages the United Kingdom}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{about|the title|the current holder of the title|Prince Edward, Duke of Kent}}
{{More citations needed|date=April 2017}}
{{Infobox nobility title
| name = Dukedom of Kent
| image = [[File:Coat of Arms of Edward, Duke of Kent.svg|180px]]
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption = [[Prince Edward, Duke of Kent#Arms|Arms]] of [[Prince Edward, Duke of Kent]]
| creation_date = 12 October 1934
| creation = Second
| monarch = [[King George V]]
| peerage = [[Peerage of the United Kingdom]]
| baronetage =
| first_holder = [[Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Kent|Henry Grey]]
| last_holder =
| present_holder = [[Prince Edward, Duke of Kent|Prince Edward]]
| heir_apparent = [[George Windsor, Earl of St Andrews]]
| heir_presumptive =
| remainder_to = the 1st Duke's [[heirs male]] [[heirs of the body|of the body]] lawfully begotten
| subsidiary_titles = [[Earl of St Andrews]] [[Baron Downpatrick]]
| status = Extant
| extinction_date =
| family_seat = [[Wren House]]
| former_seat = [[Coppins]]
| motto =
| footnotes =
}}
'''Duke of Kent''' is a title that has been created several times in the [[peerage]]s of [[peerage of Great Britain|Great Britain]] and the [[peerage of the United Kingdom|United Kingdom]], most recently as a [[Royal dukedoms in the United Kingdom|royal dukedom]] for the fourth son of [[King George V]]. Since 1942, the title has been held by [[Prince Edward, Duke of Kent|Prince Edward]] (born 1935), a first cousin of [[Queen Elizabeth II]].<ref>[https://www.royal.uk/the-duke-of-kent The Duke of Kent]. Official website.</ref>

[[Image:The_Duke_of_Kent_(cropped).jpg|thumb|right|150px|[[Prince Edward, Duke of Kent|Prince Edward]], the current Duke of Kent]]

==Earliest history==
A title associated with Kent first appears anciently with the [[Kingdom of Kent]] (or Cantware), one of the seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms that later merged to form the [[Kingdom of England]]. The [[Kings of Kent|Kings of Cantware]] (or Kent) date back to about 449. After 825, when the Kingdom of Kent was taken over by [[Egbert of Wessex|Egbert, King of Wessex]], Kent became a dependency of [[Kingdom of Wessex|Wessex]] and was ruled by sub-kings, usually related to the Wessex rulers. The titular kingship became something like the heir-apparent's title, as Aethelwulf, Egbert's son, became King of Kent in 825. By 860, Kent lost its status as a kingdom, becoming absorbed into Wessex.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historyfiles.co.uk/KingListsBritain/EnglandKent.htm|title=Kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxons – Kent|first=P L|last=Kessler|website=historyfiles.co.uk}}</ref>

==Earls of Kent==
{{main|Earl of Kent}}
The first title of Kent was that of the [[Earl of Kent]] in the [[Peerage of England]]. After the death of [[Godwin, Earl of Wessex]], his son [[Leofwine Godwinson|Leofwine]] (c. 1035–1066) became [[Earl of Kent]] sometime between 1056 and 1058.

After Leofwine's death at [[Battle of Hastings|Hastings]] in 1066, [[William I of England|William the Conqueror]] named his half-brother, [[Odo of Bayeux]] (c. 1036–1097), who was also [[Bishop of Bayeux]], the new Earl of Kent. However, Odo was twice removed from this title. The first occasion was in 1082, when he was imprisoned; the second was in 1088, after aiding in the Rebellion of 1088, after which he fled England.

It was not until 1141 that the title returned, this time for [[William de Ipres, 1st Earl of Kent|William de Ipres]]; but he was deprived of the title in 1155. In 1227, it was revived for [[Hubert de Burgh, 1st Earl of Kent|Hubert de Burgh]], but became extinct with his death. In 1321, it was again revived for [[Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent|Edmund of Woodstock]], and through the marriage of [[Joan of Kent|Joan Plantagenet]] to [[Thomas Holland, 1st Earl of Kent|Thomas Holland]], the title passed to the Holland family, which held the title until 1408. In 1461, it was revived for [[William Neville, 1st Earl of Kent|William Neville]], and then in 1465 for [[Edmund Grey, 1st Earl of Kent|Edmund Grey]]. The Grey family held the title until [[Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Kent|Henry Grey, 12th Earl of Kent]], who was made Marquess of Kent in 1706 and Duke of Kent in 1710, died without male heirs in 1740. Just before he died, he was awarded an inferior replacement title of Marquess De Grey to allow this to be passed to his heir - his granddaughter (the Dukedom could not be inherited).

==Marquess, former Duke of Kent==
[[Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Kent|Henry Grey]] (1671–1740) succeeded his father, [[Anthony Grey, 11th Earl of Kent|Anthony Grey]], as the 12th Earl of Kent in 1702. In 1706, he was elevated to Marquess of Kent, along with Earl of Harold and [[Viscount Goderich]]. In 1710 he was elevated once again as Duke of Kent, and following the death of his sons, [[Marquess Grey]] (1740) with a special remainder to his granddaughter. Henry had one son and five daughters with his first wife, Jemima Crew (d. 1728), and one son and one daughter with his second wife, Sophia Bentinck (d. 1741). By the time of Henry's death in 1740, both of his sons had died, Anthony (in 1723) and George (in 1733), leaving the Duke of Kent without a male heir. His granddaughter [[Jemima Yorke, 2nd Marchioness Grey|Lady Jemima Campbell]] would inherit two titles in her own right, Marchioness Grey and [[Baron Lucas of Crudwell|Baroness Lucas]]; but all Henry's other titles, particularly Duke of Kent, became extinct with his death.

==Royal dukedom (1799)==
On 23 April 1799 the double dukedom of [[Duke of Kent and Strathearn|Kent and Strathearn]] was given, with the [[Earl of Dublin|earldom of Dublin]], to [[George III of the United Kingdom|King George III's]] fourth son, [[Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn|Prince Edward Augustus]]. Edward had only one legitimate child, a daughter, Princess Alexandrina Victoria (the future [[Queen Victoria]]). Upon Edward's death in 1820, the dukedom of Kent and Strathearn became extinct, as he had no legitimate male heir.

==Royal earldom (1866)==
The next creation of a title of Kent was not that of [[Duke]] or [[Marquess]], but rather that of [[Earl]], with the creation of [[Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Prince Alfred]] (1844–1900), the second son of [[Queen Victoria]] and [[Albert, Prince Consort|Prince Albert]], as [[Duke of Edinburgh]], [[Earl of Ulster]], and of [[Earl of Kent|Kent]] in 1866. The Duke of Edinburgh (who later became the reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha) had only one son, [[Prince Alfred of Edinburgh|Prince Alfred]], who would have inherited his father's titles had he not died before his father in 1899. With Prince Alfred's death in 1900, the earldom became extinct.

==Royal dukedom (1934)==
In 1934, [[Prince George, Duke of Kent|Prince George]] (1902–1942), the fourth son of [[George V|King George V]] of the United Kingdom and [[Mary of Teck|Queen Mary]], was created Duke of Kent, [[Earl of St Andrews]] and [[Baron Downpatrick]]. Prince George had three children before his death in 1942: [[Prince Edward, Duke of Kent|Prince Edward]], [[Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy|Princess Alexandra]], and [[Prince Michael of Kent|Prince Michael]]. Prince Edward, upon his father's death, succeeded to his father's peerages.

The current [[Prince Edward, Duke of Kent|Duke of Kent]] has two sons. King George V's [[letters patent]] of 30 November 1917 restricted the style ''Royal Highness'' and the titular dignity of ''Prince'' to the sons of the sovereign, the male line grandsons of the sovereign, and the eldest living son of the eldest son of the [[Prince of Wales]]. Great-grandchildren of the sovereign in the male line enjoy the [[Courtesy titles in the United Kingdom|courtesy titles]] of the children of dukes. Therefore, the heir-apparent to the dukedom of Kent is [[George Windsor, Earl of St Andrews|George, Earl of St. Andrews]] (b. 1962). Lord St. Andrews married in 1988, and has three children. His son [[Edward Windsor, Lord Downpatrick|Lord Downpatrick]] (b. 1988) is second in line to his grandfather's peerages. When Lord St. Andrews succeeds, the dukedom will cease to be a royal dukedom; as a great-grandson of a sovereign he will be styled ''His Grace The Duke of Kent.'' After Lord St. Andrews and Lord Downpatrick, the current duke's younger son [[Lord Nicholas Windsor]] (along with his sons) is in remainder to the dukedom, as are the current duke's brother, [[Prince Michael of Kent]], and his son, [[Lord Frederick Windsor]].

==Coat of arms==
The coat of arms anciently associated with Kent is that of a rampant white horse upon a red field. This is primarily associated with the Kingdom of Kent and possibly the earldom as well. Today, this is seen on the Council of Kent's arms and flag. As a direct descendant of Queen Victoria, this is not the coat of arms of the present Duke of Kent. The coat of arms of the Duke of Kent consists of the following:

* '''Arms:''' those of the Royal Arms, differenced by a label of five points argent (silver, often depicted as white), the points charged with an anchor azure (blue) and a cross gules (red) alternately.
* '''Crest:''' On a coronet of four crosses-patées alternated with four strawberry leaves a lion statant guardant or (gold), crowned with the like coronet and differenced with a label as in the Arms.
* '''Supporters:''' The Royal Supporters differenced with the like coronet (as in the crest) and label as in the arms.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.burkes-peerage.net/Sites/Peerage/SitePages/page62-6i.asp|title=HRH THE DUKE OF KENT|website=Burke's Peerage & Gentry|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061005131357/http://www.burkes-peerage.net/Sites/Peerage/SitePages/page62-6i.asp|archive-date=5 October 2006|url-status=dead|access-date=2017-12-19}}</ref>

The standard of the Duke of Kent is a flag version of his arms.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://flagspot.net/flags/gb-rooth.html |title=Flags of the Royal Family, United Kingdom |access-date=2005-05-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050208064223/http://flagspot.net/flags/gb-rooth.html |archive-date=8 February 2005}}</ref> The personal badge of the present Duke of Kent is 'E' encircled by the garter of the [[Order of the Garter]], surmounted by a Type IV Princes coronet as in the Crest.

==Formal residence==
The Duke of Kent currently lives at [[Wren House]] in the grounds of [[Kensington Palace]], but his office is based at [[York House, St. James's Palace|York House]] at [[St James's Palace]].

==Dukes of Kent==
{{further|Earl of Kent|l1=Earls of Kent|Duke of Kent and Strathearn|l2=Dukes of Kent and Strathearn}}

===First creation, 1710===
''Also: [[Marquess Grey]] (1740), [[Marquess of Kent]] (1706), [[Earl of Kent]] (1465), Earl of Harold and Viscount Goderich (1706), and [[Baron Lucas|Baron Lucas of Crudwell]] (1663)''
{{Nobility table header|name=Duke}}
| '''[[Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Kent|Henry Grey]]''' 1710–1740
| [[File:Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Kent, by Charles Jervas.jpg|100px|Henry Grey]]
| 1671 son of [[Anthony Grey, 11th Earl of Kent|Anthony Grey]] and [[Mary Grey, Countess of Kent|Mary Lucas]]
| (1) [[Jemima Grey, Duchess of Kent|Hon. Jemima Crew]] 1695 10 children (2) Lady Sophia Bentinck 24 March 1729 2 children<ref>{{cite book|last1=Debrett|first1=John|title=Debrett's Peerage of England, Scotland, and Ireland|date=1820|page=[https://archive.org/details/debrettspeerage06debrgoog/page/n600 383]|url=https://archive.org/details/debrettspeerage06debrgoog|access-date=23 May 2018|language=en}}</ref>
| 1740
|-
| colspan=5|''Henry Grey had no surviving sons, and all his titles except the Marquessate of Grey became extinct on his death.''

|}

===Second creation, 1934===
''Also: [[Earl of St Andrews]] and [[Baron Downpatrick]] (1934)''
{| class="wikitable"
!Duke
!Portrait
!Birth
!Marriage(s)
!Death
!Arms
|-
| '''[[Prince George, Duke of Kent|Prince George]]''' 1934–1942
| [[File:George 1st Kent.png|100px|Prince George]]
| 20 December 1902 [[York Cottage]], [[Sandringham, Norfolk|Sandringham]] son of [[George V|King George V]] and [[Mary of Teck|Queen Mary]]
| [[Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark]] 29 November 1934 3 children
| [[Dunbeath air crash|25 August 1942]] [[Dunbeath]] aged 39
|[[File:Coat of Arms of George, Duke of Kent.svg|frameless|127x127px]]
|-
| '''[[Prince Edward, Duke of Kent|Prince Edward]]''' 1942–present
| [[File:Prince Edward, Duke of Kent 2013.jpg|100px|Prince Edward]]
| 9 October 1935 [[Belgrave Square]], [[London]] son of [[Prince George, Duke of Kent|Prince George]] and [[Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark|Princess Marina]]
| [[Katharine, Duchess of Kent|Katharine Worsley]] 8 June 1961 3 children
| {{spaced ndash}} now {{age in years and days|1935|10|9}} old
|[[File:Coat of Arms of Edward, Duke of Kent.svg|frameless|127x127px]]
|}

==Line of succession==
{{Tree list}}
*[[File:Coronet of a Child of the Sovereign.svg|15px]] ''[[Prince George, Duke of Kent]] (1902–1942)''
**[[File:Coronet of a Grandchild of the Sovereign.svg|15px]] '''[[Prince Edward, Duke of Kent]]''' (born 1935)
***'''(1)''' [[George Windsor, Earl of St Andrews]] (b. 1962)
**** '''(2)''' [[Edward Windsor, Lord Downpatrick]] (b. 1988)
*** '''(3)''' [[Lord Nicholas Windsor]] (b. 1970)
**** '''(4)''' Albert Louis Philip Edward Windsor (b. 2007)
**** '''(5)''' Leopold Ernest Augustus Guelph Windsor (b. 2009)
**** '''(6)''' Louis Arthur Nicholas Felix Windsor (b. 2014)
** '''(7)''' [[File:Coronet of a Grandchild of the Sovereign.svg|15px]] [[Prince Michael of Kent]] (b. 1942)
*** '''(8)''' [[Lord Frederick Windsor]] (b. 1979)
{{Tree list/end}}

== Family trees ==
{{Dukes of Kent family tree}}
{{Royal dukes family tree}}

==See also==
*[[Duchess of Kent]]
*[[British monarchy]]
*[[Kent]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://www.royal.uk/the-duke-of-kent The Duke of Kent] at the Royal Family website
*[http://richannel.org/the-duke-of-kent-at-the-ri, Duke of Kent at the Royal Institution] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310033800/http://richannel.org/the-duke-of-kent-at-the-ri, |date=10 March 2016 }}, Ri Channel video, 6 December 1985

{{Dukes of Kent}}
{{British royal titles}}
{{Extant British dukedoms}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kent, Duke Of}}
[[Category:Dukedoms in the Peerage of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:1710 establishments in Great Britain]]
[[Category:1934 establishments in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Noble titles created in 1710]]
[[Category:Noble titles created in 1934]]
[[Category:Dukes of Kent| ]]

Duke of Kent - Revision history

imported>Mdotley: /* First creation, 1710 */ One title continued, per the article text