Duke of Berwick

Coat of arms of the Jacobite Dukes of Berwick, as head of the House of FitzJames

Coat of arms of the Spanish Dukes of Berwick, also Duke of Alba

The title Duke of Berwick was created in the Peerage of England on 19 March 1687 for James FitzJames, the illegitimate son of King James II and Arabella Churchill. The title refers to the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed in England by the border with Scotland. At the same time the titles Baron Bosworth and Earl of Tinmouth were created which are subsidiary to the dukedom.

The peerage and its subsidiary titles were generally considered to have been forfeit by the British parliament in 1695, when the Duke was attainted following the enforced exile of his father. However, some have argued that the forfeiture was never properly carried out, and that the titles thus remains extant.

Nevertheless, the titles were recognized in France as de facto Jacobite Peerages by King Louis XIV, this to please the exiled King James II & VII, along with other in France recognized Jacobite Peerages, like Duke of Perth, Duke of Melfort, etc. On 13 December 1707, King Philip V confirmed the titles in Spain, and conferred the dignity Grandee of Spain to James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick. The Grandee is attached to the title of Duke of Berwick.

Since then the Dukedom of Berwick continues as an English title as well as a Spanish title:

• As an English title its status is thus unclear (till today), but once confirmed and perpetuated in France. If the English peerage is still extant, the title is only inheritable in the male line.^[1] At the death of Don Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart, 17th Duke of Alba and 10th Duke of Berwick, the English title was inherited by his nephew Don Fernando FitzJames Stuart, 15th Duke of Peñaranda de Duero (1922-1971), and subsequently Fernando's son Don Jacobo FitzJames Stuart, 16th Duke of Peñaranda de Duero and current head of the House of FitzJames (born in 1947 and without children). His heir apparent is his brother Don Louis FitzJames Stuart, Marquis de Valderrabano Esteban (born in 1950 and also without male issue). If Jacobo and his brother Louis die without issue, the house of Fitz-James will become extinct in the male line, and thereby the English peerage titles.

• The Spanish title, with the accompanying dignity Grandee of Spain, is following the inheritance rules of that country.^[2] Spanish noble titles historically have followed the rule of male-preference primogeniture, which allows a female to succeed if she has no living brothers and no deceased brothers who left surviving legitimate descendants. With the death of the 10th Duke of Berwick in September 1953, his only daughter and child, Doña Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, 18th Duchess of Alba, succeeded him in his Spanish titles, amongst which is title Duquesa de Berwick. The heir apparent to the dukedom is her eldest son Don Carlos Fitz-James Stuart y Martínez de Irujo, 14th Duke of Huéscar.

Dukes of Berwick (1687–1695)

Descendant	Portrait	Birth	Marriages	Death
James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick 1670–1695		21 August 1670 Moulins, Allier son of James II of England and Arabella Churchill	Honora de Burgh, Countess de Lucan 26 March 1695 1 child Anne Bulkeley 18 April 1700 10 children	12 June 1734 Philippsburg aged 63

Jacobite Dukes of Berwick (1695–present)

Descendant	Portrait	Birth	Marriages	Death
James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick 1695–1734		21 August 1670 Moulins, Allier son of James II of England and Arabella Churchill	Honora de Burgh, Countess de Lucan 26 March 1695 1 child Anne Bulkeley 18 April 1700 10 children	12 June 1734 Philippsburg aged 63
James Fitz-James Stuart, 2nd Duke of Berwick 1734–1738		21 October 1696 son of James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick and Honora de Burgh, Countess de Lucan	Catalina Colón de Portugal y Ayala, 9th condesa de Gelves 31 December 1716 6 children	2 June 1738 Naples aged 41
James Fitz-James Stuart, 3rd Duke of Berwick 1738–1785		28 December 1718 Madrid son of James Fitz-James Stuart, 2nd Duke of Berwick and Catalina Colón de Portugal y Ayala, 9th condesa de Gelves	María Teresa de Silva y Alvarez de Toledo 26 June 1738 1 child	30 September 1785 Valencia aged 66
Carlos Fitz-James Stuart, 4th Duke of Berwick 1785–1787		25 March 1752 Liria son of James Fitz-James Stuart, 3rd Duke of Berwick and María Teresa de Silva y Álvarez de Toledo	Carolina Augusta, Prinzessin zu Stolberg-Gedern 15 September 1771 2 children	7 September 1787 Madrid aged 35
Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart, 5th Duke of Berwick 1787–1794		25 February 1773 Paris son of Carlos FitzJames Stuart, 4th Duke of Berwick and Carolina Augusta, Prinzessin zu Stolberg-Gedern	María Teresa de Silva Fernández de Híjar y Palafox 24 January 1790 2 children	3 April 1794 died aged 21
Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart, 6th Duke of Berwick 1794–1795		3 January 1792 son of Jacobo FitzJames Stuart, 5th Duke of Berwick and María Teresa de Silva Fernández de Híjar y Palafox	never married	5 January 1795 aged 3
Carlos Fitz-James Stuart, 7th Duke of Berwick 1795–1835		19 May 1794 Madrid son of Jacobo FitzJames Stuart, 5th Duke of Berwick and María Teresa de Silva Fernández de Híjar y Palafox	Rosalia Ventimiglia y Moncada d,Aragona 15 February 1817 3 children	7 October 1835 Sion aged 41
Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart, 8th Duke of Berwick 1835–1881		3 June 1821 Palermo son of Carlos FitzJames Stuart, 7th Duke of Berwick and Rosalia Ventimiglia Ventimiglia y Moncada d,Aragona	María Francisca Portocarrero Palafox y Kirck Patrick, 12th duquesa de Peñaranda 14 February 1848 3 children	10 July 1881 Madrid aged 60
Carlos Fitz-James Stuart, 9th Duke of Berwick 1881–1901		4 December 1849 Madrid son of Jacobo FitzJames Stuart, 8th Duke of Berwick and María Francisca Portocarrero Palafox y Kirck Patrick, 12th duquesa de Peñaranda	María del Rosario Falcó y Osorio, 12th condesa de Siruela 10 December 1877 3 children	15 October 1901 New York City aged 51
Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart, 10th Duke of Berwick 1901–1953		17 October 1878 Madrid son of Carlos FitzJames Stuart, 9th Duke of Berwick and María del Rosario Falcó y Osorio, 12th condesa de Siruela	María del Rosario de Silva y Gurtubay, 9th marquesa de San Vicente del Barco 7 October 1920 1 child	24 September 1953 Lausanne aged 74
Fernando FitzJames Stuart, 11th Duke of Berwick 1953–1970		24 January 1922 El Guadalperal son of Carlos Fernando Fitz-James Stuart y Falcó, 14th duque de Peñaranda, younger brother of the 10th Duke of Berwick, and María del Carmen de Saavedra y Collado, 13th marquesa de Villaviciosa	María Isabel Gómez y Ruiz 1944 4 children	20 July 1970 El Guadalperal aged 48
Jacobo FitzJames Stuart, 12th Duke of Berwick 1970–present		15 November 1947 son of Fernando FitzJames Stuart, 11th Duke of Berwick and María Isabel Gómez y Ruiz	not married

Spanish Dukes of Berwick (1707–present)

Before 1953, the Spanish Dukes were also the Jacobite Dukes of Berwick.

Descendant	Portrait	Birth	Marriages	Death
Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, 11th Duchess of Berwick 1953–present		March 28, 1926 Liria Palace, Madrid daughter of Fitz-James Stuart, 10th Duke of Berwick and María del Rosario de Silva, Duchess of Alba	Honorable Luis Martínez de Irujo y Artázcoz m. 1947; dec. 1972 with him 6 children Jesús Aguirre y Ortiz de Zárate m. 1978; dec. 2001 Alfonso Díez Carabantes m. 2011

References

1. ^ The Family of the Dukes of Berwick - website The Jacobite Heritage
2. ^ BERWICK - website Paul Theroff’s Royal Genealogy Site

External links

• The Family of the Dukes of Berwick, by Noel S. McFerran
• Hernando Fitzjames-Stuart in Spanish
• An Online Gotha - Berwick