- Duke of Manchester
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Dukedom of Manchester 
Creation date 13 April 1719 Created by George I of Great Britain Peerage Peerage of Great Britain First holder Charles Montagu, 4th Earl of Manchester Present holder Alexander Montagu, 13th Duke Remainder to the 1st Duke's heirs male of the body lawfully begotten 
Charles Montagu, 1st Duke of Manchester.
Kimbolton Castle in 1880, the former seat of the Dukes of Manchester.Duke of Manchester is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1719 for the politician Charles Montagu, 4th Earl of Manchester, who notably served as Secretary of State for the Southern Department. The Duke of Manchester is styled His Grace.
Contents
Origin and descent
The Montagu family descends from the judge Sir Edward Montagu (c. 1485–1557). His grandson, Sir Henry Montagu (c. 1563–1642), who served as Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench as well as Lord High Treasurer of England and Lord Privy Seal, was raised to the Peerage of England in 1620 as Baron Montagu of Kimbolton, of Kimbolton in the County of Huntingdon, and Viscount Mandeville. In 1626 he was further honoured when he was made Earl of Manchester, also in the Peerage of England.
His son, the second Earl, was a prominent Parliamentary General during the Civil War but later supported the restoration of Charles II. His son, the third Earl, represented Huntingdonshire in the House of Commons. His son was the aforementioned fourth Earl, who was created Duke of Manchester in 1719.
The first Duke was succeeded by his eldest son, the second Duke. He notably served as Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard in the administration of Sir Robert Walpole. He was childless and on his death the titles passed to his younger brother, the third Duke. He had earlier represented Huntingdonshire in Parliament. He was succeeded by his son, the fourth Duke. He was Ambassador to France and served as Lord Chamberlain of the Household. His son, the fifth Duke, was Governor of Jamaica for many years and also held office as Postmaster General between 1827 and 1830. He was succeeded by his son, the sixth Duke. He represented Huntingdon in the House of Commons as a Tory.
His eldest son, the seventh Duke, was Conservative Member of Parliament for Bewdley and Huntingdonshire. His son, the eighth Duke, briefly represented Huntingdonshire in Parliament. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the ninth Duke. He sat on the Liberal benches in the House of Lords and served as Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard in the Liberal administration of Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman. As of 2007 the titles are held by his great-grandson, the thirteenth Duke, who succeeded his father in 2002 (who in his turn had succeeded his elder brother in 1985).
The heir apparent to the Dukedom takes the courtesy title Viscount Mandeville, and the heir apparent's heir apparent (when such exists) is styled Lord Kimbolton. (This is one of only two exceptions, the other being in the case of the Marquess of Londonderry, to the general rule that the heirs of Viscounts do not use courtesy peerages.)[citation needed] .)
The traditional estate of the family was at Kimbolton Castle, but the 10th Duke sold it in 1950,[citation needed] while residing in Kenya; it is now a private school, Kimbolton School. Only some 50 acres (200,000 m2) of parkland was sold together with the castle, and the 10th Duke retained some 3,250 acres (13.2 km2) of the Kimbolton agricultural estate. This, however, was sold by the eldest son and heir of the 10th Duke in 1975, shortly before the death of his father. The family also used to own Tandragee Castle, in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. They sold it in 1955, and it is now the headquarters of Tayto (NI) Ltd., a potato crisp manufacturer.
The current holder of the title, the 13th Duke, lives in California.
Several other members of the Montagu family have been elevated to the peerage. The first Earl of Manchester was the younger brother of Edward Montagu, 1st Baron Montagu of Boughton, the ancestor of the Dukes of Montagu, and the uncle of Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich.
Earls of Manchester (1626)
- Other titles: Viscount Mandeville and Baron Montagu of Kimbolton, of Kimbolton in the county of Huntingdon (1620)
- Henry Montagu, 1st Earl of Manchester (c. 1563–1642), had been Viscount Mandeville and Baron Montagu of Kimbolton since 1620
- Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester (1602–1671), eldest son of the 1st Earl
- Robert Montagu, 3rd Earl of Manchester (1634–1683), only son of the 2nd Earl
- Charles Montagu, 4th Earl of Manchester (1656–1722) was created Duke of Manchester in 1719
Dukes of Manchester (1719)
- Other titles: Earl of Manchester (1626), Viscount Mandeville and Baron Montagu of Kimbolton, of Kimbolton in the county of Huntingdon (1620)
- Charles Montagu, 1st Duke of Manchester (1656–1722), eldest son of the 3rd Earl
- William Montagu, 2nd Duke of Manchester (1700–1739), elder son of the 1st Duke, died without issue
- Robert Montagu, 3rd Duke of Manchester (1710–1762), younger son of the 1st Duke
- George Montagu, 4th Duke of Manchester (1737–1788), elder son of the 3rd Duke
- George Montagu, Viscount Mandeville (1763–1772), eldest son of the 4th Duke, died in childhood
- William Montagu, 5th Duke of Manchester (1771–1843), second son of the 4th Duke
- George Montagu, 6th Duke of Manchester (1799–1855), elder son of the 5th Duke
- William Montagu, 7th Duke of Manchester (1823–1890), eldest son of the 6th Duke
- George Montagu, 8th Duke of Manchester (1853–1892), elder son of the 7th Duke
- William Montagu, 9th Duke of Manchester (1877–1947), only son of the 8th Duke
- Alexander Montagu, 10th Duke of Manchester (1902–1977), elder son of the 9th Duke
- Sidney Montagu, 11th Duke of Manchester (1929–1985), elder son of the 10th Duke, died without issue
- Angus Montagu, 12th Duke of Manchester (1938–2002), younger son of the 10th Duke
- Alexander Montagu, 13th Duke of Manchester (b. 1962), elder son of the 12th Duke
The heir apparent was believed to be Alexander Montagu, Viscount Mandeville (b. 1993), only son of the 13th Duke. However his legitimacy has been called into question in the light of a 2011 court case which revealed that the 13th Duke's first marriage had not ended when he married his second wife (Alexander's mother).[1]
Line of succession
The line of succession is as follows:
- Alexander Montagu, Viscount Mandeville (b. 1993) (son of the 13th Duke; but see note above)
- Lord Kimble William Drogo Montagu (b. 1964) (younger son of the 12th Duke)
- William Anthony Drogo Montagu (b. 2000) (only son of Lord Kimble)
- Michael Anthony Montagu (b. 1955) (great-great-grandson of Lord Robert Montagu, second son of the 6th Duke, through his second son Robert Acheson Cromie Montagu)
- Henry Robert Sanderson Montagu (b. 1935) (first cousin once removed of Michael Montagu)
- Cyril John Sanderson Montagu (b. 1937) (younger brother of Henry Montagu)
- Graeme Peter Montagu (b. 1967) (elder son of Cyril Montagu)
- Christopher John Montagu (b. 1968) (younger son of Cyril Montagu)
- Gerard Philip Sanderson Montagu (b. 1940) (younger brother of Henry and Cyril Montagu)
- Matthew Gerard Montagu (b. 1976) (only son of Gerard Montagu)
- Robert Drogo Montagu (b. 1947) (great-grandson of Lord Robert Montagu through his fourth son Henry Bernard Montagu)
- James Drogo Montagu (b. 1975) (only son of Robert Montagu)
- Christopher Bernard Montagu (b. 1950) (younger brother of Robert Montagu)
- David William Montagu (b. 1976) (elder son of Christopher Montagu)
- Thomas Edward Montagu (b. 1979) (younger son of Christopher Montagu)
The only potential heirs to the Earldom (and other subsidiary titles) alone, were the Dukedom to become extinct, would be heirs male of the Hon. James Montagu, third son of the 1st Earl.
See also
References
- Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors), Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990
- Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages
- www.thepeerage.com
- Scriven, Marcus, Splendour & Squalor. The Disgrace and Disintegration of Three Aristocratic Dynasties, London: Atlantic Books, 2009
Notes
- ^ '"The bigamist Duke and his three wives", Daily Telegraph, 2 August 2011
External links
Extant dukedoms in the peerages of the British Isles* Cornwall • Norfolk • Somerset • Richmond • Grafton • Beaufort • St Albans • Bedford • Devonshire • Marlborough • Rutland • Rothesay • Hamilton • Buccleuch • Lennox • Queensberry • Argyll • Atholl • Montrose • Roxburghe • Brandon • Manchester • Northumberland • Leinster • Wellington • Sutherland • Abercorn • Westminster • Gordon • Fife • Gloucester • Kent • Edinburgh • York • Cambridge
* Extant dukedoms, listed by precedence, from highest to lowest
Categories:- Dukedoms of England
- Dukedoms of Great Britain
- Dukes of Manchester
- Montagu family
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