Duke of Albany
Duke of Albany is a
peerage title that has occasionally been bestowed on the younger sons in the
Scottish, and later the British,
royal family, particularly in the Houses of
Stuart and
Hanover.
The Dukedom of Albany was first granted in
1398 by King
Robert III of Scotland on his brother, Robert Stewart, the title being in the
Peerage of Scotland. "
Albany" was a broad territorial term representing the parts of Scotland north of the
River Forth, roughly the former Kingdom of the
Picts. The title (along with the
Dukedom of Rothesay, the first Dukedom created in Scotland) was forfeited in
1425 due to the treason of the second Duke.
The title was again created in
1458 for Alexander Stewart; the title became extinct when his son John died without heirs. It was created again in
1541 for Arthur, second son of
James V of Scotland, who died in early infancy. The title was created for a fourth time in
1604 for Charles, son of King
James VI of Scotland (James I in England). Upon Charles' ascent to the throne in
1625, the title of Duke of Albany merged into the crown.
The title was next granted in
1660 to Charles I's son, James, by Charles II. When James succeeded his elder brother to the throne in
1685, the titles again merged into the crown. The pretender,
Charles Edward Stuart, gave the title, Duchess of Albany, to his illegitimate daughter,
Charlotte; she died in
1789.
The title "Duke of York and Albany" was often granted by the Hanoverian kings (see
Duke of York). The title of "Albany" alone was granted for the fifth time, this time in the
Peerage of the United Kingdom, in
1881 to
Prince Leopold, the fourth son of
Queen Victoria. Prince Leopold's son, Charles, was deprived of the peerage in
1919 for bearing arms against the United Kingdom in
World War I. Under the
1917 Titles Deprivation Act, the lineal male heirs of the 2nd Duke of Albany have the right to petition the British Crown for the restoration of his peerages. To date, none has done so. The current heir is the 2nd Duke's great-grandson,
Hubert, Prince of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (b.
1961). (Although Hubert's grandfather, Johann Leopold, lost his status as heir of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha by making a
morganatic marriage, this would only affect German princely titles and not British peerages.)
*
Robert Stewart, 1st Duke of Albany (c.
1340–
1406)
*
Murdoch Stewart, 2nd Duke of Albany (
1362–
1425) (forfeit 1425)
*
Alexander Stewart, 1st Duke of Albany (c.
1454–
1485)
*
John Stewart, 2nd Duke of Albany (
1481–
1536)
*Arthur Stewart, Duke of Albany (
1541) (died eight days after his baptism)
*
Henry Stuart, King-consort of Scotland (
1545–
1567)
*
James Stuart, Duke of Rothesay (
1566–
1625) (became King in 1567)
*
Charles Stuart, Duke of Albany (
1600–
1649) (became King in 1625)
*
James Stuart, Duke of Albany (
1633–
1701) (became King in 1685)
*
Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany (
1853–
1884)
*
Prince Charles Edward, Duke of Albany (
1884–
1954) (born after his father's death; suspended 1919)
*
William Shakespeare's
King Lear includes as a major character the Duke of Albany, who is husband to one of Lear's daughters.
*In the movie
Kate & Leopold,
Leopold is the Duke of Albany. He is not, however, meant to be the same person as the historic Leopold, Duke of Albany, who would have held the title at that time.
*
Alba*
Albany
