Editing Duke (section)

== Royal dukes<!--'Royal duke' and 'Royal dukes' redirect here--> ==
{{redirect|Royal duke|the South Korean car|Daewoo Royale Duke}}
Various royal houses traditionally awarded (mainly) dukedoms to the sons and in some cases, the daughters, of their respective sovereigns; others include at least one dukedom in a wider list of similarly granted titles, nominal dukedoms without any actual authority, often even without an estate. Such titles are still conferred on royal princes or princesses in the current European monarchies of Belgium, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

Other historical cases occurred for example in Denmark, Finland (as a part of Sweden) and France, Portugal and some former colonial possessions such as Brazil and Haiti.

=== United Kingdom ===
{{main|Royal dukedoms in the United Kingdom|Dukes in the United Kingdom|List of dukes in the peerages of Britain and Ireland|List of dukedoms in the peerages of Britain and Ireland}}

In the United Kingdom, a '''royal duke'''<!--boldface per WP:R#PLA--> is a duke who is a member of the [[British royal family]], entitled to the [[royal and noble styles|style]] of "[[His Royal Highness]]". Ducal titles which have been given within the royal family include [[Duke of Cornwall]], [[Duke of Lancaster]], [[Duke of Clarence]], [[Duke of York]], [[Duke of Gloucester]], [[Duke of Bedford]], [[Duke of Cumberland]], [[Duke of Cambridge]], [[Duke of Rothesay]], [[Duke of Albany]], [[Duke of Ross]], [[Duke of Edinburgh]], [[Duke of Kent]], [[Duke of Sussex]], and [[Duke of Connaught and Strathearn]]. Following his [[Edward VIII abdication crisis|abdication]] in 1936 the former [[King Edward VIII]] was given the title [[Duke of Windsor]].

There are also [[non-royal dukes]] in the United Kingdom.

=== Belgium ===
In [[Belgium]], the title of [[Duke of Brabant]] (historically the most prestigious in the [[Low Countries]], and containing the federal capital [[Brussels]]) is awarded to the [[heir apparent]] of the monarch, other dynasts receiving various lower historical titles (much older than Belgium, and in principle never fallen to the Belgian crown), such as [[Count of Flanders]] ([[King Leopold III]]'s so-titled brother [[Prince Charles, Count of Flanders|Charles]] held the title when he became the realm's temporary head of state as [[prince-regent]]) and Prince of Liège (a secularised version of the historical [[prince-bishop]]ric; e.g. [[Albert II of Belgium|King Albert II]] until he succeeded his older brother [[Baudouin I]]).

=== Iberian peninsula ===
When the [[Christians|Christian]] [[Reconquista]], sweeping the [[Moors]] from the former [[Caliph of Cordoba|Caliphate of Córdoba]] and its [[Taifa|taifa-remnants]], transformed the territory of former [[Suebi|Suevic]] and [[Visigoths|Visigothic]] realms into [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic]] [[Feudalism|feudal]] principalities, none of these warlords was exactly styled duke. A few (as Portugal [[County of Portugal|itself]]) started as count (even if the title of ''dux'' was sometimes added), but soon all politically relevant princes were to use the royal style of king.

==== Portugal ====
{{main|List of dukedoms in Portugal}}

In Portugal, the title of duke was granted for the first time in 1415 to [[Pedro, Duke of Coimbra|infante Peter]] and [[Henry the Navigator|infante Henry]], the second and third sons of king [[John I of Portugal|John I]], following their participation in the successful [[Conquest of Ceuta]]. Pedro became the first [[Duke of Coimbra]] and Henry the first [[Duke of Viseu]].

From the reign of king [[Manuel I of Portugal|Manuel I]], the title of [[Duke of Beja]] was given to the second son of the monarch. This was changed during the Liberal regime in the 19th century (with [[Maria II of Portugal|Queen Maria II]]), when the first infante (second son of the monarch) got the title of [[Duke of Porto]] and the second infante (third son) was known as Duke of Beja.

There are examples of duke as a subsidiary title, granted to the most powerful noble houses:
* [[Duke of Barcelos]], to be used by the heir of the [[Duke of Braganza]];
* [[Duke of Torres Novas]], to be used by the heir of the [[Duke of Aveiro]];
* [[Duke of Miranda do Corvo]], to be used by the heir of the [[Duke of Lafões]].

Usually, the title of duke was granted to relatives of the royal family, such as the infantes or natural sons of the monarch. There are exceptions, such as [[António José de Ávila, 1st Duke of Ávila and Bolama|António José de Ávila]], who, although not having any relation to the royal family, was given the title of [[Duke of Ávila and Bolama]] in the 19th century.

==== Spain ====
{{main|List of dukedoms in Spain}}
Spanish infantes and infantas are usually given a royal dukedom upon marriage, excepting the heir apparent who is the [[Prince of Asturias]]. Those titles are nowadays not hereditary but carry a [[Grandee|grandeeship of Spain]]. The current royal duchesses are [[Infanta Margarita, Duchess of Soria]] (although she inherited the title of [[Duke of Hernani|Duchess of Hernani]] from her cousin and is the second holder of the title), and [[Infanta Elena, Duchess of Lugo]]. In Spain all dukes hold the court rank of grandee, which has precedence over all other noble titles.

The last non-royal hereditary dukedom created was the title of [[Duke of Suárez]] in favour of former primer minister [[Adolfo Suárez]] in 1981. Since the accession of [[Felipe VI|King Felipe VI]] to the [[Monarchy of Spain|throne]] in 2014, no new noble title has been created.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Confidencial |first=Monarquía |date=4 November 2020 |title=Felipe VI no ha concedido un solo título nobiliario en todo su reinado |url=https://monarquia.elconfidencialdigital.com/articulo/espana/felipe-vi-ha-concedido-solo-titulo-nobiliario-todo-reinado/20201103200251043776.html |access-date=2023-03-23 |website=Monarquía Confidencial |language=es}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ejerique |first=Raúl Sánchez, Raquel |date=17 September 2016 |title=Felipe VI cierra el grifo de los condes, duques y marqueses |url=https://www.eldiario.es/sociedad/felipe-vi-nobles-primeros-reinado_1_3846049.html |access-date=2023-03-23 |website=elDiario.es |language=es}}</ref>

=== Nordic countries ===
[[File:Birger jarl (Forssén).jpg|thumb|In the 1260s [[Birger Jarl]] bore a ducal coronet and used the [[Latin]] title of ''Dux Sweorum'' (Latin for "Duke of the Swedes"); the design of his coronet combined those used by continental European and English dukes.<ref>Prof. Jan Svanberg in ''Furstebilder från folkungatid'' {{ISBN|91-85884-52-9}} pp. 104–106</ref>]]
[[File:Bengt Birgersson.JPG|thumb|Bishop [[Bengt Birgersson]] (1254–1291) was the first [[Duke of Finland]]<ref>{{cite book| author=Heikinheimo, Ilmari| year= 1955 | title= Suomen elämäkerrasto| publisher = [[Werner Söderström Osakeyhtiö]]}}</ref>]]
The Northern European duchies of [[Halland]], [[Jutland]], [[Lolland]], [[Osilia]] and [[Reval]] existed in the Middle Ages. The longest-surviving duchy was [[Schleswig]], i.e., ''Sonderjylland'' (a portion of which later became part of Germany). Its southern neighbor, the duchy of [[Holstein]], in personal union with the Danish crown, was nonetheless always a German principality. The two duchies jointly became a member of the German [[States of Germany|''Bundesland'']] as "[[Schleswig-Holstein]]" in the 19th century.

==== Denmark ====
Beginning in the 11th century, Danish kings frequently awarded the title of ''jarl'' (earl) or duke of [[Duchy of Schleswig|Schleswig]] to a younger son of the monarch. Short-lived dukedoms were created for the same purpose in [[Lolland]] and [[Halland]].

After the accession to the throne of [[Christian I of Denmark|Christian I]], a complex system of appanages were created for male-line descendants of the king, being granted non-sovereign ducal titles in both Schleswig and [[Duchy of Holstein|Holstein]], e.g. [[Duke of Gottorp]], Duke of Sønderborg, [[Duke of Augustenborg]], Duke of Franzhagen, Duke of Beck, [[Duke of Glücksburg]] and Duke of Nordborg. This arrangement occurred in both territories despite Schleswig being a fief of Denmark and Holstein being a fief of the [[Holy Roman Empire]].

==== Finland ====
Key parts of Finland were sometimes under a Duke of Finland during the Swedish reign (until 1809). Some of the provinces are still considered duchies for the purposes of heraldry.

==== Norway ====
In Norway, [[Skule Bårdsson]] was first ''jarl'' in 1217, and as such got responsibility for the army, and then in 1237, as another attempt at compromise, Skule was given the first Norwegian title of duke (''hertug''). There is no indication that those two titles meant the same thing, or was mixed. He was first ''jarl'', and then also ''hertug'', but after he became ''hertug'' he kept the title ''jarl''.

==== Sweden ====
{{further|Duchies in Sweden}}
Sweden has a history of making the sons of its kings ruling princes of vast duchies, but this ceased in 1622. Only one non-royal person was ever given a dukedom.

In 1772, King [[Gustav III of Sweden|Gustav III]] reinstated the appointment of titular dukes but as a non-hereditary title for his brothers. Since then, all Swedish princes have been created dukes of a province at birth. When the [[Act of Succession (1810)|1810 Act of Succession]] was amended to allow female succession to the throne, King [[Carl XVI Gustaf]]'s eldest daughter [[Crown Princess Victoria|Victoria]] became Crown Princess (displacing her younger brother [[Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland|Carl Philip]]) and received the title of Duchess of Västergötland. The practice of conferring ducal titles has since extended to Swedish princesses as well as princes. Currently, there are five dukes and four duchesses in their own right. The territorial designations of these dukedoms refer to ten of the [[Provinces of Sweden]].