Editing Duke (section)

=== England ===
{{main|Dukes in the United Kingdom}}
{{Peerage |Ranks}}

==== Anglo-Saxon times ====
In Anglo-Saxon England, where the Roman political divisions were largely abandoned, the highest political rank beneath that of king was [[ealdorman]], and the first ealdormen were referred to as ''duces'' (the plural of the original Latin ''dux'') in the chronicles. The title ealdorman was replaced by the [[Danish language|Danish]] ''eorl'' (later [[earl]]) over time. After the [[Norman conquest of England|Norman conquest]], their power and regional jurisdiction was limited to that of the Norman [[count]]s.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Normans: The History of a Dynasty|last=Crouch|first=David|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic|year=2002|isbn=978-1852855956|pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781852855956/page/108 108]|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781852855956/page/108}}</ref>

==== Late medieval times ====
{{see also|Duke of Lancaster}}
[[Edward III of England]] created the first English dukedom by naming his eldest son [[Edward, the Black Prince]], as [[Duke of Cornwall]] in 1337. Upon the death of the Black Prince, the duchy of Cornwall passed to his nine-year-old son, who would eventually succeed his grandfather as [[Richard II of England|Richard II]].

The title of [[Duke of Lancaster]] was created by Edward III in 1351 for [[Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster|Henry of Grosmont]], but became extinct upon the duke's death in 1361. The following year, Edward III bestowed the title (2nd creation) on his fourth son, [[John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster|John of Gaunt]], who was also married to the first duke's daughter. On the same day Edward III also created his second son, [[Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence|Lionel of Antwerp]], as [[Duke of Clarence]].

All five of Edward III's surviving sons eventually became dukes. In 1385, ten years after their father's death, his heir Richard II created dukedoms for his last two uncles on the same day. [[Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester|Thomas of Woodstock]] was named [[Duke of Gloucester]] and [[Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York|Edmund of Langley]] became [[Duke of York]], thereby founding the [[House of York]], which later fought for the throne with John of Gaunt's [[House of Lancaster|Lancastrian]] descendants during the [[Wars of the Roses]].

By 1483, a total of 16 ducal titles had been created: Cornwall, Lancaster, Clarence, Gloucester, York, [[Duke of Ireland|Ireland]], [[Duke of Hereford|Hereford]], [[Duke of Aumale|Aumale]], [[Duke of Exeter|Exeter]], [[Duke of Surrey|Surrey]], [[Duke of Norfolk|Norfolk]], [[Duke of Bedford|Bedford]], [[Duke of Somerset|Somerset]], [[Duke of Buckingham|Buckingham]], [[Duke of Warwick|Warwick]] and [[Duke of Suffolk|Suffolk]]. Some became extinct, others had multiple creations, and some had merged with the crown upon the holder's accession to the throne. When the [[Plantagenet]] dynasty came to an end at the [[Battle of Bosworth Field]] on 22 August 1485, only four ducal titles remained extant, of which two were now permanently associated with the crown. [[John de la Pole, 2nd Duke of Suffolk|John de la Pole]] was Duke of Suffolk and [[John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk|John Howard]] was Duke of Norfolk (2nd creation), while the duchy of Cornwall was reserved as a title and source of income for the eldest son of the sovereign, and the duchy of Lancaster was now held by the monarch.

Norfolk perished alongside [[Richard III of England|Richard III]] at Bosworth field, and the title was forfeit. It was restored to his son [[Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk|Thomas]] thirty years later by [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]], as one of a number of dukes created or recreated by the [[Tudor dynasty]] over the ensuing century. England's premier ducal title, Norfolk, remains in the Howard family to this day.