Duke of Manchester: Difference between revisions

Dukedom of Manchester
Created by	George I
Peerage	Peerage of Great Britain

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.

The Montagu family is descended from Drogo de Montaigu, who was a companion of William, Duke of Normandy alias William the Conqueror. Montaigu participated in the Norman conquest of England in 1066, which subsequently would remove the native ruling class, replacing it with a foreign, Norman aristocracy, to which the Montagus themselves belonged.

In 1333 William, Earl of Salisbury became Sovereign King of Mann, establishing the Royal House of Montagu.

The judge Sir Edward Montagu's grandson, Sir Henry Montagu (c. 1563–1642), who served as Lord Chief Justice as well as Lord High Treasurer and Lord Privy Seal, was in 1620 raised to the Peerage of England as Viscount Mandeville, with the additional title Baron Montagu of Kimbolton, of Kimbolton in the County of Huntingdon. In 1626 he was made Earl of Manchester. This title referred not to the city of Manchester, but to Godmanchester in Huntingdonshire. The word "God" was deliberately excluded from the title, as Henry thought it would be blasphemous for him to be known as "Lord Godmanchester".^[1]

His son, the 2nd Earl, was a prominent Parliamentary General during the Civil War, but later supported the restoration of Charles II. His son, the 3rd Earl, represented Huntingdonshire in the House of Commons. His son was the 4th Earl, who in 1719 was created Duke of Manchester.

Charles, 1st Duke of Manchester, was succeeded by his eldest son. The 2nd Duke 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 3rd Duke. He had earlier represented Huntingdonshire in Parliament. He was succeeded by his son, the 4th Duke. He was Ambassador to France and served as Lord Chamberlain of the Household. His son, the 5th Duke, was Governor of Jamaica between 1827 and 1830 also held office as Postmaster General. He was succeeded by his son, the 6th Duke. He represented Huntingdon in the House of Commons as a Tory.

His eldest son, the 7th Duke, was Conservative Member of Parliament for Bewdley and Huntingdonshire. His son, the 8th Duke, briefly represented Huntingdonshire in Parliament. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the 9th 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. The titles are currently held by his great-grandson, the 13th Duke, who in 2002 succeeded his father, who in his turn had succeeded his elder brother.

The arms of the Duke of Manchester have the following blazon: Quarterly, 1st & 4th: Argent, 3 fusils conjoined in fess gules (Montagu); 2nd & 3rd: or an eagle displayed vert beaked and membered gules (Monthermer).^[2] The fusils or diamond shapes in the Montagu arms were originally intended to represent a range of mountains,^[3] as the name comes from the old French mont agu meaning "pointed hill".^[4]

The Duke of Manchester holds the subsidiary titles Earl of Manchester, Viscount Mandeville, and Baron Montagu of Kimbolton. When the 2nd Duke of Montagu in 1749 died without male issue, the 3rd Duke of Manchester, and his heirs, became heirs general of Drogo de Montaigu, of the Kings of Mann, of the Earls of Salisbury, and of the Barons de Monthermer. They are also heraldic heirs of the latter. The only potential heirs to the Earldom and other subsidiary titles, were the Dukedom to become extinct, would be heirs male of the Hon. James Montagu, third son of the 1st Earl.

The Duke of Manchester is styled Your Grace (spoken style) or His Grace (reference style), alternatively Sir.

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.

Many members of the Montagu family (Earls and Dukes of Manchester) are buried at St Andrew’s Church, Kimbolton, Cambridgeshire. Several Montagu monuments still exist in the South Chapel, while the Montagu vault (extended in 1853) is located beneath the North Chapel.^[5]

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