Duke of Richmond is a title in the Peerage of England that has been created four times in British history. It has been held by members of the royal Tudor and Stuart families.
The current dukedom of Richmond was created in 1675 for Charles Lennox, the illegitimate son of Charles II of England and one of his mistresses, the Breton noblewoman Louise de Penancoët de Kérouaille; Charles Lennox was also made Duke of Lennox a month later. Charles Gordon-Lennox, 6th Duke of Richmond was furthermore created Duke of Gordon in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1876, meaning that the Duke holds three dukedoms—plus, in pretence, the French Duchy of Aubigny-sur-Nère.
History of the dukedom
Prior to the creation of the dukedom the early nobles of England associated with Richmondshire were Lords and Earls of Richmond. At times the honour of Richmond was held without a title. The dukedom of Richmond emerged under Henry VIII.
The first creation of a dukedom of Richmond (as Duke of Richmond and Somerset) was made in 1525 for Henry FitzRoy, an illegitimate son of Henry VIII. His mother was Elizabeth Blount. Upon the Duke's death without children in 1536, his titles became extinct.
The second creation was in 1623 for Ludovic Stewart, 2nd Duke of Lennox (see Lennox (district)) (1574–1624), who also held other titles in the peerage of Scotland. He was created Earl of Richmond and Baron Settrington in 1613 and Duke of Richmond in the peerage of England in 1623 as a member of the Lennox line (not unlike King James VI & I himself) in the House of Stuart. These became extinct at his death in 1624, but his Scottish honours devolved on his brother Esmé, Earl of March, who thus became 3rd Duke of Lennox in the peerage of Scotland. Esmé's son James, 4th Duke of Lennox (1612–1655) subsequently received the third creation of the dukedom of Richmond in 1641, when the two dukedoms again became united. In 1672, on the death of James' nephew Charles, 3rd Duke of Richmond and 6th Duke of Lennox, both titles again became extinct.
The fourth creation of the dukedom of Richmond was in August 1675, when Charles II granted the title to Charles Lennox, his illegitimate son by Louise de Keroualle, Duchess of Portsmouth. Charles Lennox was further created Duke of Lennox a month later. Charles' son, also Charles, succeeded to the French title Duke of Aubigny (of Aubigny-sur-Nère) on the death of his grandmother in 1734. The 6th Duke of Richmond and Lennox was created Duke of Gordon (See Clan Gordon) in 1876. Thus, the Duke holds three (four, if the French Aubigny claim is accepted) dukedoms; The house was used as the residence of the Duke of Richmond and his family for the remainder of the nineteenth century; following the 6th Duke's death in 1903, the lease of the house was sold in January 1904. At the time of the sale, the lease had a remaining term of 16 years, with a ground rent payable of £150 annually for the house and £40 annually for the associated stabling. By September 1923 the Duke had leased a new house in London at No. 67 Cadogan Square, which continued to be his London home until he died in January 1928. In the months following the 7th Duke’s death his successor Charles Gordon-Lennox, 8th Duke of Richmond continued to lease 67 Cadogan Square.
The 8th Duke’s only surviving son, Frederick, Earl of March had taken a lease of No. 12 Norfolk Crescent by September 1929, where his first child Charles, Lord Strettington was born on the 19th of that month. Following Lord March's accession as 9th Duke of Richmond in 1935, he continued to lease 12 Norfolk Crescent until c. 1942.
List of dukes
Duke of Richmond and Somerset (1525)
{| style="text-align:center" class="wikitable"
! colspan=6 style="background-color:#cbe" | Created by Henry VIII of England
|-
! #
! Name<br/>
! Tenure as duke
! Duchess
! Notes
! Other titles
|-
| 1
| Henry FitzRoy<br/>
| 1525–1536
| Mary Howard
| Extramarital son of Henry VIII
| Earl of Nottingham
|}
Duke of Richmond (1623)
{| style="text-align:center" class="wikitable"
! colspan=6 style="background-color:#cbe" | Created by James I of England
|-
! #
! Name<br/>
! Tenure as duke
! Duchess
! Notes
! Other titles
|-
| 1
| Ludovic Stewart<br/>
| 1623–1624
| Frances Howard
| Second cousin and favourite of James I
| Duke of Lennox<br/>Earl of Lennox<br/>Earl of Richmond
|}
Dukes of Richmond (1641)
{| style="text-align:center" class="wikitable"
! colspan=6 style="background-color:#cbe" | Created by Charles I of England
|-
! #
! Name<br/>
! Tenure as duke
! Duchess(es)
! Notes
! Other titles
|-
| 1
| James Stewart<br/>
| 1641–1655
| Mary Villiers
| Nephew of Ludovic Stewart, Duke of Richmond
| rowspan=2 | Duke of Lennox<br/>Earl of Lennox<br/>Earl of March<br/>Baron Clifton
|-
| 2
| Esmé Stewart<br/>
| 1655–1660
| unmarried
| Son of the preceding
|-
| 3
| Charles Stewart<br/>
| 1660–1672
| Margaret Banaster Lewis<br/>Frances Teresa Stewart
| Cousin of the preceding
| Duke of Lennox<br/>Earl of Lennox<br/>Earl of March<br/>Earl of Lichfield<br/>Baron Clifton
|}
Dukes of Richmond (1675)
{| style="text-align:center" class="wikitable"
! colspan=6 style="background-color:#cbe" | Created by Charles II of England
|-
! No.
! Name<br/>
! Tenure as duke
! Duchess(es)
! Notes
! Other titles
|-
| 1
| Charles Lennox<br/>
| 1675–1723
| Anne Brudenell
| Extramarital son of Charles II
| rowspan=5 | Duke of Lennox<br/>Earl of March<br/>Earl of Darnley<br/>Baron Settrington<br/>Lord Torbolton
|-
| 2
| Charles Lennox<br/>
| 1723–1750
| Sarah Cadogan
| Son of the preceding
|-
| 3
| Charles Lennox<br/>
| 1750–1806
| Mary Bruce
| Son of the preceding
|-
| 4
| Charles Lennox<br/>
| 1806–1819
| Charlotte Gordon
| Nephew of the preceding
|-
| 5
| Charles Gordon Lennox<br/>
| 1819–1860
| Caroline Paget
| Son of the preceding
|-
| 6
| Charles Henry Gordon Lennox<br/>
| 1860–1903
| Frances Greville
| Son of the preceding
| rowspan=6 | Duke of Lennox<br/>Duke of Gordon<br/>Earl of March<br/>Earl of Darnley<br/>Earl of Kinrara<br/>Baron Settrington<br/>Lord Torbolton
|-
| 7
| Charles Henry Gordon Lennox<br/>
| 1903–1928
| widowed
| Son of the preceding
|-
| 8
| Charles Henry Gordon Lennox<br/>
| 1928–1935
| Hilda Brassey
| Son of the preceding
|-
| 9
| Frederick Charles Gordon Lennox<br/>
| 1935–1989
| Elizabeth Hudson
| Son of the preceding
|-
| 10
| Charles Henry Gordon Lennox<br/>
| 1989–2017
| Susan Grenville-Grey
| Son of the preceding
|-
| 11
| Charles Henry Gordon Lennox<br/>
| since 2017
| Janet Elizabeth Astor
| Son of the preceding
|}
The heir apparent is Charles Henry Gordon Lennox, Earl of March and Kinrara (), eldest son of the 11th and present Duke.
Line of succession (simplified)
- 25px Charles Henry Gordon-Lennox, 6th Duke of Richmond (1818–1903)
- 25px Charles Henry Gordon-Lennox, 7th Duke of Richmond (1845–1928)
- 25px Charles Henry Gordon-Lennox, 8th Duke of Richmond (1870–1935)
- 25px Frederick Charles Gordon-Lennox, 9th Duke of Richmond (1904–1989)
- 25px Charles Henry Gordon Lennox, 10th Duke of Richmond (1929–2017)
- 25px Charles Henry Gordon-Lennox, 11th Duke of Richmond ()
- (1) Charles Henry Gordon Lennox, styled Earl of March and Kinrara ()
- (2) William Rupert Gordon Lennox ()
- (3) Frederick Lysander Gordon Lennox ()
- Esmé Charles Gordon-Lennox (1875–1949)
- Reginald Arthur Charles Gordon Lennox (1910–1965)
- male issue in line
- Bernard Charles Gordon Lennox (1878–1914)
- George Charles Gordon Lennox (1908–1988)
- Bernard Charles Gordon Lennox (1932–2017)
- male issue in line
- other male issue in line
- Alexander Henry Charles Gordon Lennox (1911–1987)
- male issue in line
- Walter Charles Gordon-Lennox (1865–1922)
- Victor Charles Hugh Gordon Lennox (1897–1968)
- male issue in line