Duchess and Duke?

Question

So I have to write this story and it's going to be about a Duchess. The only problem is: I don't know anything about that. So here are some of my questions:

Who is the Duchess? (How is she related to the King/Queen)

If the King and Queen don't have any children who would become King and Queen (would the Duke and Duchess take over?)

How does the Duchess get the title of Duchess

Can the Duchess become something higher?

Does it matter how old someone is to become a Duchess?

Those are pretty much all of my questions. If you have any other info please tell me. Also, if you have any websites about this topic it would be much appreciated! Thank you so much!

Answer 1

Titles were given to the peerage for some services done for the monarchy.The order of precedence for the non-royal peerage is Duke/Duchess

Marquess/Marchioness

Earl/Countess

Viscount/Viscountess

Baron/Baroness

Royals may also bear titles of the peerage as well;a royal duke,marquess,and so on,is higher ranked than the non-royal peer.

As to the relationship;it depends if the duchess is a family member, a distant cousin...many peers have bloodlines that can be traced to royalty.It is possible that the ties are the result of a distant relative having an affair with a royal;it is possible that the bloodlines are shared through marriages of long past.

Many royal princes and princesses are royal dukes and duchesses and they are in direct line of succession to the throne.For example,the current Duke of Cornwall,is the Queen's son and will ascend the throne upon her death.

In order for your Duke to become King he'd have to be in direct line of succession to the throne.

For a woman to be a duchess,she either marries a duke,or is heir to her father,a duchess in her own right.If she is heir to her father, that means her father only had daughters,and the title wan't entailed(meaning it would go to the nearest male heir,which is what  usually happens,due to the laws of primogeniture). A duchess may marry a King or a Prince,then she goes up in the order of precedence because she has become a royal.

Dukes and Duchesses are adults,whatever that age may be,depending upon the era of your story.

Try http://www.royal.gov/uk where there are many links to history of the monarchy. Burke's Peerage may also be of use.

Answer 2

A duchess usually isn't related by blood to a king, since most duchesses marry into the title. The rank of Duchess is the highest non-royal title in the UK (but there are some royal Dukes as well). However, the Russian monarch's children were called Grand Duke or Grand Duchess.

However, many Princes have the other titles, with Duke being pretty common. So while Prince Charles is also the Duke of Cornwall & the Duke of Rothsay, his higher title of Prince of Wales is how he is most commonly referred.

If the king and queen had no children, the line of succesion can be complicated, but it could happen that the sucessor was a duke or duchess-it is not automatic, though. There is no duke waiting in wings, so to speak.

A woman can marry at any age, so there is no age limit to becoming a duchess.

Occastionally, a woman can become a duchess in her own right-Charles II made a few of his mistresses duchesses. While it's rare, it can certainly happen!

Answer 3

Duchess is normally the feminine equivalent of "Duke".  A duke is a noble person, historically of highest rank below the King or Queen, and usually controls a duchy or a Dukedom.

When a "Duke" marries, his bride would receive a courtesy title, which means it was given or loaned to them either as a courtesy title, or gained through marriage. For example, if she married Duke of York, she will become Duchess of York.

If her husband was a Royal Duke, a brother or nephew of a monarch, than she will become the monarch in-laws and will officially be a member of the royal family.

It is possible that a "Duchess" could become something higher, especially if she was born as a royal princess and first in the line to the throne. Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom was named Heiress Presumptive, and was designed to be the future monarch after her father, King George VI. Upon her marriage to Lieutenant Sir Philip Mountbatten, he was made His Royal Highness Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and she became Her Royal Highness The Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh. Upon her cornation she became Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and dropped her title as “Duchess of Edinburgh.”