Barony of Renfrew | |
---|---|
Creation date | 1398 |
Created by | Robert III |
First holder | David Stewart |
Present holder | Prince William, Duke of Rothesay |
Heir apparent | Prince George |
Baron of Renfrew is a dignity in the Baronage of Scotland held by the heir apparent to the British throne, currently Prince William, Duke of Rothesay. [1] It has been held by the Scottish heir apparent since 1404. It is closely associated with the title Duke of Rothesay. An act of the Scottish Parliament passed in 1469 confirmed the pattern of succession. [2] Renfrew, a town near Glasgow, is sometimes called the "cradle of the royal Stewarts".
In Scotland, barons hold feudal titles, not peerages: a Scottish lord of Parliament equates to an English or British baron. Some, however, claim that the Act of 1469 effectively elevated the Barony of Renfrew to the dignity of a peerage. [3] Others suggest that the barony became a peerage upon the Union of the Crowns in 1603. Finally, some scholars argue that the uncertainty surrounding the text of the 1469 Act leaves the barony as only a feudal dignity, not a peerage dignity. The official position is given in Hansard (House of Lords – written answers) for 18 May 1999: [4] "The Barony of Renfrew is not a peerage dignity at all; it is a feudal or minor barony of Scotland."
The title of Lord Renfrew was used by the traveling Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, [5] and by Prince Edward, Duke of Rothesay, later King Edward VIII and then Duke of Windsor, when he traveled in a private capacity or when he wished to pay visits 'incognito'. [6]
In the early stages of her relationship with the then Prince of Wales Charles, Diana Spencer gave "Charles Renfrew" to her friends as the name of the man she was dating. [7]
Heir apparent | Parent | From | To | Titles held in addition to Duke of Rothesay |
---|---|---|---|---|
David Stewart | Robert III | 1398 (created) | 1402 (death) | Earl of Atholl (1398), Baron Renfrew (?), Prince and Great Steward of Scotland (trad.) |
James Stewart | Robert III | 1404 (created) | 1406 (acceded as James I) | Earl of Carrick (1404), Baron/Lord Renfrew, Prince and Great Steward of Scotland (1404) |
Alexander Stewart | James I | 1430 (birth?) | 1430 (death) | |
James Stewart | James I | 1431 (created) | 1437 (acceded as James II) | |
James Stewart | James II | 1452 (birth?) | 1460 (acceded as James III) | |
James Stewart | James III | 1473 (birth) | 1488 (acceded as James IV) | Earl of Carrick and Baron/Lord Renfrew, Prince and Great Steward of Scotland (1469) |
James Stewart | James IV | 1507 (birth) | 1508 (death) | Earl of Carrick and Baron/Lord Renfrew, Prince and Great Steward of Scotland (1469) |
Arthur Stewart | James IV | 1509 (birth) | 1510 (death) | Duke of Albany (1509), Earl of Carrick and Baron/Lord Renfrew, Prince and Great Steward of Scotland (1469) |
James Stewart | James IV | 1512 (birth) | 1513 (acceded as James V) | Earl of Carrick and Baron/Lord Renfrew, Prince and Great Steward of Scotland (1469) |
James Stewart | James V | 1540 (birth) | 1541 (death) | Earl of Carrick and Baron/Lord Renfrew (1469), Lord of the Isles (1540), Prince and Great Steward of Scotland (1469) |
James Stuart | Mary I | 1566 (birth) | 1567 (acceded as James VI) | Earl of Carrick and Baron/Lord Renfrew (1469), Lord of the Isles (1540), Prince and Great Steward of Scotland (1469), Duke of Albany, Earl of Ross, and Lord of Ardmanoch (1566) |
Henry Frederick | James VI | 1594 (birth) | 1612 (death) | Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester (1610), Duke of Cornwall (1337), Earl of Carrick and Baron Renfrew (1469), Lord of the Isles (1540), Prince and Great Steward of Scotland (1469) (The italicised henceforth "Earl of Carrick, etc. 1469 & 1540)" |
Prince Charles, Duke of York and of Albany | James VI | 1612 (death of brother Henry) | 1625 (acceded as Charles I) | Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester (1616), Duke of Cornwall (1337), Duke of Albany (1600), Duke of York (1605), Marquess of Ormond (1600), Earl of Carrick, etc. (1469 & 1540), Earl of Ross, Lord Ardmannoch (1600) |
Prince Charles James | Charles I | 1629 (birth) | 1629 (death) | Duke of Cornwall (1337), Earl of Carrick, etc. (1469 & 1540) |
Prince Charles | Charles I | 1630 (birth) | 1649 (acceded as Charles II) | Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester (1638), Duke of Cornwall (1337), Earl of Carrick, etc. (1469 & 1540) |
Prince James Francis Edward | James VII | 1688 (birth) | 1702 (attainted) | Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester (1688–1702), Duke of Cornwall (1337–1702), Earl of Carrick, etc. (1469 & 1540) |
The Prince George, Duke of Cambridge | George I | 1714 (father's accession) | 1727 (acceded as George II) | Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester (1714), Hereditary Prince of Hanover, Duke of Cornwall (1337), Duke of Cambridge, Marquess of Cambridge (1706), Earl of Carrick, etc. (1469 & 1540), Earl of Milford Haven, Viscount Northallerton, Baron Tewkesbury (1706) |
The Prince Frederick, Duke of Edinburgh | George II | 1727 (father's accession) | 1751 (death) | Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester (1729), Duke of Cornwall (1337), Duke of Edinburgh, Marquess of Ely (1726), Earl of Carrick, etc. (1469 & 1540), Earl of Eltham, Viscount Launceston, Baron Snowdon (1726) |
The Prince George | George III | 1762 (birth) | 1820 (acceded as George IV) | Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester (1762), Duke of Cornwall (1337), Earl of Carrick, etc. (1469 & 1540) |
The Prince Albert Edward | Victoria | 1841 (birth) | 1901 (acceded as Edward VII) | Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester (1841), Duke of Cornwall (1337), Earl of Carrick, etc. (1469 & 1540), Earl of Dublin (1850) |
The Prince George, Duke of York | Edward VII | 1901 (father's accession) | 1910 (acceded as George V) | Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester (1901), Duke of Cornwall (1337), Duke of York (1892), Earl of Carrick, etc. (1469 & 1540), Earl of Inverness, Baron Killarney (1892) |
The Prince Edward | George V | 1910 (father's accession) | 1936 (acceded as Edward VIII) | Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester (1910), Duke of Cornwall (1337), Earl of Carrick, etc. (1469 & 1540) |
The Prince Charles | Elizabeth II | 1952 (mother's accession) | 2022 (acceded as Charles III) | Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester (1958), Duke of Cornwall (1337), Earl of Carrick, etc. (1469 & 1540), Duke of Edinburgh (1947) |
The Prince William | Charles III | 2022 (father's accession) | Current | Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester (2022), Duke of Cornwall (1337), Earl of Carrick, etc. (1469 & 1540), Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Strathearn, and Baron Carrickfergus (2011) |
Peerages in the United Kingdom form a legal system comprising both hereditary and lifetime titles, composed of various ranks, and within the framework of the Constitution of the United Kingdom form a constituent part of the legislative process and the British honours system. The British monarch is considered the fount of honour and is notionally the only person who can grant peerages, though there are many conventions about how this power is used, especially at the request of the British government. The term peerage can be used both collectively to refer to the entire body of titled nobility, and individually to refer to a specific title. British peerage title holders are termed peers of the Realm.
Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knight, but lower than a viscount or count. Often, barons hold their fief – their lands and income – directly from the monarch. Barons are less often the vassals of other nobles. In many kingdoms, they were entitled to wear a smaller form of a crown called a coronet.
Duke of Cornwall is a title in the Peerage of England, traditionally held by the eldest son of the reigning British monarch, previously the English monarch. The Duchy of Cornwall was the first duchy created in England and was established in a royal charter in 1337 by King Edward III. Prince William became Duke of Cornwall following the accession of his father, King Charles III, to the throne in 2022, and his wife, Catherine, became Duchess of Cornwall.
Duke of Rothesay is the main dynastic title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the Scottish and, later, British thrones. The dukedom was created in 1398 by Robert III of Scotland for his eldest son.
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Earl of Devon is a title that has been created several times in the Peerage of England. It was possessed first by the Redvers family, and later by the Courtenay family. It is not to be confused with the title of Earl of Devonshire, which is held by the Duke of Devonshire, although the letters patent for the creation of the latter peerages used the same Latin words, Comes Devon(iae). It was a re-invention, if not an actual continuation, of the pre-Conquest office of Ealdorman of Devon.
Earl of Carrick is the title applied to the ruler of Carrick, subsequently part of the Peerage of Scotland. The position came to be strongly associated with the Scottish crown when Robert the Bruce, who had inherited it from his maternal kin, became King of Scots in the early 14th century. Since the 15th century, the title of Earl of Carrick has automatically been held by the heir apparent to the throne, thus the current holder of the title is Prince William, Duke of Rothesay.
The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of August 2023, there are 805 hereditary peers: 30 dukes, 34 marquesses, 189 earls, 110 viscounts, and 442 barons.
The history of the British peerage, a system of nobility found in the United Kingdom, stretches over the last thousand years. The current form of the British peerage has been a process of development. While the ranks of baron and earl predate the British peerage itself, the ranks of duke and marquess were introduced to England in the 14th century. The rank of viscount came later, in the mid-15th century. Peers were summoned to Parliament, forming the House of Lords.
Prince of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a royal title normally granted to sons and grandsons of reigning and past British monarchs, together with consorts of female monarchs. The title is granted by the reigning monarch, who is the fount of all honours, through the issuing of letters patent as an expression of the royal will.
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The Lord High Steward of Ireland is a hereditary Great Officer of State in the United Kingdom, sometimes known as the Hereditary Great Seneschal. The Earls of Shrewsbury have held the office since the 15th century. Although the Irish Free State, later the Republic of Ireland, became independent in 1922, the title remained the same, rather than reflecting the region of Northern Ireland, which remains within the United Kingdom.
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