In the
Middle Ages,
York was a main city of
Northern England. It remains the seat of the
archbishop of York since AD 735.
Yorkshire is England's largest
shire in area. York under its Viking name "Jorvik" was a
petty kingdom in the
Early Middle Ages. In the interval between the fall of independent Jorvik under
Eric Bloodaxe, last
king of Jorvik (d. 954), and the first creation of the Dukedom of York, there were a few
earls of York. The title Duke of York was first created in the
Peerage of England in 1385 for
Edmund of Langley, the fifth son of
Edward III of England. His son
Edward of Norwich, 2nd Duke of York, who inherited the title, was killed at the
Battle of Agincourt in 1415. The title passed to Edward's nephew
Richard, 3rd Duke of York, the son of
Richard of Conisburgh, 3rd Earl of Cambridge (who had been executed for plotting against
King Henry V). The younger Richard managed to obtain a restoration of the title, but when his eldest son, who inherited it, became king in 1461 as
Edward IV, the title
merged into the Crown. The title was next created for
Richard of Shrewsbury, second son of King Edward IV. Richard was one of the
Princes in the Tower, and, as he disappeared and was presumed dead without heirs, the title was considered extinct. The third creation was for Henry Tudor, second son of
King Henry VII. When his elder brother
Arthur, Prince of Wales, died in 1502, Henry became heir-apparent to the throne. When Henry ultimately became
King Henry VIII in 1509, his titles merged into the crown. The title was created for the fourth time for Charles Stuart, second son of
James I. When his elder brother,
Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, died in 1612, Charles became heir-apparent. He was created
Prince of Wales in 1616 and eventually became
Charles I in 1625 when the title again merged into the Crown. The fifth creation was in favour of
James Stuart, the second son of Charles I.
New York, its capital
Albany, and
New York City, were named for James Stuart, who was Duke of Albany and Duke of York. In 1664,
Charles II of England granted American territory between the
Delaware and
Connecticut rivers to his younger brother James. Following its capture by the English the former Dutch territory of
New Netherland and its principal port,
New Amsterdam, were named the
Province and City of New York in James's honour. After the founding, the Duke gave part of the colony to proprietors
George Carteret and
John Berkeley.
Fort Orange, north on the
Hudson River, was renamed Albany after James's Scottish title. When his elder brother, King Charles II, died without heirs, James succeeded to the throne as
King James II of England and King James VII of Scotland, and the title once again merged into the Crown. During the 18th century the
dukedom of York and Albany was created three times in the
Peerage of Great Britain. The title was first held by
Duke Ernest Augustus of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Bishop of Osnabrück, the youngest brother of
King George I. He died without heirs, and the dukedoms became extinct. The second creation of the double dukedom was for
Prince Edward, younger brother of
King George III, who also died without heirs, having never married. Again, the title became extinct. The third and last creation of the double dukedom was for
Prince Frederick Augustus, the second son of King George III. He served as Commander-in-Chief of the
British Army for many years. He too died without legitimate heirs, leaving the title, once again, to become extinct and revert to the Crown. The sixth creation of the Dukedom of York (without being combined with Albany) was for
Prince George, second son of the then Prince of Wales, the future
King Edward VII. George was created Duke of York following the death of his elder brother,
Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale. The title merged with the Crown when George succeeded his father as King George V. The seventh creation was for Prince Albert, second son of King George V, and younger brother of the future
King Edward VIII. Albert came unexpectedly to the throne when his brother abdicated, and took the name
George VI, the Dukedom again merging into the Crown. The title was created for the eighth time for
Prince Andrew, as he then was, the second son of
Queen Elizabeth II. As a result of his marriage to
Sarah Ferguson, his only legitimate issue are two daughters:
Princess Beatrice and
Princess Eugenie. As he had no legitimate sons during his tenure, the title would have again become extinct and reverted to the Crown upon his death. Andrew "stepped back" from royal duties in 2019 following an
episode of the BBC's news and current affairs programme
Newsnight, in which he was interviewed about his relationship with
Jeffrey Epstein, the American financier and convicted
sex offender. On 17 October 2025, following discussions with the King, Andrew agreed to cease using his titles of Duke of York,
Earl of Inverness and
Baron Killyleagh, although legally he still held them. On 30 October 2025
Buckingham Palace issued a statement announcing that
King Charles III had begun a "formal process" to remove Andrew's style, titles, and honours. His name was subsequently removed from the
Roll of the Peerage which means the title cannot be used on official documents, though he legally remains Duke of York, Earl of Inverness, and Baron Killyleagh, because depriving a person of the peerage requires parliamentary action, and removal of a peer's name from the Roll of the Peerage does not extinguish the peerage. The dukedom has not been returned to the Crown and if Andrew were to have a son, that son would inherit the dukedom. Aside from the first creation, every time the Dukedom of York has been created it has had only one occupant, that person either inheriting the throne or dying without male heirs.
Pretenders In the late 15th century,
Perkin Warbeck unsuccessfully claimed the Crown by claiming the identity of Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York. In the early 18th century, the eldest son of the overthrown King James II & VII and thus
Jacobite claimant to the throne,
James Francis Edward Stuart, known to his opponents as the Old Pretender, granted the title "Duke of York" (in the
Jacobite Peerage) to his own second son,
Henry, using his purported authority as King James III & VIII. Henry later became a cardinal in the Catholic church and is thus known as the Cardinal Duke of York. Since James was not recognised as king by English law, the grant is also not recognised as a legitimate creation. ==Dukes of York==