Duke of York in the context of "List of British monarchs"

Play Trivia Questions online!

or

Skip to study material about Duke of York in the context of "List of British monarchs"

Ad spacer

⭐ Core Definition: Duke of York

Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of English (later British) monarchs. The analogous title in the Scottish peerage was Duke of Albany.

Initially granted in the 14th century in the Peerage of England, the title Duke of York has been created eight times. The title Duke of York and Albany has been created three times. These occurred during the 18th century, following the 1707 unification of the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland into a single, united realm. The double naming was done so that a territorial designation from each of the previously separate realms could be included.

↓ Menu

>>>PUT SHARE BUTTONS HERE<<<
In this Dossier

Duke of York in the context of James II of England

James II and VII (14 October 1633 O.S. – 16 September 1701) was King of England and Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII from February 1685 until he was deposed in the 1688 Glorious Revolution. The last Catholic monarch of England, Scotland, and Ireland, his reign is remembered primarily for conflicts over religion. However, it also involved struggles over the principles of absolutism and divine right of kings, with his deposition ending a century of political and civil strife by confirming the primacy of the English Parliament over the Crown.

James was the second surviving son of Charles I of England and Henrietta Maria of France, and was created Duke of York at birth. At the age of 51, he succeeded to the throne with widespread support on the death of his elder brother, Charles II. The general public were reluctant to undermine the principle of hereditary succession after the trauma of the brief republican Commonwealth of England 25 years before, and believed that a Catholic monarchy was purely temporary. However, tolerance of James's personal views did not extend to Catholicism in general, and both the English and Scottish parliaments refused to pass measures viewed as undermining the primacy of the Protestant religion. His attempts to impose them by absolutist decrees as a matter of his perceived divine right met with opposition.

↑ Return to Menu

Duke of York in the context of George VI

George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of India from 1936 until the British Raj was dissolved in August 1947, and the first Head of the Commonwealth following the London Declaration of 1949.

The future George VI was born during the reign of his great-grandmother Queen Victoria; he was named Albert at birth after his late great-grandfather Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and was known as "Bertie" to his family and close friends. His father ascended the throne as George V in 1910. As the second son of the king, Albert was not expected to inherit the throne. He spent his early life in the shadow of his elder brother, Edward, the heir apparent. Albert attended naval college as a teenager and served in the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force during the First World War. In 1920, he was made Duke of York. He married Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon in 1923, and they had two daughters, Elizabeth and Margaret. In the mid-1920s, he engaged speech therapist Lionel Logue to treat his stutter, which he learned to manage to some degree. His elder brother ascended the throne as Edward VIII after their father died in 1936, but Edward abdicated later that year to marry the twice-divorced American socialite Wallis Simpson. As heir presumptive to Edward VIII, Albert became king, taking the regnal name George VI.

↑ Return to Menu

Duke of York in the context of Province of New York

The Province of New York was a British proprietary colony and later a royal colony on the northeast coast of North America from 1664 to 1783. It extended from Long Island on the Atlantic, up the Hudson River and Mohawk River valleys to the Great Lakes and North to the colonies of New France and claimed lands further west.

In 1664, Charles II of England and his brother James, Duke of York raised a fleet to take the Dutch colony of New Netherland, then under the Directorship of Peter Stuyvesant. Stuyvesant surrendered to the English fleet without recognition from the Dutch West India Company. The province was renamed for the Duke of York, as its proprietor. England's rule was established de facto following military control in 1664, and became established de jure as sovereign rule in 1667 in the Treaty of Breda and the Treaty of Westminster (1674). It was not until 1674 that English common law was applied in the colony.

↑ Return to Menu

Duke of York in the context of Middle Colonies

The Middle Colonies were a subset of the Thirteen Colonies in British America, located between the New England Colonies and the Southern Colonies. Along with the Chesapeake Colonies, this area now roughly makes up the Mid-Atlantic states.

Much of the area was part of the Dutch colony of New Netherland until the British exerted their control over the region. The British captured much of the area in their war with the Dutch around 1664, and the majority of the conquered land became the Province of New York. The Duke of York and the King of England would later grant others ownership of the land which would become the Province of New Jersey and the Province of Pennsylvania. The Delaware Colony later separated from Pennsylvania, which was founded by William Penn.

↑ Return to Menu

Duke of York in the context of Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon

Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002), was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, and the only sibling of Queen Elizabeth II. Born when her parents were the Duke and Duchess of York, she became second in line to the British throne after her father's accession in 1936, though her place in the succession declined as her sister's children and grandchildren were born.

Margaret spent much of her childhood with her family and elder sister. During the Second World War, the princess remained at Windsor Castle despite suggestions that she and Elizabeth should be evacuated to Canada. Too young to perform official duties, she continued her education while her sister undertook public responsibilities. Her father's death in 1952, which brought Elizabeth to the throne, marked a turning point in Margaret's life and coincided with her relationship with RAF officer Peter Townsend.

↑ Return to Menu

Duke of York in the context of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor

Andrew Albert Christian Edward Mountbatten-Windsor (born 19 February 1960), formerly Prince Andrew, Duke of York, is the third child and second son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and a younger brother of King Charles III. Andrew was born second in the line of succession to the British throne and is eighth as of 2025.

Andrew served in the Royal Navy between 1979 and 2001 as a helicopter pilot and instructor and as the captain of a warship. During the Falklands War he flew on multiple missions including anti-surface warfare, casualty evacuation and Exocet missile decoy. He married Sarah Ferguson in 1986, and was created Duke of York on his wedding day. They had two daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, before they separated in 1992 and divorced in 1996. Andrew served as the UK's Special Representative for International Trade and Investment from 2001 to 2011, resigning amidst scrutiny over his expenses and associations with figures including the American child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. He continued to undertake official duties on behalf of Elizabeth II until 2019.

↑ Return to Menu