Duke of Manchester

Dukedom of Manchester
Creation date	13 April 1719
Created by	George I of Great Britain
Peerage	Peerage of Great Britain
First holder	Charles Montagu, 4th Earl of Manchester
Present holder	Alexander Montagu, 13th Duke
Remainder to	the 1st Duke's heirs male of the body lawfully begotten

Charles Montagu, 1st Duke of Manchester.
Painter: Sir Godfrey Kneller

Kimbolton Castle in 1880, the former seat of the Dukes of Manchester.
Painter: unknown

Duke of Manchester is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1719 for the politician Charles Montagu, 4th Earl of Manchester.

Origin

The Royal and Ducal House of Montagu is descended from Drogo de Montaigu, who was a companion of William, Duke of Normandy alias William the Conqueror. Montaigu participated in the Norman conquest of England in 1066, which subsequently would remove the native ruling class, replacing it with a foreign, French-speaking aristocracy, to which the Montagus themselves belonged.

In 1333 William I de Montacute became Sovereign King of Mann, establishing the Royal House of Montagu.

The judge Sir Edward Montagu's (c. 1485–1557) grandson, Sir Henry Montagu (c. 1563–1642), who served as Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench as well as Lord High Treasurer of England and Lord Privy Seal, was in 1620 raised to the Peerage of England as Baron Montagu of Kimbolton, of Kimbolton in the County of Huntingdon, and as Viscount Mandeville. In 1626 he was further honoured when he was created Earl of Manchester, also this in the Peerage of England.

His son, the 2nd Earl, was a prominent Parliamentary General during the Civil War, but later supported the restoration of Charles II. His son, the 3rd Earl, represented Huntingdonshire in the House of Commons. His son was the 4th Earl, who in 1719 was created Duke of Manchester.

Descent

Charles Montagu, 1st Duke of Manchester, was succeeded by his eldest son. The 2nd Duke notably served as Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard in the administration of Sir Robert Walpole. He was childless, and on his death the titles passed to his younger brother, the 3rd Duke. He had earlier represented Huntingdonshire in Parliament. He was succeeded by his son, the 4th Duke. He was Ambassador to France and served as Lord Chamberlain of the Household. His son, the 5th Duke, was for many years Governor of Jamaica between 1827 and 1830 also held office as Postmaster General. He was succeeded by his son, the 6th Duke. He represented Huntingdon in the House of Commons as a Tory.

His eldest son, the 7th Duke, was Conservative Member of Parliament for Bewdley and Huntingdonshire. His son, the 8th Duke, briefly represented Huntingdonshire in Parliament. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the 9th Duke. He sat on the Liberal benches in the House of Lords and served as Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard in the Liberal administration of Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman. The titles are currently held by his great-grandson, the 13th Duke, who in 2002 succeeded his father, who in his turn had succeeded his elder brother.

Arms

The arms of the Duke of Manchester have the following blazon: Quarterly, 1st & 4th: Argent, 3 fusils conjoined in fess gules (Montagu); 2nd & 3rd: an eagle displayed vert beaked and membered gules (Monthermer).

Titles and styles

The Duke of Manchester holds the subsidiary titles Earl of Manchester, Viscount Mandeville, and Baron Montagu of Kimbolton. When the 2nd Duke of Montagu in 1749 died without male issue, the 3rd Duke of Manchester, and his heirs, became heirs general of Drogo de Montaigu, of the Kings of Mann, of the Earls of Salisbury, and of the Barons de Monthermer. They are also heraldic heirs of the latter. The only potential heirs to the Earldom and other subsidiary titles, were the Dukedom to become extinct, would be heirs male of the Hon. James Montagu, third son of the 1st Earl.

The Duke of Manchester is styled Your Grace (spoken style) or His Grace (reference style), alternatively Sir.

The heir apparent to the Dukedom takes the courtesy title Viscount Mandeville, and the heir apparent's heir apparent, when such exists, is styled Lord Kimbolton.

Earls of Manchester (1626)

Created by Charles I of England
#	Name	Period	Spouse	Notes	Other titles
1	Henry Montagu	1626 – 1642	(1) Catherine Spencer (3) Margaret Crouch		Viscount Mandeville Baron Montagu of Kimbolton
2	Edward Montagu	1642 – 1671	(2) Lady Anne Rich	Son of the preceding
3	Robert Montagu	1671 – 1683	Anne Yelverton	Son of the preceding
4	Charles Montagu	1683 – 1722	Dodington Greville	Son of the preceding

Dukes of Manchester (1719)

Sidney and Andrea Montagu, 11th Duke and Duchess of Manchester, by Allan Warren

Created by George I of Great Britain
#	Name	Period	Spouse	Notes	Other titles
1	Charles Montagu	1719 – 1722	Dodington Greville		Earl of Manchester Viscount Mandeville Baron Montagu of Kimbolton
2	William Montagu	1722 – 1739	Lady Isabella Montagu	Son of the preceding
3	Robert Montagu	1739 – 1762	Harriet Dunch	Brother of the preceding
4	George Montagu	1762 – 1788	Elizabeth Dashwood	Son of the preceding
5	William Montagu	1788 – 1843	Lady Susan Gordon	Son of the preceding
6	George Montagu	1843 – 1855	(1) Millicent Sparrow (2) Harriet Sydney Dobbs	Son of the preceding
7	William Drogo Montagu	1855 – 1890	Countess Louisa of Alten	Son of the preceding
8	George Victor Drogo Montagu	1890 – 1892	Consuelo Iznaga del Valle	Son of the preceding
9	William Angus Drogo Montagu	1892 – 1947	(1) Helena Zimmerman (2) Kathleen Dawes	Son of the preceding
10	Alexander George Francis Drogo Montagu	1947 – 1977	(1) Nell Vere Stead (2) Elizabeth Fullerton	Son of the preceding
11	Sidney Arthur Robin George Drogo Montagu	1977 – 1985	(1) Adrienne Valerie Christie (2) Andrea Joss	Son of the preceding
12	Angus Charles Drogo Montagu	1985 – 2002	(1) Mary Eveleen McClure (2) Diane Pauline Plimsaul (3) Anne-Louise Taylor (4) Biba Jennians	Brother of the preceding
13	Alexander Charles David Drogo Montagu	since 2002	(1) Marion Stoner (2) Wendy Dawn Buford (3) Laura Smith	Son of the preceding

Further reading

• Kidd, Charles, and Williamson, David (editors): Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage 1990 edition. New York, St Martin's Press, 1990,