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Duke of Rothesay (/ˈrɒθsi/ ⓘ ROTH-see; Scottish Gaelic: Diùc Baile Bhòid; Scots: Duik o Rothesay)[1] 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.
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (July 2015) |
| Dukedom of Rothesay | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Creation date | 1398 |
| Created by | King Robert III |
| Peerage | Peerage of Scotland |
| First holder | David, Duke of Rothesay |
| Present holder | William, Prince of Wales |
| Status | Extant |
Duke of Rothesay is the title mandated for use by the heir apparent when in Scotland, in preference to the titles Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall, which are used in the rest of the United Kingdom and overseas. The title is named after Rothesay on the Isle of Bute, but is not associated with any legal entity or landed property. The Duke of Rothesay also holds other Scottish titles, including Earl of Carrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles, and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland.
The current holder of the title is William, Prince of Wales, and his wife, Catherine, is the current Duchess of Rothesay.
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David Stewart, Duke of Rothesay, the son of Robert III of Scotland, first held the dukedom from its creation in 1398. After his death, his brother James, later King James I, received the dukedom. Thereafter, the heir apparent to the Scottish Crown held the dukedom; an Act of the Parliament of Scotland passed in 1469 confirmed this pattern of succession.
The Earldom of Carrick existed as early as the 12th century. In 1306, Robert the Bruce, Earl of Carrick, became King Robert I of Scotland, with the earldom merging in the Crown. In the following years, successive Kings of Scotland created several heirs apparent Earl of Carrick. The Act of 1469 finally settled the earldom on the eldest son of the Scottish monarch.
The office of the Great Steward of Scotland (also called High Steward or Lord High Steward) dates back to its first holder, Walter fitz Alan, in the 12th century. The seventh Great Steward, Robert, ascended the Scottish throne as Robert II in 1371. Thereafter, only the heirs apparent to the Crown held the office. The 1469 Act also deals with this.
Between the 1603 union of the crowns and Edward VII's time as heir apparent, the style "Duke of Rothesay" appears to have dropped out of usage in favour of "Prince of Wales". Queen Victoria mandated the title for use to refer to the eldest son and heir apparent when in Scotland, and this usage has continued since. This may have been as a result, direct or indirect, of the 1822 visit of King George IV to Scotland.[citation needed]
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Another of the non-peerage titles belonging to the heir apparent, that of Lord of the Isles, merits special mention. The Lords of the Isles, of the MacDonald family, originally functioned as vassals of the Scottish, or Norwegian, kings who ruled the Western Isles. The ambitious John MacDonald II, fourth Lord of the Isles, made a secret treaty in 1462 with King Edward IV of England, by which he sought to make himself an independent ruler.
In 1475, James III discovered the Lord of the Isles' actions, and the Lordship became subject to forfeiture. MacDonald later regained his position, but James IV again deprived him of his titles in 1493 after his nephew provoked a rebellion. In 1540 James V of Scotland granted the Lordship to the heirs apparent to the Crown.
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An Act of the Parliament of Scotland passed in 1469 governs the succession to most of these titles. It provides that "the first-born Prince of the King of Scots for ever" should hold the dukedom. If the firstborn Prince dies before the King, the title is not inherited by his heir – it is only for the firstborn son, like the Duchy of Cornwall – nor is either inherited by the deceased duke's next brother, unless that brother also becomes heir apparent. Though the Act specified "King", eldest sons of queens regnant subsequently also held the dukedom. The interpretation of the word Prince, however, does not include women. Therefore, in the event of an heiress presumptive or heiress apparent (this being a distinct and even likely possibility in the future after the passage of the Succession to the Crown Act 2013), she cannot become Duchess of Rothesay.
The eldest son of the British Sovereign, as Duke of Rothesay, had the right to vote in elections for Scottish representative peers from 1707. (The 1707 Acts of Union between the Parliament of Scotland and Parliament of England formally unified both kingdoms to create the Kingdom of Great Britain.) This right continued until 1963, when the UK Parliament abolished the election of representative peers.[citation needed]
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Holders of the Dukedom of Rothesay, with the processes by which they became dukes of Rothesay and by which they ceased to hold the title:
| Duke of Rothesay | Monarch | From | To | Other title held while Duke |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| David | Robert III | 1398 (created) | 1402 (death) | Earl of Carrick and Earl of Atholl (1398), Baron Renfrew (?), Prince and Great Steward of Scotland (trad.) |
| James | Robert III | 1404 (created) | 1406 (acceded as James I) | Earl of Carrick (1404), Baron/Lord Renfrew, Prince and Great Steward of Scotland (1404) |
| Alexander | James I | 1430 (birth?) | 1430 (death) | Earl of Carrick (1430), Baron/Lord Renfrew, Prince and Great Steward of Scotland (1430) |
| James | James I | 1431 (created) | 1437 (acceded as James II) | Earl of Carrick (1431), Baron/Lord Renfrew, Prince and Great Steward of Scotland (1431) |
| James | James II | 1452 (birth?) | 1460 (acceded as James III) | Earl of Carrick (1452), Baron/Lord Renfrew, Prince and Great Steward of Scotland (1452) |
| James | James III | 1473 (birth) | 1488 (acceded as James IV) | Earl of Carrick and Baron/Lord Renfrew, Prince and Great Steward of Scotland (1469) |
| James | James IV | 1507 (birth) | 1508 (death) | Earl of Carrick and Baron/Lord Renfrew, Prince and Great Steward of Scotland (1469) |
| Arthur | 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 | James IV | 1512 (birth) | 1513 (acceded as James V) | Earl of Carrick and Baron/Lord Renfrew, Prince and Great Steward of Scotland (1469) |
| James | 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 Charles | Mary | 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) |
| 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)" |
| Charles, 1st Duke of Albany, 1st Duke of York | 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) |
| Charles James | Charles I | 1629 (birth) | 1629 (death) | Duke of Cornwall (1337), Earl of Carrick, etc. (1469 & 1540) |
| 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) |
| 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) |
| George, 1st 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) |
| Frederick, 1st 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) |
| 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) |
| 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) |
| George, 1st 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) |
| 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) |
| Charles | Elizabeth II | 1952 (mother's accession) | 2022 (acceded as Charles III) | Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester (1958), Duke of Cornwall (1337), Duke of Edinburgh (1947), Earl of Carrick, etc. (1469 & 1540) |
| William | Charles III | 2022 (father's accession) | Incumbent | Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester (2022), Duke of Cornwall (1337), Duke of Cambridge (2011), Earl of Carrick, etc. (1469 & 1540) |
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| Family tree of the Princes of Wales, Dukes of Cornwall, Dukes of Rothesay, Earls of Carrick and Earls of Chester | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Symbols
Standard
Personal shield of Prince William as Duke of Rothesay
Personal banner of Prince William as used in Scotland
Since 2022 William, Prince of Wales, has held the title of Duke of Rothesay, and uses it when in Scotland. He has the formal Scottish style of HRH The Prince William, Duke of Rothesay.
The personal arms of the preceding Duke were bestowed upon him in 1974 by the Queen. The escutcheon features on the 1st and 4th quarters the arms of the Great Steward of Scotland, with the 2nd and 3rd quarters featuring the arms of the Lord of the Isles.[2] The arms of the current Duke are distinguished from those of Clan Stewart of Appin through the addition of an inescutcheon displaying the arms of the heir apparent to the King of Scots, namely the Royal arms of Scotland with a three-point label. The full achievement of the current Duke's arms are a variation of the Royal coat of arms of Scotland used prior to the Union of the Crowns in 1603.
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