This page is part of a series on peerages given to Britain’s royal offspring, seeing how many of them survived and diverged from the monarchy itself.

This is the final chapter, covering peerages conferred after the commencement of the Acts of Union between England & Scotland. Creations from 1707 to 1800 were either in the Peerage of Great Britain (GB) or the Peerage of Ireland (Ir). Creations from 1801 onwards were all in the Peerage of the United Kingdom (UK).

Titles are grouped according to the monarch during whose reign they were created. As with the other chapters, titles conferred on the heir apparent, or the heir apparent’s heir apparent (such as Prince William in 2011) are omitted because their fate is already determined from the start. Multiple titles conferred on the same person with the same succession rules are considered as one.

Anne (1707-14)

Anne did not appoint any royal peers after the commencement of the Union.

George I (1714-27)

In 1716 George conferred the dukedom of York & Albany (GB) and the earldom of Ulster (Ir) on his younger brother Ernest Augustus, who had already been elected Prince-Bishop of Osnabrück the previous year. Ernest Augustus never married or had children so the dukedom and earldom became extinct on his death in 1728.

In 1726 he appointed his grandson William Augustus as Duke of Cumberland, Marquess of Berkhamstead, Earl of Kennington, Viscount of Trematon and Baron of the Isle of Alderney (all GB). They all became extinct when he died a bachelor in 1765.

Summary: Two creations, both extinct.

George II (1727-60)

In 1760 he conferred the dukedom of York & Albany (GB) and the earldom of Ulster (Ir) on his grandson Edward Augustus, who died a bachelor in 1767.

Summary: One creation, extinct.

George III (1760-1820)

In 1764 he conferred the dukedom of Gloucester & Edinburgh (GB) and the earldom of Connaught (Ir) on his younger brother Prince William Henry. When William Henry died in 1805 the titles passed to his only son Prince William Frederick, then became extinct on his death without children in 1834.

In 1766 George conferred the dukedom of Cumberland & Strathearn (GB) and the earldom of Dublin (Ir) on his other younger brother Prince Henry Frederick. They became extinct when he died childless in 1790.

George went on to ennoble six of his eight younger sons (the other two died young):

• The Prince Frederick Augustus, Duke of York & Albany (GB), Earl of Ulster (Ir) in 1784.
• The Prince William Henry, Duke of Clarence & St Andrews (GB), Earl of Munster (Ir) in 1789.
• The Prince Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent & Strathearn (GB), Earl of Dublin (Ir) in 1799.
• The Prince Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland & Teviotdale (GB), Earl of Armagh (Ir) in 1799.
• The Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex, Earl of Inverness, Baron Arklow (all UK) in 1801.
• The Prince Adolphus Frederick, Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Tipperary, Baron Culloden (all UK) in 1801.

(Note the abrupt change in title distribution after the 1800 Union. Note also the confusing repetition of first and middle names so that one is called Frederick Augustus and another Augustus Frederick!)

Edward Augustus died in 1820, Frederick Augustus in 1827 and Augustus Frederick in 1843. None had a legitimate son* so all their titles died with them. William Henry ascended to the throne in 1830 his honours all merged with the crown. Adolphus Frederick died in 1850 and his titles were inherited by his only son Prince George William Frederick Charles. His own sons were all illegitimate so the titles died with him in 1904.

Ernest Augustus, who also became King of Hanover, is the most interesting example as he still has a living legitimate male line today, but the 3rd Duke was deprived of his British peerages in 1919 due to having fought on the German side in World War One. The titles are currently in a suspended state. The present day Prince Ernest Augustus (b. 1954), head of the House of Hanover, could theoretically petition for their restoration but has given no indication thus far.

Summary: Eight creations, of which six extinct, one merged and one suspended.

George IV (1820-30) and William IV (1830-37)

Neither monarch appointed any royal peers, though the latter did recreate his own former subsidiary earldom of Munster (UK this time) for his illegitimate son George FitzClarence in 1831. The FitzClarence dynasty was long lived, with the title surviving until the death of the seventh earl at the turn of the millennium.

Victoria (1837-1901)

This is the most convoluted subsection by far. All creations henceforth are in the Peerage of the United Kingdom so will not be individually marked.

In 1840 Victoria conferred the dukedom of Inverness on Cecilia Underwood, the de facto (but not de jure) wife of her uncle Augustus Frederick, based on his subsidiary earldom. Cecilia died childless in 1873.

Victoria went on to ennoble all three of her younger sons:

• The Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Ulster, Earl of Kent in 1866.
• The Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught & Strathearn, Earl of Sussex in 1874.
• The Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, Earl of Clarence, Baron Arklow in 1881.

She also twice ennobled her grandson-in-law Alexander Duff, 6th Earl of Fife, by creating him Duke of Fife and Marquess of Macduff in 1889 with the standard remainder to his agnatic heirs, then Duke of Fife again and Earl of Macduff in 1900 with special remainder to his daughters.

Her creation of her grandson Prince George of Wales as Duke of York in 1892 does not count as it was after the death of his elder brother Albert Victor and so he was already directly in line to the throne.

Alfred’s two sons both predeceased him without offspring of their own (the first aged 24, the second stillborn) so his titles died with him in 1900.

The dukedom of Albany was inherited by Leopold’s posthumous son Prince Charles Edward in 1884. He also fought on the German side in World War One and was likewise deprived of his titles in 1919. He later became part of the post-1933 regime and conducted many official visits to the United Kingdom, continually seeking to ingratiate himself with the aristocracy despite his own formal expulsion from it. The heir today would be Charles Edward’s grandson Prince Hubertus (b.1961) but again no petition has been made for restoration.

In addition to his British titles, Alfred became Duke of Saxe-Coburg & Gotha on the death of his paternal uncle Ernest II in 1893 (Edward VII having renounced succession rights). The duchy then passed on his death to Charles Edward, but was dissolved as a political entity in the German Revolution of 1918. The morganatic marriage of Charles Edward’s eldest son Johann Leopold means that the pretenders to the German duchy and the British dukedom are not the same person. Just to confuse you even more, they are both called Hubertus.

The situation between the dukedoms of Fife and Connaught is even more convoluted, so in 2023 I made this diagram for Wikimedia Commons.

Alexander Duff & Princess Louise had one stillborn son and two surviving daughters. When it became clear that they would not have another son Victoria took the extraordinary step of regranting the dukedom to allow the daughters to inherit it. Why Macduff was downgraded from Marquess to Earl the second time I’m not sure. The elder daughter Alexandra became suo jure Duchess on her father’s death in 1912. Her only child predeceased her (see next paragraph) as did her younger sister Maud so the dukedom went next to Maud’s son James. After 2015 it passed to his only son David. David currently has three young-ish sons, though so far no grandsons.

The Prince Arthur lived to 1942. He had one son of his own, also called Arthur, who predeceased him in 1938. They both renounced their Coburg succession rights after the death of Alfred’s son in 1899. The younger Arthur married his cousin-once-removed Alexandra. Their only child was Prince Alastair inherited the dukedom of Connaught directly from his paternal grandfather while also remaining heir apparent to his mother’s peerage. He died a bachelor in uncertain circumstances in 1943, extinguishing Connaught and without succeeding to Fife (see previous paragraph).

Summary: Six creations, of which four extinct, one suspended and one extant.

Edward VII (1901-10)

Edward did not create any royal peers during his reign.

George V (1910-36)

George’s fifth and final son Prince John died in childhood, but he ennobled his three other younger sons:

• The Prince Albert, Duke of York, Earl of Inverness, Baron Killarney in 1920.
• The Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, Earl of Ulster, Baron Culloden in 1928.
• The Prince George, Duke of Kent, Earl of St Andrews, Baron Downpatrick in 1934.

The dukedom of York merged with the crown on Albert’s accession to the throne in 1936. The dukedoms of Gloucester and Kent look as if they may be set to buck the historical trends and at long last, after so many abortive creations, escape from the royal fold into the regular aristocracy, their holders styled Grace instead of Highness, for Prince Albert has enough great (and great-great) grandchildren to keep his younger brothers’ descendants far from the throne

Prince Henry’s elder song predeceased him as a bachelor so the dukedom is now held by his second son Prince Richard. Richard has one son, Alexander (b. 1974, styled Earl of Ulster), and through him one grandson, Xan (b.2007, styled Lord Culloden). This means the Duke has two direct heirs but as yet no “spares, it being far too early to draw conclusions about Xan.

Prince George had two sons, Prince Edward and Prince Michael, the former of whom now holds the dukedom. As of March 2026 Edward has two sons and through them four grandsons, while Michael also has a son, meaning the line of succession is eight people deep.

Summary: Three creations, of which one merged and two extant.

George V also conferred British peerages on a handful of German royals living in England during World War One in return for them relinquishing their princely titles. Some of these were distantly in line to his own throne as well, but they are probably best treated separately.

Edward VIII (1936)

No royal peers were created during his reign.

George VI (1936-52)

George, formally Prince Albert, began his reign in the unusual position of having to ennoble his elder brother. He created Edward Duke of Windsor in 1937 with no subsidiary titles. This was a little odd as there was already a Georgian earldom of Windsor subsidiary to the Marquess of Bute and an unrelated Tudor barony Windsor subsidiary to the earldom of Plymouth. The dukedom became extinct when Edward died childless in 1972.

In 1947 George conferred the dukedom of Edinburgh, earldom of Merioneth and barony Greenwich upon his son-in-law Philip Mountbatten. On Philip’s death in 2021 the titles passed to his eldest son Charles, then they merged with the crown on his accession to the throne in 2022.

Summary: Two creations, one extinct and one merged.

Elizabeth II (1952-2022)

In 1961 Elizabeth raised her brother-in-law Antony Armstrong-Jones as Earl of Snowdon and Viscount Linley. In 1999 she also gave him a life peerage as Baron Armstrong-Jones, though obviously there’s not much point counting that for the purposes of this article. Antony died in 2017 and the hereditary titles went to his only son David. David’s status as a member of the royal family is a little ambiguous as he does not have the title of Prince nor the style of Highness and does not carry out duties for “the Firm” but he appears in the Order of Precedence above Prince Michael, ranking as a grandson of George VI rather than merely as an earl. The Roll of the Peerage lists Snowdon as an ordinary peer instead of in the royal section. He has one son of his own, David, born 1999, who thus is currently the only person in remainder. He may or may not go on to produce further heirs.

In 1987 she conferred the dukedom of York, earldom of Inverness and barony Killyleagh upon her second son Prince Andrew. In late 2025, following a series of high-profile scandals and police investigations, Andrew had his princely styles removed and his peerages withdrawn from the Roll. He has two daughters but no sons, so looks set to follow the tradition of Dukes of York not passing the title on.

In 1999 she appointed her third son Prince Edward as Earl of Wessex and Viscount Severn. In 2019 she gave him the additional title Earl of Forfar. Edward has one son, James, born 2007, giving the titles an heir apparent but no spares. It is too early to say whether these titles will reach a third generation.

In 2018 she ennobled her grandson Prince Harry as Duke of Sussex, Earl of Dumbarton and Baron Kilkeel. These titles likewise have just one heir, Prince Archie, born 2019, and it is too early to decide their fate.

Summary: Four creations, all extant but one quasi-suspended and clearly doomed while the others are too close to call.

Charles III (2022 onwards)

Charles has so far only made one royal peerage creation, conferring the dukedom of Edinburgh on his brother Edward. This creation was explicitly not hereditary. His grandsons are far too young yet for us to speculate on their future titles.

Altogether

Since the 1707 Union I have counted, by this method, twenty-six creations of royal peers other than for heirs apparent. Of which only seven are now extant, compared to fourteen extinct, two suspended and three merged. Of the seven currently extant one is clearly doomed and another four are too close to call, meaning that in practice there are only two, Fife and Kent, which I can confidently say have secured a future outside of the princely ranks.