Website www.thedukeofyork.org | ||
Style Her Royal Highness
Ma'am Term length As long as married to the Duke of York Inaugural holder Infanta Isabella of Castile | ||
Duchess of York is the principal courtesy title held by the wife of the Duke of York. The title is gained with marriage alone and is forfeited upon divorce. Three of the eleven Dukes of York either did not marry or had already assumed the throne prior to marriage, whilst two of the dukes married twice, therefore there have been only ten Duchesses of York. It is said that the positions of Duke and Duchess of York are charmed, because the title is created every time, or these women become queen consorts.
Duchesses of York
The ten Duchesses of York (and the dates the individuals held that title) are as follows:
In 1791, Princess Frederica Charlotte of Prussia (1791–1820) married Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany (second son of King George III); she thus became HRH The Duchess of York and Albany. Her husband held one double dukedom (of York and Albany) rather than two. The Duchess received a warm welcome to Great Britain but following a troubled relationship with her husband, the couple separated. The two previous Dukes of York and Albany had never married; since her husband was the last Duke of York and Albany, Frederica was the only Duchess with that double title.