Dukedoms of the British Isles by reign Dukedoms of the British Isles by reign This page lists extant dukedoms in the Peerages of the British Isles, listed by the monarch who created them—see also List of dukedoms in the peerages of Britain and Ireland. King Edward III first created the title Duke of Cornwall, the first dukedom in the British Isles, for his son and heir Edward, called the Black Prince. Since 1421 the title has automatically been held by the eldest son of and heir apparent to the sovereign. Since his mother's taking the throne in 1952 the title has been held by Prince Charles, who
John of Gaunt scale and organisation to that of a monarch. He owned land in almost every county in England, a patrimony that produced a net income of between £8,000 and £10,000 a year. After the death in 1376 of his older brother Edward of Woodstock (also known as the "Black Prince"), John of Gaunt contrived to protect the religious reformer John Wycliffe, possibly to counteract the growing secular power of the church. However, John's ascendancy to political power coincided with widespread resentment of his influence. At a time when English forces encountered setbacks in the Hundred Years' War against France, and Edward