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
Edward the Confessor of Danish rule, and only Leofric was descended from a family which had served Æthelred. Siward was probably Danish, and although Godwin was English, he was one of Cnut's new men, married to Cnut's former sister-in-law. However, in his early years Edward restored the traditional strong monarchy, showing himself, in Frank Barlow's view, "a vigorous and ambitious man, a true son of the impetuous Æthelred and the formidable Emma." In 1043 Godwin's eldest son Sweyn was appointed to an earldom in the south-west midlands, and on 23 January 1045 Edward married Godwin's daughter Edith. Soon afterwards, her brother Harold and