MR. AND MRS. WINDSOR

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 306, 10 December 1936, Page 3

MR. AND MRS. WINDSOR

If a king steps down- from the Throne and crosses the Rubicon that flows between a Sovereign and his people —if he burns his boats behind him —what is left? Does some peerage or dukedom remain to him? Are all his titles shed when he lays aside the Crown? These speculations, so rife in this time of uncertainty', and fostered by the deep concern which everyone must now feel for His Majesty, lead us back to the pageantry of English History, says “Barrister” in the Dominion. It is in the regality of the courts of long ago that we find the origins of many of the titles of English loyalty. From 1066 till now the Kings and Queens of England have built up that splendour round the Throne which by' abdication must be forsworn.

Heritage From Past Sovereigns.

The Crown itself is “the Fountain of Honour,” and Trom the Sovereign are derived all titles of dignity and precedence. It. is from the i earlier Kings of England that the present King derives the titles which he now holds, and which he previously held as Prince of Wales. During , the life of his father he had inherited —as heir-apparent—the titles of Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles, and Great Steward of Scotland. As King he later became Earl bf Dublin and Duke of Lancaster. If he should abdicate, would all this splendour be laid aside? Some of the titles would undoubtedly be abandoned immediately the King vacated the Throne. Such are th© Scottish titles of Rothsay, Carrick and Renfrew, Lord of the Isles and Steward of Scotland. These offices in the peerage of Scotland date back to an Act of the Scottish Parliament in 1469. ' They are inherited by the heir-apparent, and when he becomes King are held by him only' during his tenure of the Royal office. The Earl of Dublin, too, must be a reigning Sovereign. The first earl was the late King Edward VII., whoj as Prince of Wales, received this title under letters 'patent from Queen Victoria. The earldom is held by his heiirs, “Kings of Great Britain and Ireland,” so that to abdicate the Throne is to abdicate the earldom.

Position of the Duchies. The Duchies of Lancaster and Conwall and the Earldom of Chester have fascinating histories, and they, if King Edward leaves the Throne, may not at once pass the way of his other titles and dignities. It has bben the established custom for the heir-apparent to be created Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester. Neither of these titles is hereditary, yet both go far back into history. The origin of the former title is well known; the latter was created by William the Conqueror, who grantejl to his nephew Hugh Lupus the County' Palatine of Chester. Although now invariably conferred upon the Prince of Wales, the title, curiously enough, was actually introduced as part of a dejZce to resist the inroads of Scottish and Welsh invaders.

Unlike these titles which must be created anew by letters patent on every occasion when they are to be conferred. Duke of Cornwall and Duke- of Lancaster are hereditary titles. The Sovereign’s eldest son, being the heir apparent, is automatically Duke of Cornwall. In 1906 the then Duke of Cornwall, Prince Henry, brought a successful lawsuit to establish his claim to part of the land comprised in the duchy. Queen Elizabeth, by letters patent, had granted the manor of West Taunton and two other manors within the duchy to Henry Lindley. Prince Henry, having inherited the title, secured a declaration that the Queen’s letters patent were void, and he recovered the lost manors. The Black Prince was the first to receive the dukedom, having received this honour from King Edward HI in 1337. The succession to the title is rightly defined, but its tenure is not necessarily associated with the Crown. King Edward holds it as a former Prince of Wales, and should he abdicate he would probably retain the ‘ title until such time as an heir-ap-parent is born to his successor. The Duchy of Lancaster is held, not by the Prince of Wales, but by the Sovereign. In 1342 the County Palatine of Lancaster was conferred by Edward HI upon Henry Plantagenet, Earl of Lancaster, later created Duke of Lancaster. Eventually this duchy came into the hands of Henry VII, who procured the execution of a charter by which it became the property of himself and his heirs as separate from the Crown of England. Since that time the duchy has been held by succeeding Sovereigns of England, but each holds it, not in his body politic in right of the Crown, but (as is said) “in his body natural ” Its revenues have been retain'd for the personal use of the Sover-

eign, and have not been exchanged as have most, of the hereditary revenues of the Crown, for the appropriations of the Civil List. This dukedom may perhaps remain vested in. a King who abdicates, not reverting to the succeeding Sovereigns until his dealh. Right to Noble Rank Retained.

Should the King elect to take this drastic course as a solution to the dilemma now confronting him, some remnants of the royal splendour will still enshroud him. He might (incredible thought) become “Mr. Windsor,” but there would be no such necessity. Yet, whatever name or tfcle might remain, he would have surrendered the ancient glory of kingship spoken of in the preamble to an old statute of 1532: By divers sundry old authentic histories and chronicles it is manifestly declared and expressed that this Realm of England is an Empire, and so hath been accepted in this world, governed by one supreme head and King, having the royal estate and dignity 7 of the Imperial Crown.