Duchess of York

Mary, Duchess of York (later Queen Mary), photographed in 1901

Sarah, Duchess of York, the former wife of Prince Andrew, Duke of York

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. Four of the twelve Dukes of York did not marry or had already assumed the throne prior to marriage, therefore there have only ever been eleven Duchesses of York. These Duchesses have either given birth to females (not male heirs to the dukedom of York), or they have never had any children at all. It is said that the position of Duke and Duchess of York is cursed, because the title is created every time, or these women become queen consorts.

The eleven Duchesses of York (and the dates the individuals held that title) are as follows:

1. Infanta Isabella of Castile (1372–1392) – The wife of Edmund of Langley, Isabella predeceased her husband and died at Kings Langley Manor House in Hertfordshire, England.
2. Joan Holland (1393–1402) – Edmund of Langley's second wife, Joan survived her husband and went on to marry three other noblemen: William de Willoughby, 5th Lord Willoughby de Eresby; Henry Scrope, 3rd Baron Scrope of Masham; and Henry Bromflete, 1st Lord Vessy.
3. Philippa de Mohun (1402-1415) – A twice widowed noblewoman, she married Edward of Norwich, 2nd Duke of York, Duke of Albemarle. Her two previous husbands were Walter FitzWalter and Sir John Golafre.
4. Cecily Neville (1425–1460) – Cecily married Richard Plantagenet and survived her husband and all four sons, entering into a largely religious life and dying in 1495 after receiving a papal indulgence.
5. Anne de Mowbray, 8th Countess of Norfolk (1478–1481) – Anne was the child bride of Richard of Shrewsbury, one of the Princes in the Tower. She did not survive her young husband and died at the age of nine.
6. Lady Anne Hyde (1660–1671) – Anne predeceased her husband James before he became King, having contracted breast cancer. Her protestant daughters became, successively, Queen Mary II and Queen Anne.
7. Mary of Modena - Later Queen Mary, the second wife of James II of England. Although she was a Roman Catholic and bore him a son James Francis Edward Stuart, because of his religion he did not succeed and instead was supplanted jointly by her stepdaughter Mary II and Mary II's husband William III. Mary of Modena's direct descendants were known as the Jacobites and remain so to this day.
8. Princess Frederica Charlotte of Prussia (1791–1820) – Princess Frederica received a warm welcome to Great Britain but following a troubled relationship with her husband Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany, the couple separated. She died in 1820.
9. Princess Victoria Mary of Teck (1893–1901) – Princess Mary ceased to be known as the Duchess of York when her grandmother-in-law Queen Victoria died in 1901. That year she became Princess of Wales as the wife of the Prince of Wales. However, the title of Duchess of York remained among her subsidiary titles until her husband succeeded to the British throne as George V.
10. Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (1923–1936) – Known as "The Smiling Duchess," she ceased to be known as the Duchess of York when her husband succeeded to the throne as George VI following the abdication of his elder brother, Edward VIII.
11. Sarah Margaret Ferguson (1986–1996) – Considered a close friend of Diana, Princess of Wales, she was introduced to the second eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Andrew. Following their high-profile marriage and divorce, she became known as Sarah, Duchess of York (the proper address for the divorced wives of peers). In addition, she lost the style of Royal Highness as well as all other dignities related to the title of British princess. Contrary to popular belief, Sarah, Duchess of York, is not The Duchess of York for that is the title reserved for the wife of the Duke of York. She retains only the style, not the title of Duchess of York. This is to emphasize her changed status from wife to former wife of the Duke of York.

Bibliography

• ThePeerage.com; A source for peerage information
• Princesses of Wales by Deborah Fisher. University of Wales Press, 2005.