Artemisia - this may be a very dumb or a very astute question. It's a "What If?"
Does the new heir get stripped of his/her previous titles AUTOMATICALLY as a result of ascending a rung on the ladder? I'm asking WHEN the Duke of Cornwall loses that title (and by default the Duchess of Cornwall)? I think not on ascension: I think they lose the titles when the next person is named to those titles. Am I right? I know that the ruler in place can assign funds from vacant Dukedoms (Duchy's, whatever - I'm and American and admit to being very bad at this sort of thing).
Which titles stay with someone when they "move up a rung" and which do not is the essential question I am asking? Aside from the money from properties, I just want to understand this.
Certainly not a dumb question; on the contrary, a very interesting one.
When a person becomes King,
all his peerage titles merge with the Crown. For instance, when William becomes King, his title of a Duke of Cambridge will merge with the Crown and will be available for a new creation. Thus, the next Duke of Cambridge will be not the 2nd Duke but the 1st one (of the new creation). Similarly, when George VI became King, his title of the Duke of York merged with the Crown and was available for a new creation.
The Duke of Cornwall title is a bit of a special case because, like the Prince of Wales or the Duke of Rothesay titles, it is reserved specifically for the Heir Apparent to the Throne and cannot be held by anyone else. When
the Duke of Cornwall becomes King, his eldest son and heir automatically becomes the next Duke of Cornwall. However,
if the new King doesn't have sons or if his Heir Apparent is someone else (a grandson, for instance), then
the title remains vacant. To explain better:
- The moment Prince Charles ascends to the Throne, William becomes the Duke of Cornwall (unlike the Prince of Wales title, it is automatic).
- If Prince Charles predeceases the Queen, William will never be the Duke of Cornwall and the title will be vacant until William himself ascends to the Throne and his eldest son (if Heir Apparent) automatically becomes one. That's because the Duke of Cornwall title can only be held by the Heir Apparent to the Throne who is also the Sovereign's eldest surviving son. Should Charles predecease the Queen, William will be the Sovereign's grandson only.
The Sovereign can indeed assign Dukedoms to people (theoretically, anyone, although in our times the practice is limited to members of the Royal Family only). However,
there are certain titles that can be held by specific people only. For instance, the Duke of Lancaster is a title that belongs to the Sovereign. The Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cornwall, the Earl of Chester, Earl of Carrick, Baron of Renfrew and several other titles can only be held by the Heir Apparent (although some have additional limitations), etc.
The difference between a
Dukedom and a
Duchy is a pretty straightforward one. A Duchy is typically assigned to a land; currently, there are only two Duchies left in Britain - the Duchy of Lancaster (which provides income for the Sovereign) and the Duchy of Cornwall (which provides income for the Heir Apparent). Dukedom is just the office of a peer - the Duke. There can be two types of Dukedoms - Royal (ones that belong to sons and male-line grandsons of the Sovereign) and ordinary ones (peers).
That's interesting. I can understand her choosing to be known as Dame Norma Major, since she acquired that distinction in her own right. 
