Why don't Dukes of Albany & Cumberland petition for the return of their duchys?

Question

The Titles Deprivation Act of 1917 led to the Duke of Albany, the Duke of Cumberland, the Duke of Cumberland's son, and Henry, Viscount Taaffe to be deprived of their UK titles for fighting for the Germans & against the Brits. There was a loophole in the Act that would allow their heirs to petition the Sovereign of the UK, currently Elizabeth II, to have their titles reinstated. So why haven't they?

 It's been almost a 100 years, all 4 are dead, George V is dead, and their contemporaries are dead. (Viscount Taffe's son & heir died without heirs so that title is extinct). 

The "pretended" Duke of Albany is in the line of Succession to the UK throne and the "pretended" Duke of Cumberland was in the line albeit both are quite a ways down the list. As a member of the succession line, the "pretended" Duke of Cumberland, Prince Ernst August of Hanover, a German citizen, asked the Elizabeth II's permission to marry in accordance with British law(Royal Marriages Act of 1772) prior to marrying Princess Caroline of Monaco even though marrying a Catholic removes him from the succession line. This plus his many business interests in the UK demonstrate, I believe, that he isn't disinterested in UK matters and thus should be interested in having his Dukedom reinstated.

? · Accepted Answer

Just speaking as an interested Englishman, I assume they just aren't interested.  The point of Prince Ernst August asking for permission to marry under the Royal Marriages Act 1772 is precisely that he has business interests in the UK, and without that permission, his marriage would have been invalid in British law.  It might have had an effect on inheritance of any property he has in the UK, so I assume he asked for permission out of self-interest.

Which is a bit academic now... the Succession to the Crown Act 2013, when it comes into force, repeals the Royal Marriages Act 1772 and replaces it with a requirement for only the first six in line to the British throne to obtain the monarch's permission to marry.  Let's face it, when the Act was enacted, it was entirely due to George III's annoyance at relatives making "unsuitable" marriages and nobody thought that obviously in future it's going to get unwieldy.

Meanwhile the dukedoms of Albany and Cumberland remain unavailable for use by the monarch in granting Royal Dukedoms, as is traditional for British princes on marriage - the Duke of Cambridge obviously being the most recent one.

Bilbo · Answer

There is still considerable pressure to contain the size of the aristocracy - and considerable anti-german sentiment. Presumably those who might be entitled have thought better of opening a can of worms (or should that be wurms).

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Why don't Dukes of Albany & Cumberland petition for the return of their duchys?

2 Answers