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Wikisource has the text of the1911Encyclopædia Britannica article "Buckingham, Earls, Marquesses And Dukes of".

Duke of Buckingham, referring to the market town ofBuckingham, England, is an extinct title that has been created several times in the peerages ofEngland,Great Britain, and theUnited Kingdom. There were creations of double dukedoms of Buckingham and Normanby and of Buckingham andChandos. The1st Duke of Buckingham and Normanby built Buckingham House in the early 1700s, which eventually came into the hands of the monarch and is nowBuckingham Palace. The last holder of the dukedom, the3rd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos, died in 1889.

There have also beenEarls of Buckingham andMarquesses of Buckingham.

The first creation of the dukedom was on 14 September 1444, whenHumphrey Stafford was made Duke of Buckingham.

On his father's side, Stafford was descended fromEdmund de Stafford, who had been summoned to Parliament asLord Stafford in 1299. The second Baron had been createdEarl of Stafford in 1351. On his mother's side, Stafford was the son ofAnne of Gloucester, Countess of Buckingham, daughter ofThomas of Woodstock, Earl of Buckingham (laterDuke of Gloucester), youngest son of KingEdward III of England. Stafford was an important supporter of theHouse of Lancaster in theWars of the Roses, and was killed at theBattle of Northampton in July 1460.

The 1st Duke of Buckingham was succeeded by his grandson,Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, who aidedRichard III in his claiming the throne in 1483, but who then led a revolt against Richard and was executed later that same year. His titles were forfeited along with the dukedom.^[1]

His son,Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, was restored to the title uponHenry VII's accession to the throne in 1485, but he was ultimately executed for treason in 1521 due to his opposition to CardinalThomas Wolsey,Henry VIII's chief advisor. At this time the title became extinct; it was posthumouslyattainted in 1523.^[1]

The second creation of the dukedom was in 1623 forGeorge Villiers, afavourite ofJames I of England. He had previously been madeBaron Whaddon, of Whaddon in the County of Buckingham, andViscount Villiers in 1616, thenEarl of Buckingham in 1617, thenMarquess of Buckingham in 1618 until he was also createdEarl of Coventry andDuke of Buckingham in 1623. Buckingham, who continued in office as chief minister into the reign of James's son,Charles I, was responsible for a policy of war against Spain and France. In 1628, he was assassinated byJohn Felton, a disgruntled army officer who had served under him,^[2] as he prepared an expedition to relieve theHuguenots ofLa Rochelle.

His son,George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, was a notable advisor in the reign ofCharles II, and along withLord Ashley made up the Protestant axis of the famousCabal Ministry. He started the firstfoxhunt in England, the Bilsdale Hunt, in 1668, and later started the Sinnington Hunt in 1680. After digging for a fox above Kirkbymoorside, and being too far from his home in Helmsley, North Yorkshire, he died from a chill in the house of a tenant. With his death in 1687, the title again became extinct.

Several other members of theVilliers family have been elevated to the peerage.Christopher Villiers, 1st Earl of Anglesey, andJohn Villiers, 1st Viscount Purbeck, were brothers of the first Duke of Buckingham. Also,Edward Villiers, 1st Earl of Jersey, was the great-nephew of the first Duke of Buckingham whileThomas Villiers, 1st Earl of Clarendon, was the second son of the second Earl of Jersey.

The third creation of the dukedom, asDuke of Buckingham and Normanby, was in 1703 forJohn Sheffield, 3rdEarl of Mulgrave, 1stMarquess of Normanby,^[3] a notableTory politician of the late Stuart period, who served underQueen Anne asLord Privy Seal andLord President of the Council. The dukedom was created in thePeerage of England. The full title wasDuke of the County of Buckingham and of Normanby but in practice onlyDuke of Buckingham and Normanby was used. The duke's family descended fromSir Edmund Sheffield, second cousin ofHenry VIII, who in 1547 was raised to the Peerage of England asBaron Sheffield and in 1549 was killed in the streets ofNorwich duringKett's Rebellion.

On the death of the2nd Duke of Buckingham and Normanby in 1735, the titles became extinct. The Sheffield family estates passed to the 2nd Duke's half-brother Charles Herbert Sheffield, the illegitimate son of the 1st Duke by Frances Stewart. He was created a Baronet in 1755 and is the ancestor of theSheffield Baronets, of Normanby.

The seat of the family wasBuckingham House, which John Sheffield built,^[4][5] until it was sold to King George III in 1761 by Charles Sheffield, John's son.^[6]

The fourth creation of the dukedom, asDuke of Buckingham and Chandos in thePeerage of the United Kingdom, was in 1822 forRichard Temple-Grenville, 2nd Marquess of Buckingham, a landowner and politician.

He was the son ofGeorge Nugent Temple Grenville, 3rd Earl Temple, who was the son ofPrime MinisterGeorge Grenville, and who had been createdMarquess of Buckingham in the peerage of Great Britain in 1784. The 1st Marquess of Buckingham had married Lady Mary Nugent, daughter ofRobert Nugent, 1st Earl Nugent. Mary was in 1800 created Baroness Nugent in her own right in thePeerage of Ireland, with remainder to her second son George (see theBaron Nugent). In 1788 Lord Buckingham also succeeded his father-in-law as secondEarl Nugent according to a special remainder in theletters patent, and at the same time assumed by Royal licence the additional surname of Nugent.

After the 1st Marquess of Buckingham's death in 1813, his titles passed to his sonRichard Temple-Grenville, 2nd Marquess of Buckingham. He married Lady Anne Eliza Brydges, the only child ofJames Brydges, 3rd Duke of Chandos (a title which became extinct on his death in 1789), and assumed by Royal licence the additional surnames of Brydges-Chandos in 1799. In 1822 Lord Buckingham was createdEarl Temple of Stowe, in the County of Buckingham,Marquess of Chandos andDuke of Buckingham and Chandos, all in thePeerage of the United Kingdom. The earldom was created with remainder, failing male issue of his own, to (1) the heirs male of the body of his deceased great-grandmotherHester Grenville, 1st Countess Temple, and (2) in default thereof to his granddaughter Lady Anne Eliza Mary Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, daughter of his sonRichard, who succeeded as second Duke in 1839.

After the 2nd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos' death in 1861, the titles passed to his son, the third Duke. He was also a prominent politician and served asLord President of the Council and asSecretary of State for the Colonies. In 1868 the Duke established his right to the Scottishlordship of Kinloss before the Committee for Privileges of theHouse of Lords. On his death in 1889 without male issue, the dukedom and its subsidiary titles (the marquessate of Buckingham, marquessate of Chandos, earldom of Temple andearldom of Nugent) became extinct. The lordship of Kinloss passed to his daughterMary. Theearldom of Temple of Stowe passed to his sister's son William Temple-Gore-Langton because the title had been created with a special remainder to her heirs male. Theviscountcy of Cobham, which had also been created with a special remainder, passed toCharles Lyttelton, 5th Baron Lyttelton, a descendant ofHester Grenville, 1st Countess Temple's sister Christian, who had marriedSir Thomas Lyttelton, 4th Baronet.

• Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham (1402–1460), createdDuke of Buckingham in 1444
  • Humphrey Stafford, Earl of Stafford (1425–1458), eldest son of the 1st Duke, predeceased his father
• Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham (1455–1483), only son of Lord Stafford, wasattainted for treason in 1483
• Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham (1477–1521), eldest son of the 2nd Duke, was restored to his father's honours in 1485, but then executed for treason in 1521 and posthumously attainted in 1523

• George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham (1592–1628), createdDuke of Buckingham andEarl of Coventry in 1623
• George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham (1628–1687), younger son of the 1st Duke

• John Sheffield, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Normanby (1648–1721), createdDuke of Buckingham and Normanby in 1703
  • John Sheffield, Marquess of Normanby (1710)
  • Robert Sheffield, Marquess of Normanby (1711–1714)
• Edmund Sheffield, 2nd Duke of Buckingham and Normanby (1716–1735)

• Richard Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Chandos (1776–1839), createdDuke of Buckingham and Chandos in 1822
• Richard Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, 2nd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos (1797–1861)
• Richard Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, 3rd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos (1823–1889)

• Duchess of Buckingham
• Earl of Anglesey (1623 creation)
• Viscount Purbeck
• Earl of Jersey
• Earl of Clarendon (1776 creation)

• Extinct dukedoms in the Peerage of England
• Villiers family
• Buckingham
• Forfeited dukedoms in the Peerage of England
• Noble titles created in 1444
• Noble titles created in 1623
• Dukes of Buckingham

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