Dukedom of Manchester
Quarterly, 1st & 4th: Argent, 3 fusils conjoined in fess gules, a bordure sable (Montagu); 2nd & 3rd: Or an eagle displayed vert beaked and membered gules (Monthermer).
Creation date	13 April 1719
Created by	King George I
Peerage	Peerage of Great Britain
First holder	Charles Montagu, 4th Earl of Manchester
Present holder	Alexander Montagu, 13th Duke
Heir presumptive	Lord Kimble William Drogo Montagu
Subsidiary titles	Earl of Manchester Viscount Mandeville Baron Montagu of Kimbolton
Former seats	Kimbolton Castle Horton Hall Tandragee Castle

Duke of Manchester is atitle in thePeerage of Great Britain, and the current senior title of theHouse of Montagu. It was created in 1719 for the politicianCharles Montagu, 4th Earl of Manchester.Manchester Parish in Jamaica was named after the5th Duke, while its capitalMandeville was named after his son and heir. The current Duke isAlexander Montagu, 13th Duke of Manchester, a controversial British and Australian citizen who lives in the United States and has served severalprison sentences. He succeeded to the peerage in 2002^[1] following the death of his fatherAngus Montagu, 12th Duke of Manchester, the last of the dukes to hold a seat in theHouse of Lords.

Their ancestor wasRichard Ladde, grandfather of theLord Chief JusticeSir Edward, who changed his name toMontagu around 1447. His descendants claimed a connection with the older house of Montagu or Montacute,Barons Montagu or Montacute andEarls of Salisbury, but there is no sound evidence that the two families were related. A case has been made out for the possibility that the Ladde alias came from a division among coheirs about 1420 of the remaining small inheritance of a line of Montagus at Spratton and Little Creton, also in Northamptonshire.^[2]

The judge Sir Edward Montagu's grandson,Edward Montagu, was raised to the peerage as 1stBaron Montagu of Boughton. He is the ancestor of theDukes of Montagu. His brother,Sir Henry Montagu (c. 1563–1642), who served asLord Chief Justice as well asLord High Treasurer andLord Privy Seal, was in 1620 raised to thePeerage of England asViscount Mandeville, with the additional titleBaron Montagu of Kimbolton, ofKimbolton in theCounty of Huntingdon. In 1626, he was madeEarl of Manchester, of Manchester in theCounty of Lancaster.^[3] It is sometimes said, erroneously, that the title refers toGodmanchester in Huntingdonshire, and that the word "God" was deliberately excluded from the title on the basis that the grantee thought it would be blasphemous for him to be known as "Lord Godmanchester".^[4] However, the form of the creation makes it clear that the title refers to what is now the city of Manchester (at the time a town in Lancashire, formally known as the County of Lancaster).

His son, the2nd Earl, was a prominent Parliamentary General during theCivil War, but later supported the restoration ofCharles II. His son, the3rd Earl, representedHuntingdonshire in theHouse of Commons. His son was the 4th Earl, who in 1719 was createdDuke of Manchester.

Charles, 1st Duke of Manchester, was succeeded by his eldest son. The 2nd Duke notably served asCaptain of the Yeomen of the Guard in the administration ofSir Robert Walpole. He was childless, and on his death, the titles passed to his younger brother, the 3rd Duke. He had earlier represented Huntingdonshire in Parliament. He was succeeded by his son, the 4th Duke. He wasAmbassador to France and served asLord Chamberlain of the Household. His son, the 5th Duke, wasGovernor of Jamaica between 1827 and 1830 also held office asPostmaster General. He was succeeded by his son, the 6th Duke. He representedHuntingdon in the House of Commons as aTory.

His eldest son, the 7th Duke, wasConservative Member of Parliament forBewdley and Huntingdonshire. His son, the 8th Duke, briefly represented Huntingdonshire in Parliament. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the 9th Duke. He sat on theLiberal benches in theHouse of Lords and served asCaptain of the Yeomen of the Guard in theLiberal administration ofSir Henry Campbell-Bannerman. In the twentieth century, mismanagement and profligacy resulted in the wholesale depletion of the Dukedom's estates. Generational instability caused further damage to the family's honour: the 9th, 12th and 13th Dukes all had a criminal record.^[5][6]

Angus Montagu, 12th Duke of Manchester was the last of the dukes to serve in theHouse of Lords, until the adoption of theHouse of Lords Act 1999.

Alexander Montagu, the oldest son of the 12th Duke, succeeded his father as the 13th Duke in July 2002; a British and Australian citizen who lives in the United States, he had been known by the courtesy title of the heir apparent, Viscount Mandeville, since his father's succession to the peerage in 1985.^[1][7][8] He has not taken the required action to be included on theRoll of the Peerage, which was created two years after his succession in 2004; while this doesn't change his status as a duke itself, which is legally established by theletters patent, inclusion in the roll is since 2004 a requirement to have his title included in his passport. Under the provisions of the 2004 royal warrant he may register with the roll at any time.^[9]

The principal estate of the Dukes of Manchester wasKimbolton Castle. It was leased, together with 50 acres (20 ha) of parkland, by the 10th Duke in 1951, and is now a private school. A remaining 3,250 acres (1,320 ha) of the estate were sold by his eldest son and heir in 1975. The other family seat wasTandragee Castle, inCounty Armagh, Northern Ireland. It was sold in 1955, and the remaining estate in 1975, and is now the headquarters ofTayto (NI) Ltd.^[5]

Many members of the Montagu family (Earls and Dukes of Manchester and their family members) are buried at St Andrew's Church,Kimbolton, Cambridgeshire (historically inHuntingdonshire). Several Montagu monuments still exist in the South Chapel, while the Montagu Vault (extended in 1853) is located beneath the North Chapel. The Montagu Vault is accessed from the churchyard via a doorway surmounted by heraldic beasts, which was added to the building in 1893.^[10]The 12th Duke of Manchester, who died in 2002, was cremated at Bedford Crematorium after which his ashes were placed in the Montagu Vault.

Coat of arms of the Duke of Manchester

Coronet ACoronet of a Duke Crest A Griffin's Head couped wings expanded Or Helm Thehelm of aPeer Escutcheon Quarterly, 1st & 4th: Argent, 3 fusils conjoined in fess gules (Montagu); 2nd & 3rd: Or an eagle displayed vert beaked and membered gules (Monthermer) Supporters Dexter: an heraldic Antelope Or armed tufted and hoofed Argent; Sinister: a Griffin Or Motto Disponendo Me, Non Mutando Me (By disposing of me, not by changing me) Symbolism The fusils (diamonds) in the Montagu arms were originally intended to represent a range of mountains, as the name comes from the old Frenchmont agu meaning "pointed hill".[11][12] The arms represent a claim to be a cadet of the medieval Montagu (Montacute) family,Earls of Salisbury, for which there is no proof.

The arms of the Duke of Manchester have the followingblazon:Quarterly, 1st & 4th: Argent, 3 fusils conjoined in fess gules (Montagu); 2nd & 3rd: Or an eagle displayed vert beaked and membered gules (Monthermer).^[13] Thefusils or diamond shapes in the Montagu arms were originally intended to represent a range of mountains,^[14] as the name comes from the old Frenchmont agu meaning "pointed hill".^[15] The arms represent a claim to be a cadet of the medieval Montagu (Montacute) family,earls of Salisbury, for which there is no proof (see aboveorigins).

Montagu arms unquartered ofBarons Montagu/Montacute

Monthermar arms, "Or, an eagle displayed vert beaked and membered gules."

Arms of Montague/Montacute,Earls of Salisbury

Arms of Montagu, dukes of Manchester,dukes of Montagu, andearls of Sandwich andHalifax, claiming to be cadets of the medieval Montagus.

Arms of the Montagu family

The Duke of Manchester holds the subsidiary titlesEarl of Manchester,Viscount Mandeville, andBaron Montagu of Kimbolton.

Theheir apparent to the Dukedom takes thecourtesy titleViscount Mandeville, and the heir apparent's eldest son is styledLord Kimbolton.^[16]

The heir presumptive to the dukedom is the present Duke's younger brother, Lord Kimble William Drogo Montagu (born 1964), whose heir is his only son William Anthony Drogo Montagu (born 2000).^[17]

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