Anglophones tend to think of 1066 as the year the Duke of Normandy became the King of England. But what happened to the dukedom?
Robert, William’s eldest son, took the title, second son William Rufus took the kingdom, and third son Henry took the money. It was not much fun for Robert. While William was persuaded not to disinherit him, he nonetheless died in the custody of that third brother, by then King Henry I. After this, the title usually travelled with the English kingdom.
Richard the Lionheart was in France warring against his father when the latter died. So it was that he was first invested as Duke of Normandy on 20 July 1189, and only crowned king in September.
In the early 13th century, the mainland territory duchy reverted to France. However, the Channel Islands is a remnant. While King Charles is the monarch of each of the Channel Islands, he is locally toasted as the Duke. Incidentally, it is never “Duchess” and so Charles’s mother Queen Elizabeth was also Duke of Normandy.
