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The Last Dukes

Documentary featuring archive footage. Dukedoms are created by the monarch, but as they gradually become extinct, what will become of those that remain?

Dukedoms are created by the monarch for reasons ranging from a grateful nation rewarding a major war leader to a king acknowledging his illegitimate son. The last dukedom to be created was by Queen Victoria. As they gradually become extinct, what will become of those that remain? Do they still have power and wealth? What is it to be a duke in the 21st century?

Answers come from a surprising variety of extraordinary characters - the Duke of Marlborough and his aunt, born Lady Rosemary Spencer-Churchill, who remembers being brought up in Blenheim Palace with 36 indoor servants, and the Duke of Atholl, who until 2012 was a rural South African sign-maker called Bruce Murray - on succeeding to the dukedom he now heads the only private army in Europe - the Atholl Highlanders.

The Duke of Montrose is a Scottish hill farmer and a politician, one of the few dukes who still sit in the House of Lords. The Duchess of Rutland made dozens of people redundant when she took over Belvoir Castle, but is determined to make it an efficient business.

The Duke and Duchess of St Albans don't have a stately pile, but do have their coronets and coronation robes. The duke's heir Charles Beauclerk is fascinated by the history of mental illness in the family. And if Camilla Osborne had been a boy, she would have become the 11th Duke of Leeds. But she wasn't and the dukedom is now extinct. Where does that leave her?

59 minutes

Last on

Wed 5 Jul 2017 22:30

Clip

Music Played

  • George Frideric Handel

    Zadok the Priest

    Orchestra: The English Concert. Conductor: Simon Preston. Choir: Choir of Westminster Abbey.

Credits

Role Contributor
Narrator Michael Waldman
Producer Michael Waldman
Director Michael Waldman
Producer Susanna Posnett
Executive Producer Nick Bullen
Executive Producer Matt Young
Participant The Duke of Atholl
Participant The Marquess of Tullibardine
Participant Lord David Murray
Participant The Duke of Montrose
Participant The Duke of St Albans
Participant The Duchess of St Albans
Participant Charles Beauclerk
Participant The Duchess of Rutland
Participant Lady Rosemary Muir (nee Spencer-Churchill)
Participant Lady Henrietta Spencer-Churchill
Participant Lady Camilla Osborne
Production Company Spun Gold TV

Broadcasts