Dukes of Cornwall - History

History

See also: Legendary Dukes of Cornwall

In some folkloric histories of the British Isles, the first leader of Cornwall is Corineus, a Trojan warrior and ally of Brutus of Troy, the original settler of the British Isles. From this earliest period through the Arthurian period, the Duke of Cornwall is semi-autonomous if not independent from the Hi-King or ruler of Britain, while also serving as his closest ally and, at times, as his protector. According to legend, Gorlois, Duke of Cornwall under King Uther Pendragon, rebelled against the latter's rule when the king became obsessed with Gorlois' wife Igraine. Uther killed Gorlois and took Igraine: the result of their union was the future King Arthur. According to history, during the Dark Ages there existed an independent Kingdom of Cornwall but by c.900 AD this had become an English dependency with its final native rulers using the title Earl of Cornwall.

After the Norman Conquest the new rulers of England appointed their own men as earl. Edward, the Black Prince, the eldest son of Edward III, was made the first Duke of Cornwall in 1337. After Edward predeceased the King, the duchy was recreated for his son, the future Richard II. Under a charter of 1421, the duchy passes to the sovereign's eldest son. Cornwall was the first dukedom conferred within the Kingdom of England, although the Dukes of Normandy (King of England), Brittany (Earl of Richmond) and Aquitaine (Duke of Lancaster) held substantial estates and fiefs within England, being based in France.

In 1856–1857 there was a case of arbitration between the Crown and the Duchy of Cornwall in which the Officers of the Duchy successfully argued that the Duchy enjoyed many of the rights and prerogatives of a County palatine and that although the Duke was not granted Royal Jurisdiction, he was considered to be quasi-sovereign within his Duchy of Cornwall. The arbitration, as instructed by the Crown, was based on legal argument and documentation, and led to the Cornwall Submarine Mines Act of 1858.

In 1969–1971 the Royal Commission on the Constitution recommended that official sources properly refer to Cornwall as a Duchy and not merely a county. This is in recognition of its special constitutional position. The report also states: "Cornwall has, however, been governed as part of England for a thousand years and, despite its individual character and strong sense of regional identity, there is no evidence that its people generally have a wish to see it separated for the purposes of government from the rest of England."

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