Honours of Winston Churchill - Proposed Dukedom

Proposed Dukedom

In 1955, after retiring as Prime Minister, Churchill was offered elevation to the peerage in the rank of duke. By custom, retiring Prime Ministers from the Commons were usually offered Earldoms, so the dukedom was a sign of special honour. One title that was considered was Duke of London; that capital has never been used in a peerage title. Churchill had represented three different counties in Parliament and his home, Chartwell, was in a fourth, so the city he had spent the most time in during his 50 years in politics was an appropriate choice.

Although Churchill initially considered the offered dukedom, he eventually declined it; the lifestyle of a duke would have been very expensive, and accepting the title would have caused problems for a possible career in the British House of Commons for his son Randolph. (At the time there was no procedure for disclaiming a title. Upon inheriting it, Randolph would immediately have lost his place in Parliament.) Since then, only British royalty have been made dukes. Randolph was to die only three years after his father, so the dukedom would have had little time to affect his career. Randolph's oldest son Winston did serve as an MP from 1970 until 1997, by which time provision existed for disclaiming a peerage.