Royalty and the Peerage
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In the United Kingdom, Peers of the Blood Royal are members of the Peerage who are sons of grandsons of a Sovereign (including former Sovereigns). The eldest son of the Sovereign automatically holds the Dukedom of Cornwall, the Dukedom of Rothesay and related titles. Furthermore, he is by convention created Prince of Wales. Other senior members—especially the sons of the Sovereign—of the Royal Family usually receive Dukedoms. Currently, the peers of the Blood Royal include the three sons of Elizabeth II—The Prince of Wales, The Duke of York and The Earl of Wessex—and two grandsons of George V—The Duke of Kent and The Duke of Gloucester.
Dukedom of Cornwall
The Dukedom of Cornwall always belongs to the eldest son of the Sovereign. Cornwall was the first Dukedom ever conferred in the United Kingdom, being created for Edward, the Black Prince, the eldest son of Edward III in 1336. After Edward predeceased the King, the Dukedom was recreated for his son, the future Richard II. Under a charter of 1421, the Dukedom passes to the Sovereign's eldest son and heir. If the eldest son should die without issue, the eldest of his brothers assumes the title. But if the eldest son dies leaving an heir, that heir does not assume the title, as he would be a grandson, not the eldest surviving son, of the Sovereign.
Traditionally, each Duke of Cornwall is entitled to receive certain feudal dues. The current Duke received his dues at Launceston Castle in 1973; they included a pair of white gloves, a pair of greyhounds, a pound of pepper and cumin, a pair of gilt spurs, one hundred silver shillings, a bow, a spear and firewood. The Duke of Cornwall is also entitled to the income of the Duchy's lands to cover the cost of his public functions. The Duchy includes over 140,000 acres of land, most of which lies in Devon. In 2003, the Duchy earned £9,943,000, a sum that was exempt from income tax (but the Prince of Wales elected to pay the tax voluntarily).
Dukedom of Rothesay
The heir-apparent to the Scottish throne held the Dukedom of Rothesay and the Earldom of Carrick just as the heir-apparent to the English throne held the Dukedom of Cornwall. The Dukedom was first conferred on David Stuart, the son of Robert III, King of Scots, in 1398. After his death, his brother James, later King James I, received the Dukedom together with the Earldom of Carrick and the Barony of Renfrew. (Scottish baronies are feudal, and not peerage, titles.) These titles, together with that of Prince and Great Steward of Scotland, went to the eldest son of the Scottish monarch under an Act passed in 1469. In 1540, King James V annexed the title of Lord of the Isles; that title was then subjected to the same succession as the Dukedom of Rothesay.
In 1602, King James VI of Scotland inherited the English throne; the Dukedoms of Rothesay and Cornwall have since been held by the same individual in each case. From 1707, the eldest son of the Sovereign, as Duke of Rothesay, was entitled to vote in elections for Scottish representative peers.
In England and Northern Ireland, the title Duke of Cornwall is used by the heir-apparent until created Prince of Wales. In Scotland, however, the title Duke of Rothesay is used at all times.
Principality of Wales
The title most often associated with the eldest son of the Sovereign is Prince of Wales. The Principality, which is normally considered a peerage dignity, is always conferred along with the Earldom of Chester. The title was first used by some of the independent rulers of Wales, the last of which was Llywelyn the Last. In 1321, Edward I conquered Wales and granted the Principality to his eldest son, also named Edward. Edward had been made Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester on the same day, but the creations were separate. The convention of creating the Principality and Earldom together began only in 1398.
The Principality of Wales and Earldom of Chester are conferred, and not automatically inherited like the Dukedoms of Cornwall and Rothesay. The Principality and Earldom are not inherited, but the House of Lords Act 1999 treats them as hereditary peerages; thus, the holder of either title is not automatically qualified to sit in the House of Lords.