DUKE OF WINDSOR

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXXI, Issue 4958, 20 February 1937, Page 3

DUKE OF WINDSOR

Now that we have bidden farewell to our former King and he has become the Duke of Windsor, everyone must wonder exactly what is his position to-day in our Constitution, writes an expert on the law of precedence in the Daily Mail. It is a situation without precedent in the history of our land. Much one can say with certitude; but there still remain details in regard to such matters as precedence about which no legal expert would commit himself without extensive research. In this, admittedly a rather hurried survey, we can at least give some indication of what are the rights and privileges of the new Duke of- Windsor and how he now stands in relation to the Constitution.

There is slight confusion, apparently in the minds of some people as to the status of the new dukedom. Let it be made clear that the former King is still Prince Edward. He does not take the place of the Duke of Norfolk as premier duke. He will be the eldest of the Royal Dukes, apart from the Duke of Connaught, and will, it is assumed, take precedence after the Heir Presumptive.

In English history there has not been a voluntary abdication before —with, the possible exception of James 11. Other English Kings who have left the Throne have been forced into their abdications, some of them rather painfully. As Prince Edward has renounced the Throne and has also undertaken that his descendants shall not be in the line of succession, it might be argued that his precedence will stand below that of any member of the Royal Family in the line of succession.

One of the most important points which must necessarily be occupying the public mind is what will be the title taken by his wife in the event of marriage.

The future wife of his Royal Highness the Duke of Windsor will obviously be known as her Royal Highness the Duchess of Windsor. She will be entitled to the precedence and privileges of her husband’s rank. In regard to the presence of the Duke of Windsor in the House of Lords, this must be recognised. He will be created a duke. It will not be necessary for him.to return to receive the dukedom. But to sit in the House of Lords he must receive a summons —a personal summons—and to that he is entitled as a peer.

This was established in the case of the Earl of Bristol in the reign of James I. For certain reasons the Crown wished to exclude him from the House of Lords, but his right to receive a summons was affirmed.

Queen Victoria decided against her husband being made a peer. One feels that she was entirely right; for, had he received a peerage, he would necessarily have been called .to the House of Lords, and would, therefore, have been in contact with politics.

It is certain that as the Duke of Windsor the former King is entitled to the writ of summons. Of course, it is not obligatory for a peer to respond to the summons, but should the Duke decide to answer, as would an ordinary peer, there would then arise the extraordinary situation—one probably without precedent in the whole of the world history—of a former king taking his

seat in the House of Lords and taking the oath of allegiance to his successor. Whether this position will ever arise one cannot say, but nevertheless it is a course which Prince Edward would be clearly entitled to take. The writ of summons would be issued by the Lord Chancellor. The issue of writs to call peers to the House is a practice which began in the thirteenth century. One must distinguish between the Duke’s position as a Prince of the blood and his position as a peer. He has absolutely renounced the Crown for himself and his descendants, but he cannot, of course, renounce the blood in his veins. A prince of the blood he must remain, though legally barred from the succession. A peculiar position—again one without precedent —is to be found in

regard to the ownership of the Duchy of Cornwall. The Duchy of Lancaster is indisputably the appanage of the Crown; but the Duchy of Cornwall has always been regarded as the possession of the oldest son of the King. The former King became possessor of the Duchy of Cornwall 25 years before he succeeded Jo the Throne; and it is not improbable that some special legisation will be required to settle the point. In the event of Prince Edward’s marriage, and should there be any children, there may be some question concerning their titles, but these would normally be those of the sons and daughters of a duke. In his travels abroad, wherever our late King should go, he will presumably be treated, as are his brothers, with the diplomatic immunity accorded to Royal Princes.